Covilhã's free lifts and funicular

Covilhã is a hill town on the eastern slope of the Serra da Estrela, and its streets are steep enough that the council built lifts, a funicular and footbridges to help people walk around it. They’re part of the city’s pedestrian mobility plan, every one has a panoramic cabin, and every one is free. For a child who presses every lift button and wants to go up and down again, that turns a whole town into a playground. You can plan a morning of riding one after another, and the only cost is parking.

The system is run by Covilhã Mobilidade, the city’s transport network, which is operated by Movi Covilhã, part of the Transdev group.

Elevador de Santo André

This lift links Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, one of the city’s main streets, with Rua António Augusto de Aguiar and the old town square beside the ancient city walls. It replaces a climb of 90 metres and 162 steps up the Santo André staircase. Children can look at the staircase, then take the lift and decide which they’d rather do. It runs from 08:00 to 21:00.

Elevador da Goldra

This one runs from the top of Goldra Park up to Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, next to the University of Beira Interior’s central library and Campus I. There’s a free car park at Goldra Park, which makes this the easiest place to start. It opens from 07:00 to 23:00 between May and October and from 08:00 to 21:00 between November and April.

Funicular de São João

The star for rail fans: a small free funicular from Rua Mateus Fernandes, in the Rodrigo neighbourhood, up to Largo de São João de Malta. The cabin takes up to 15 people, and the ride gives wide views over the Cova da Beira, the broad valley below the mountains. It follows the same hours as the Goldra lift.

Elevadores do Jardim

Two lifts, built in stages, carry people between Avenida Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama and the Jardim Público, the municipal garden. You ride them one after the other. They have glass fronts with views of the mountains and the Carpinteira valley, take up to 11 people, and run from 08:00 to 21:00.

The Jardim lifts connect with the Carpinteira pedestrian bridge, which is worth the trip on its own. Designed by the architect Carrilho da Graça, it zigzags across the Carpinteira valley for about 220 metres, is 4.4 metres wide and stands 52 metres high, about the height of a 17-storey building. It is for walkers and cyclists, and has won several international awards.

From the bridge you look down on the façades of old textile mills and on the râmolas de sol, granite terraces where wool was once laid out to dry in the sun. Together with the lifts, the bridge links the Penedos Altos neighbourhood with the garden and saves local people about half an hour’s walk. For children who like heights, crossing it is the thrill of the day. Children who dislike heights may want to hold a hand, or skip it.

A simple plan is to park free at Goldra Park, ride the Goldra lift up to Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, walk along that street to the Santo André lift and the Jardim lifts, and cross the Carpinteira bridge. The São João funicular is separate, in the Rodrigo neighbourhood. The council gives each lift’s start and end streets, so a map app will get you from one to the next.

Covilhã also has a shared electric bike scheme, with 40 bikes at 21 stations, if older teenagers want another way to tackle the hills.

The council publishes hours for each lift, but the lifts can stop without much warning. In December 2024 the local paper reported that every lift and the funicular had stopped at the same time for their annual inspection, with no restart date given. If a particular ride matters to your child, ask at the tourist office or call Covilhã Mobilidade’s customer line, open on weekdays from 09:00 to 19:00, before you drive over.

The lifts are the reason to use a buggy here: Covilhã is steep, and the lifts spare you the stairs. In winter, the Serra da Estrela is snowy and cold, so dress for the mountains.

Covilhã Mobilidade runs the Serra Shuttle bus from the city up to Penhas da Saúde and the Torre, at the top of the Serra da Estrela, where the snow season draws families in winter. Across the mountain, the Museu do Pão in Seia has working mills and a children’s room, and CERVAS in Gouveia shows how injured wild animals are cared for. For more rides, the Elevador de Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo is Portugal’s longest funicular.

Are the Covilhã lifts free?

Yes. The council says all its lifts and funiculars are free to use.

What are the opening hours of the Covilhã lifts?

Santo André and the Jardim lifts run 08:00 to 21:00. The Goldra lift and the São João funicular run 07:00 to 23:00 from May to October and 08:00 to 21:00 from November to April.

Where can we park?

Goldra Park has free parking next to the Goldra lift. There are also paid car parks at Pelourinho, in the centre, and by the railway station.

Can you take a buggy?

The lifts and funicular have enclosed cabins and are there to help pedestrians avoid steep stairs. Covilhã’s streets are steep, so the lifts are the easiest route with a buggy.

How high is the Carpinteira bridge?

About 52 metres, roughly a 17-storey building, and about 220 metres long.