Unique experiences in Portugal. Sleeping in a historical train station.

Last Updated on July 28, 2023 by

Ladies and Gentlemen. The train is now approaching platform 1. For your own safety, please stand back from the platform edge. and when boarding and alighting trains, please mind the gap between the train and the platform. Thank you.

Welcome aboard Ladies and Gentlemen! How many time you have you rushed to a train station to get to your destination? What if I tell you that, this time, the train station IS your destination? You heard me right. There is a place lost in the Alentejo countryside that allows you to travel in time and makes you experiencing a glimpse of what it was like train travelling during the XIX century. This place is the Marvão- Beirã train station. If you would like to have a unique experience, sleeping in a historical train station guesthouse in Portugal should be on your list! Read below for more info!

Are you planning a longer adventure in Portugal? Discover the top places you must visit here!

The Marvão – Beirã train station. An architectural jewel

The Mãrvao – Beirã train station dates back to the 19th century with the first train departing in 1880. In 1926, the station became more important and was enlarged. The expansion works included a custom delegation office, services, better accommodations for staff a restaurant and even some rooms for passengers. The station was fully working until 2011. During this year, the government halted all the trains transiting and stopping through the station.

This station is really special because it’s artwork was done thinking about the tourists coming to Portugal. Indeed, the magnificent blue tiled walls depict the most important places you should visit in Portugal. There’s Sintra, the Roman Temple of Évora, the castle of Mãrvao etc. For this work, even if the station was dismissed, it was considered as part Portugal Architectural Heritage.

Sleeping at the historical station of Marvão – Beirã

If you want to have a unique experience, you have to know the station was recently transformed into a guesthouse and you can book a room inside and sleep there! The buildings still feature part of the original furniture and interior design (e.g the green and white tiled flooring) but the bedrooms and living area feature new or vintage furniture.

How to book your stay at the Marvão – Beirã station

The guesthouse at the station is called Train spot Guesthouse and you can book your stay via Booking or via their own website here. Rooms with private bathroom cost between € 60-70 per night, while room with shared bathroom cost between € 45-55. There is also the possibility of booking an entire apartment that cost between € 80-95 per night. The Guesthouse offers the opportunity of booking some outdoor activities like horse riding or renting a bike. There’s no restaurant in loco but there should be some local restaurants in the attached village of Beirã.

Our experience at the Train Spot Guesthouse

What I loved

I have mixed feelings about our stay at the Train Spot Guesthouse and I really want to be honest with you about what I loved and what left me disappointed. The station is certainly a hidden gem in Portugal. There aren’t many places like this around the nation, (and I got all around Portugal for about one month). The fact that you can sleep here (and possibly have the place all for yourself like us) is really special . I loved that the owner left part of the original structure and furniture. This gives you a glimpse of what travelling by train was in the XIX century.

The Guesthouse is also very clean (which is something I’m no longer taking for granted after years of travelling), Moreover, even if we didn’t have the time to explore much around, the location is stunning and from here you can go in some of the most beautiful historical villages of the Alentejo region.

What left me disappointed

Nevertheless, I had a general feeling of disappointment the whole stay since our arrival. Indeed, the lady that should do our check-in arrived at least 40 minutes later than us and there was no one welcoming us (don’t forget that we travel with two 11-month old babies, so waiting wasn’t ideal). I had to call twice and when she arrived she also told me that I never sent my arrival time so she went shopping (which is not true as I’ve been in contact with the owner the whole day to update him on our precise arrival, even a half hour before schedule to confirm where we where).

After a quick check-in, the lady went away but she totally forgot to tell us that at night the station is very cold (you know XIX-century wooden architecture), so we she didn’t left for us any blanket and I slept with my jacket because it was quite cold, mmmm… (here again, remember the babies). She also forgot to gave us the WiFi password and we couldn’t find it anywhere. Yeah, at least we tried for real the XIX-century travel experience! As this wasn’t enough, you can’t pay by card and there’s no ATM for km (literally), we needed to go to Marvão to take cash. Lastly, in the booking website they talk about breakfast buffet that we never received. The lady told that inside the cupboard there were snacks, cereals and some small packs of milk that we could use as breakfast. OK.

The spooky story

The fact that we were the only clients probably didn’t play in our favour. In this regard, the guesthouse at night is quite spooky! Indeed, the station is located in a village that get completely deserted after 8.30 pm. No sounds, no people around, no restaurants nearby. Only dogs barking somewhere in the countryside. Moreover, being such a old place mostly made of wooden structures, it easily cracks even if no one makes movements. So, imagine to be alone in the middle of nowhere in a dismissed 19th century station that makes strange cracking sounds from unknown dark places that you can’t explore.

The strange music

I have to say ,that the most freaking part happened around 10 pm. Indeed, we were dealing with two crying babies for about two hours (they were hungry and tired from the trip).

This made us less aware of most parts of the station until they were asleep. So, I was in our room (that was upstairs), and at one point in the silence I heard music coming from one of the rooms in the station and I started freaking out. Like really freaking out. “Alessio, someone turned on the music somewhere downstairs, was it you?” (he does those things to freak me out sometimes) “No, it wasn’t me! Maybe there is someone downstairs!” He looked worried too. We went downstairs but it looked deserted like when we left.

The music was coming from a tablet attached to a stereo speaker in the living area but no one was around. I am pretty sure there wasn’t music before and I didn’t see the lady turning the stereo or tablet on. However, is also true the babies cried most for a while until they got their food, so, maybe I didn’t pay attention to it (even if they eat in the living room).

Overall

We started thinking that this place is quite old and must be infested by so many ghosts, maybe some of them were even passengers at the station, who knows!?. Anyway, all these little things left me with some perplexities about what to think of our stay. I would’n say that it was bad but neither great. For sure it was an adventure to remember! Well, I am probably dazzled by my love for historical heritage but I would likely return here again for another try, hoping for a more populated guesthouse. It’s true, I think that most things should be improved but the guesthouse has a great potentiality and you should not be discouraged in visiting it.

Remember that we were the only guests and we are still in the middle of a pandemic, so maybe some of the services of the guesthouse were not available at this time or they are available only with more guests. I am not sure. What I am sure is that I will surely tell to my babies of that day we slept at a dismissed station all together and they looked so excited by that “welcome aboard” journal that they even pay attention that their mum was freaking out by some strange music downstairs!

How to get to the Marvão – Beirã station

The Train Spot Guesthouse at the Marvão – Beirã station, is located in Largo da Alfândega 4, 7330-012 Beirã, Portugal. The station is located at about 300 km from Porto, 181 km from Coimbra and 239 km from Lisbon. This part of Portugal is better to be explored in conjunction with other places in the same region. Indeed, we used the station as a base to explore Marvão, Elvas and Evora (where we changed accommodation).

Despite is a station, remember that it’s dismissed. Ergo, the only way to reach it is by car.

Where to eat near the Marvão – Beirã station

Because of the lady arriving so late, the fact that we needed to go to central Marvão to take cash, plus the babies feeding that took a couple of hours we didn’t have the chance to try any local restaurant. It is also true that the village of Beirã is very small and there is not much choice. The lady, suggested us a restaurant called “Sabores the Marvão” which from the Facebook description didn’t look too bad (it’s also quite close to the station). Unfortunately, we finished the babies feeding around 9 pm and the restaurant was closing at 9.30 so, it was too late. Luckily we had a few panini from lunch and some snacks.

If you happen to be in that area, my suggestion is to visit the beautiful village of Marvão and eat there. You will have much more choice and you can enjoy also some spectacular views of the Alentejo countryside and boarder with Spain.

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