In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Guimarães is a CP urban train from Porto São Bento or Campanhã, about 1 hour 15, €3.60 each way, roughly hourly. The station is 1.5 km from the palace, about 20 minutes on foot through the historic centre. The Paço dos Duques is partly closed for rehabilitation, so it is €5, the castle is €5 (its keep is closed) and the two together are €8. All three monuments open 10:00 to 18:00 every day except 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December. On your own the day is about €15.20 before lunch. Or book a tour: the Braga and Guimarães tourad is from €47 for 9 hours and adds Bom Jesus and Braga Cathedral (GetYourGuide).
Getting there on your own
CP’s urban line to Guimarães runs from Porto São Bento and Campanhã, about 4 minutes apart, so board at whichever is nearer. Times are from CP’s timetable valid since 14 December 2025.
- To Guimarães: from São Bento at 06:20, 07:20, 08:20, 09:20, 10:20, 11:20, 12:20, 14:20, 16:20, 17:20, 18:25, 19:10, 19:20, 20:20, 21:20, 22:20 and 23:20. The journey takes about 1 hour 15, so the 08:20 arrives about 09:35.
- Back to Porto: the first train leaves Guimarães at 05:51 and the last at about 22:55, reaching São Bento at about 00:10.
- Fare: €3.60 each way on CP’s 2026 price list, so €7.20 return. Buy at the station machine or on cp.pt. Andante tickets cover the city zones only, so the Guimarães train is a CP ticket.
- From the station: the Paço dos Duques is 1.5 km away, about 20 minutes on foot through the historic centre. The bus station is 1.2 km away, and the Porto airport is 40 minutes by car (Paço dos Duques).
Largo da Oliveira, on the walk from the station to the palace, with the Gothic Padrão do Salado. Photo: Gerd Eichmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tickets and hours
The Paço dos Duques, the Castelo de Guimarães and the Igreja de São Miguel are open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30, and close on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June (the municipal holiday) and 25 December. The box office is at the Paço dos Duques, and tickets are also sold online (pacodosduques.gov.pt).
| Ticket | Adult |
|---|---|
| Paço dos Duques | €5 |
| Castelo de Guimarães | €5 |
| Palace and castle | €8 |
| Museu de Alberto Sampaio, palace and castle | €13 |
The palace price is the one charged during the partial closure: some museum spaces cannot be visited and the lift may be out of service. The keep of the castle is closed. Visitors aged 65 and over, aged 13 to 24 and families with at least one adult and one minor pay half with proof, and children under 12 with an adult are free.
The towers of Guimarães Castle. Photo: Dudva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tours from Porto
A tour adds the transport, a guide and a second town. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult, and the castle and the cathedral are optional extras on the Braga and Guimarães tourad. On your own, the train and the €8 palace and castle ticket come to €15.20.
Braga and Guimarães with Bom Jesus
From €47 · 4.6 stars from 4,804 reviews · 9 hours
From Porto: Braga & Guimarães Tour with Bom Jesus & Castlead is a minibus tour of up to 27 people. The itinerary is about an hour at the Bom Jesus sanctuary, an hour in Braga with the cathedral, then Guimarães with 20 minutes at the castle and an hour in the old town.
Three towns
From €39 · 4.7 stars from 1,840 reviews · 10½ hours
From Porto: Viana do Castelo, Braga and Guimarães Day Tourad adds Viana do Castelo, on the coast, to the same two towns.
Small group
From €65 · 4.9 stars from 252 reviews · 8 hours
Braga & Guimarães Tour: Small Historical Group Tourad is the small-group version of the same pair.
With lunch and tickets
From €113 · 4.8 stars from 592 reviews · 8 hours
Braga & Guimarães Small Group Tour, Lunch & Tickets Includedad includes lunch and the entries, which on the cheaper tours are extra.
What to see
The monuments are clustered on the hill above the old town, so the order is the palace, the castle and the church, then the streets.
- Paço dos Duques. Built between 1420 and 1433 for Afonso, Count of Barcelos and later the first Duke of Braganza, a natural son of King João I. It was rebuilt between 1937 and 1959 and opened on 25 June 1959 as the President’s residence in the north, and the rooms are furnished with tapestries, furniture, ceramics, paintings and weapons. With part of it closed, allow about an hour.
- Castelo de Guimarães. Founded in the second half of the 10th century by Countess Mumadona to protect the monastery below it, and given its eight towers in the Gothic rebuilding under Afonso III and Dinis. The keep is closed, so the visit is the walls and towers, about 20 minutes.
- Igreja de São Miguel do Castelo. Consecrated in 1239 and in the same open hours as the palace. Tradition holds that Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, was baptised in its font, which has since moved to the Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira in the town.
- The historic centre. A UNESCO World Heritage site, and the route you walk from the station. Allow an hour for lunch and the streets.
- The Penha cable car. The Turipenha cable car runs from the historic centre up to the Penha mountain, open daily from 10:00 with a closing time that changes by month (18:30 in October), and the operator stops it for weather and maintenance (turipenha.pt). Add it if you have a spare hour and the sky is clear.
The Paço dos Duques, with its battlements and brick chimneys. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A day, hour by hour
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 08:20 | Train from São Bento, arriving about 09:35 |
| 09:35 to 10:00 | Walk from the station through the historic centre to the palace |
| 10:00 | Paço dos Duques, then the castle and the Church of São Miguel |
| Midday | Lunch in the old town |
| Afternoon | The Penha cable car, or the old town on foot |
| 17:20 or 18:25 | Train back to São Bento |
- The train back: trains from Guimarães run roughly hourly until about 22:55, so the day can run later than the table.
- Last entry to the monuments is 17:30.
- Combining with Braga: the two towns are on separate train lines from Porto. The Braga and Bom Jesus day trip is a second day, or take the tour.
Before you go
The monuments close on 24 June, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December. Day trips from Porto compares Guimarães with Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra and the Douro Valley. What to book before you go to Porto has the city tickets, Porto in 2 days shows where a day trip fits, and where to stay in Porto says which areas are near the São Bento and Campanhã stations.
Common questions
How do you get from Porto to Guimarães?
Take the CP urban train from Porto São Bento or Campanhã. It takes about 1 hour 15, runs roughly hourly, and costs €3.60 each way on CP's 2026 price list. Guimarães station is 1.5 km from the Paço dos Duques, about 20 minutes on foot through the historic centre.
How much does the Paço dos Duques cost?
€5 for the palace, €5 for the castle, and €8 for both. These are the prices charged while the palace is partly closed for rehabilitation. Visitors aged 65 and over and aged 13 to 24 pay half, and children under 12 with an adult are free.
When are the Guimarães monuments closed?
The Paço dos Duques, the castle and the Church of São Miguel are open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30. They close on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June (the municipal holiday) and 25 December.
Can you visit Guimarães and Braga in one day?
Yes, on a tour. The Braga and Guimarães tour with Bom Jesus is from €47 for 9 hours and spends about an hour at Bom Jesus, an hour in Braga and about 1 hour 20 minutes in Guimarães. On your own the two towns are on separate train lines from Porto, so they are two days.
