Location: Coimbra
Top Things to do in Coimbra
- 1. Biblioteca Joanina
- 2. Fado ao Centro
- 3. Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
- 4. Biblioteca Joanina - Universidade de Coimbra
- 5. University of Coimbra
- 6. Universidade de Coimbra Alta & Sofia
- 7. Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Velha
- 8. Igreja e Mosteiro da Santa Cruz
- 9. Chapel of St Michael
- 10. Old Cathedral of Coimbra (Se Velha de Coimbra)
Countries
10 Things to Do in Coimbra That You Shouldn't Miss
Coimbra (Portuguese pronunciation: [kuˈĩbɾɐ, ˈkwĩbɾɐ]; Proto-Celtic: *Corumbriga)) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of 319.40 square kilometres (123.3 sq mi). The fourth-largest urban centre in Portugal (after Lisbon, Porto, Braga), it is the largest city of the district of Coimbra, the Centro region and the Baixo Mondego subregion. About 460,000 people live in the Região de Coimbra, comprising 19 municipalities and extending into an area 4,336 square kilometres (1,674 sq mi).
Restaurants in Coimbra
1. Biblioteca Joanina
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 423 reviews
Reviewed By John P - Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom
This is an absolute must see if you are anywhere near the university. Such a shame that cameras cannot be used (probably due to the numbties who do not know how turn off the flashing their camera/phone)
2. Fado ao Centro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Fado ao Centro is a Cultural Association of Fado from Coimbra, opened from Monday to Sunday (10am to 7pm). Located in the historical center of Coimbra (Rua Quebra Costas),the entrance to the photo exhibition about Coimbras University tradition & informations are for free. Also have Fado shows everyday, with a recreation of a Live Serenade, that everyone can experience for a small amount of money! A magical space with a unique atmosphere were you can find the most genuine and traditional Fado from Coimbra everyday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Only the best musicians of the city play in Fado ao Centro and they are selected according to the highest standards of this 160 year old tradition. Even if you can't witness the concert, don't miss the oportunity to visit our space and get to know a little bit more about Fado from Coimbra. There are always musicians playing and rehearsing so you can change experiences and learn more about the Portuguese Guitar and this unique musical tradition. Bewtween 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. we have the "Afternoon Rehearsals" with our regular musicians. You can always pass by, watch them play and anyone that want's to bring their own instrument is also welcome to join! At 6:00 p.m. we start our daily 50 minute long concert of Fado from Coimbra. If you are interested in attending our concert, we strongly advise you to make a reservation in order to ensure your seat. We don't serve any kind of food, so we are totally committed to the concert itself, enabling a genuine atmosphere and unique cultural and musical experience in Coimbra! Following the work that has been held by this Cultural Association, you'll find different exclusive editions of books, CDs and DVDs related to Fado from Coimbra. Fado ao Centro(R) is, undoubtedly, a place to visit in Coimbra!
Reviewed By John I - Taipei, Taiwan
Our family of 4 (with two teenagers) caught the show on Christmas Eve. Am a huge fan of Brazilian music and wanted to sample a different kind of Portuguese language music. While I don't see myself becoming a Fado aficionado, this was a great show. The musicians were very tight (the Portuguese guitar is super sexy) and the show was a nice mix of music and history. That they described everything both in Portuguese and English was key for us. At an hour, was the right length for our finicky teenagers.
3. Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 510 reviews
Reviewed By MarKno - Koksijde, Belgium
The museum Machado de Castro is enlisted on the Unesco World Heritage list and covers about 20 centuries. We had only a few hours to discover it but its extensive reach makes it impossible to properly digest everything.
You start underground in the mind blowing Roman cryptoporticus. These two layer galleries are remarkably intact/restored. The cryptoporticus supported the above ground Roman buildings (Forum). Coming above ground you can visit the archaeological collection which comprises elements excavated from the cryptoporticus but also from other parts of the country.
After that we jump a few centuries and can admire collections of sculptures, paintings, textiles, precious metals and ceramics from medieval times onwards to basically the 18th century.
Also to be seen are the remains of a medieval cloister and church.
The museum offers a buffet type of restaurant at very democratic prices. For the less valid people elevators are foreseen to help them going through the many levels of the building.
I would recommend you take a full day to visit and take a lunch at the museum.
4. Biblioteca Joanina - Universidade de Coimbra
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By Jegsy - Osaka Prefecture, Japan
I'm not sure why this has been separated from the Science Museum and the remaining university sites, as it is part of the combined ticket for which you are charged admission; there is no way in which to visit the library in isolation, though you can choose a cheaper ticket that excludes the library. When you purchase this combined ticket, you are allotted a slot to visit the library in a small group, and also given another time slot to visit the Science Museum.
Immediately after purchasing my ticket, I wished I hadn't. I wasn't fond of this site being a tourist attraction, as it's right in the middle of a functioning university, so you have tourists in big groups wandering about the place gawping at students, who clearly don't appreciate the intrusion. Who can blame them?
The library tour itself has three stages or maybe four, as the first part was standing outside in the rain with a group of people waiting to be let in by a surly member of staff. All the staff are surly, and I can't say I blame them either. The first stage involves an uninteresting perusal of the academic prison, less interesting than it sounds, as it wasn't full up with sweaty palmed professors, but empty cells, of which I've seen not dissimilar on Airbnb. Still, everyone got their photos.
Up a flight of stairs for stage 2, which is an interesting display of works by the great symbolist poet Camilo Pessanha. This appeared to displease many of the group I was with, as they didn't come here to inspect actual books and read about writers in a library of all places. Nevertheless, there was still the essential selfies and photos being taken and impatience shown towards those daring to show interest in the displays.
With much of the group getting impatient to get to the main event, a second surly guide informed us individually that there we had 10 minutes in the library, but there were to be no pictures taken. She could've stopped there and it would've made my day without even seeing the library, but my joy was not shared with my snap happy cohort who were much distressed by this invasion of touristic civil liberties.
The library itself is indeed special decoratively, but rather small, and, if you've seen the Bodeleian, a little underwhelming in terms of the volume of books and grandeur (presumably as it's no longer a working library and merely a tourist trap). Pleasant enough, and entertaining to watch the frustration of the photo sanctions, which of course were eventually surreptitiously broken.
The rest of the ticket includes access to the chapel, where you can stand behind tourists taking photos and chatting loudly, and the several other rooms in the main building, where you can repeat the exercise. I was baffled by the conflicting directions regarding the Science Museum and gave it a pass.
Overall, as previously mentioned, I'm not fond of working/study environments being tourist sites, and felt uncomfortable throughout, but presumably, just as Oxbridge swells its abundant coffers with tourist cash, Coimbra does much the same regardless of the feelings of students and staff. As you may note from the graffiti dotted about the city, it's not gone unnoticed, and is not welcomed by some, and given some of the pushy shovy must get a photo at all costs behaviour I saw, I felt ashamed to be complicit.
5. University of Coimbra
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By Onndrej - Istanbul, Turkey
Coimbra would be place with no reason to visit, if there is no university. University has quite some history, very nice library and interesting museum of science. What bit irritates me is in how bad shape are areas right after the corner of official visitors route (meaning areas for standard students)...one example - there are 2 toilets 10 meters from each other...one for general public - renovated, one with sign “students only” really bad one... I would expect that University should mainly serve students and not be Potemkin’s village for tourists...
6. Universidade de Coimbra Alta & Sofia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 445 reviews
Reviewed By Bunichka - New York City, New York
The big highlight here is the Library. Its main room has a high ceiling covered with gorgeous paintings and long rows of beautiful books. Once you enter the main hall it is very impressive.
Except from the library, we have visited the Physics museum where we saw physics labs from the 18th and the 19th century. That was pretty cool.
7. Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Velha
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 565 reviews
Reviewed By Fiona C - Glasgow, United Kingdom
The Mosteiro itself has been painstakingly restored, having been flooded in the past. It is a very atmospheric old place. There is a centre at the entrance - very modern concrete design - containing an interesting exhibition about the Mosteiro, as well as exhibition space for other works and a nice cafe with outdoor Terrace overlooking a pond towards the Mosteiro some distance away.
8. Igreja e Mosteiro da Santa Cruz
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 457 reviews
Reviewed By solomon5 - Florida
There are a lot of churches, monasteries, and religious buildings in Portugal. This is one you should not miss. It is famous for having the tombs of the first two kings of Portugal. They are on the main altar of a lovely church, but there...MoreObrigado pela sua visita e feedback tão positivo.
9. Chapel of St Michael
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 187 reviews
Reviewed By Ann T - Melbourne, Australia
This is the Chapel of the University of Coimbra and you can access it as part of a combined tour ticket that also takes you to the brilliant Joannine Library. It's well worth visiting the chapel and if you aren't in a tour group, if you lucky you'll be able to listen and get some history at the same time you're admiring the design work.
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 820 reviews
Reviewed By BKandCB - Santa Fe, NM
We stopped here when we were in Coimbra and felt it was a wonderful and historic place of worship that offers a look at the strong Moorish influence. The lovely Mudejar tiles from Seville and carved retablos are a reminder of its ancient beginnings. The cloisters are a pretty place to wander before leaving this Romanesque beauty! It's amazing how well preserved these old buildings are throughout Portugal.....very impressive. There is an entrance fee but well worth it.
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