Vila Franca de Xira Travel Guide

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The train station of Porto is famous for its beautiful tiles. But throughout the length of Lisbon and Porto, called the North Line, along the intermediate stops, the smaller stations are themselves intricately decorated.

Vila Franca de Xira's is the first train station (after Lisbon) where one can see the beautiful tiles adorning the station building, mainly on the side facing the tracks. The tiles painted by Jorge Colaço, were mounted in 1939. There are 20 panels to be found in this building, depicting various rural and countryside scenes, and local activities.

The decorations are striking, and as the train approaches and one descends the train, one can almost feel the charm and glamour that was associated with train travel in the not so distant past. All this relives the days of traveling in style, where arrivals and departures are events, where people linger and stay on, where the building is or houses creations of art to be enjoyed and admired, very much unlike how one feels in most train stations elsewhere today -- a place to get out of as quickly as possible.

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This place was a completely accidental find. And what a nice find it was. We had been disappointed to find out that the town's supposedly best restaurant had closed, so we were going around the main streets trying to look for a good substitute. Not finding any, we decided finally on just a place offering the usual fish and meat fare. Standing in front of the building where the menu was listed, we entered the left door, only to find out once we were seated that it was a completely different place! In any case, we decided to stay on.

The idea is to choose from the menu a set of different dishes, depending on how many you would like, at a set price. We decided on a 3-dish set (you can choose different combinations), and asked the chef his recommendations. For starters, we had phylo sheets with shrimp and curry, and with mushroom spread. Then we had a very good octopus dish, cooked with tomatoes, and accompanied with rice. Then we had a big serving of grilled beef with a sauce of butter and port wine, accompanied with fries. Then dessert of fruits dipped in warm chocolate. And the best part is that all this very well done food and in generous servings, plus the drinks, cost us only 23 euros!

The place just very recently opened, but we're sure that once the word gets around, this place will become a hit. There is nothing fancy about this place, the building is unremarkable, although 2 figurative tile panels on the facade will likely catch one's attention. The place is divided into a bar, and a restaurant.

Favorite Dish: The octopus dish was surely one of the best octopus dishes I've ever had. It was tender but not overly done. We were told by the chef that it took 3-4 hours to soften it in very low fire with herbs, so it came out just perfect. The beef was fantastic too -- this region is known for their good beef, so it was quite expected -- but the way it was grilled, medium rare, and the sauce together was just superb.