North Portugal Tourism Guide - Coimbra

Coimbra Town Guide

Coimbra is effectively the capital city of the Beiras region of Portugal. It has long held an important place in Portugal's history since it was the capital of the country for over a century between 1143-1255. As such it has some interesting historical monuments that are mostly conveniently located in the hilltop old town of Coimbra reached by a warren of narrow streets.

The main part of Coimbra is essentially clustered on and around the hill overlooking the River Mondego, although more modern parts of the town spread out all around it below. It's a cosmopolitan city that considers itself something of a cultural capital, something that was reinforced by it being named the National Culture Capital in 2003.

The old town is happily integrated into the day-to-day life of the city with student slogans and adornments spattered over the old houses in the town and as you wander around you'll turn a corner and suddenly find yourself faced with some medieval monument or other. In fact the best way to see the old town is by walking round it. The streets are pretty steep and with tall three or four storey buildings lining them it can be quite shady. Half the fun is trying to find your way around; it's difficult to get lost as you invariably end up next to a landmark so you can regain your bearings. If the steep streets aren't for you a quick way up is the Elevador which you can take from Avenida Sa da Bandeira. It takes passengers up to Rua Padre Antonio Vierira a short walk from the new cathedral and the university. The elevador runs Mon-Sat 7.30 am-11.30 pm and Sat-Sun 9 am-11.30 pm.

Coimbra Tourist Information Offices

The Tourist Information offices around Coimbra are: Largo da Portagem - 3000-337 Coimbra. Tel: 351 239 488 120. Fax: 351 239 488 129. Email: atendimento@turismo-centro.pt. 19 June-15 Sept: Mon-Fri 9 am-7 pm. Sat-Sun and holidays 10 am-1 pm and 2.30-5.30 pm. 16 Sept-18 June: 9.30 am-5.30 pm. Sat-Sun and holidays H30 10 am-1 pm and 2.30-5.30 pm. Closed 25 Dec, 1 January and 1 May.

C.M. - Praca da Republica - 3000-343 Coimbra. Tel: 351 239 833 202. Fax: 351 239 702 496. Email: atendimento@turismo-centro.pt

C.M. - Mercado D. Pedro V R. Olimpio Nicolau Rui Fernandes, Loja exterior n4 - 3000-303 Coimbra. Tel: 351 239 834 038. Email: atendimento@turismo-centro.pt. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm. Closed Sat, Sun and holidays.

C.M. - Largo D. Dinis - 3000-143 Coimbra. Tel: 351 239 832 591. Fax: 351 239 702 496. Email: atendimento@turismo-centro.pt. Mon-Fri 9am-6 pm. Sat-Sun and holidays 9 am-12.30 pm and 2-5.30 pm.

Regional Tourist Office

There is a Regional Tourist Office for the whole of the Central Portugal area at:

Avenida Afonso Henriques, 132, 3000-009 Coimbra. Tel: 351 239 488 120. Fax: 351 239 488 129. Email: rtc-coimbra@turismo-centro.pt and atendimento@turismo-centro.pt

Coimbra Hotels, Cafes & Restaurants & Nightlife

Cafes and restaurants are dotted around the lower part of the town, the Baixa, but particularly Largo da Portagem, a favourite cafe strewn hang-out that spill out onto the pavements and an excellent location for watching the world go by, and Praca 8 de Maio where people congregate around the fountain in front of Igreja da Santa Cruz and meet in the surrounding cafes. There are a few cafs and restaurants scattered around the old town as well.

Leading off Largo da Portagem, Rua Ferreira Borges and its continuation Rua Visconde da Luz is a pedestrianised tiled street dominated by a range of shops including a multitude of clothing shops through to small grocers for everyday essentials.

Most of the hotel accommodation is within a short walk of Coimbra's centre and Coimbra A rail station and tends to be in the lower parts of the town along Avenida Fernao de Magalhaes and Aveninda Emidio Navarro.

Being cosmopolitan and studenty there is a strong human rights scene in Coimbra that encompasses awareness raising and support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in Coimbra - almost unheard of outside of Porto and Lisbon. The Nao Te Prives organisation hosts a variety of events throughout the year and around the annual Pride festival in Coimbra and in the Coimbra region although a full blown parade has not yet taken place. Galeria-Bar Santa Clara, Coimbra seems to be the usual venue for such events but there is as yet little information on gay friendly hotels, bars, etc in Coimbra itself.

Coimbra Fado

Coimbra is renowned for its particular style of Fado - a melancholy blues style of music. Coimbra's fado differentiates from the Lisbon style by its mournful pace and romantic or intellectual lyrics.

You are more likely to hear the music in the smokey bars in the Baixa district and it is a particular feature of the student celebrations in May during Queima das Fitas which includes a fado concert outside the Se Velha.

Coimbra's Gardens & Parks

There are several parks around Coimbra if you just want to sit and relax amongst the shade of the trees. The most notable is the Botanic Gardens on the western slope south of the university which are the largest in the country covering 20 hectares. These were founded by the influential statesman the Marques de Pombal in 1772-1774 and contain formal flowerbeds, a range of trees and plants from all over the world and ornate fountains. Nearby is the 16th century Sao Sebastiao aqueduct. Open Apr-Sep 9 am-8 pm, Oct-Mar 9 am-5.30 pm. Admission free.

Along the Rio Mondego is the Manuel Braga park, formal gardens with children's playground, cafes and kiosks.

Next to the Convento da Santa Clara-a-Velho is Portugal dos Pequenitos Parque, a miniature theme park containing scale models of Portugal's important buildings, monuments and Portuguese homes including some from the colonies. It was founded in 1940, and it is the work of architect Cassiano Branco. A great day out for the children and saves you having to trek round Portugal to see all the sights!

Coimbra Football Stadium

Coimbra's football stadium, Estadio Cidade de Coimbra, lies ten kilometres south-east of the town centre. It is home to division one club Academica Coimbra. Like most stadiums in Portugal it was refurbished in 2003 and is a 30,000 capacity stadium that also houses a nine-lane running track.

It is clearly signposted from the A1 and is about 140 kilometres from Porto's Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport.