Sightseeing in Coimbra – A Journey Through Time

📅 Itinerary Step into the heart of Portugal and discover Coimbra, a UNESCO-listed university town rich in history, charm, and tradition. 🕰️ Begin your day at Largo da Portagem, the perfect gateway into the city’s historic core. Wander through the Torre de Almedina and Porta de Barbacã, remnants of Coimbra’s medieval walls. ⛪ Don’t miss the Church of Santa Cruz, resting place of Portugal’s first kings, and take a moment to admire its stunning pipe organ. 💧 From there, stroll over to the elegant Fonte de Manga, a hidden Baroque fountain oasis. 🏰 Continue your journey to two iconic cathedrals — the Sé Nova, with its majestic Jesuit design, and the Sé Velha, a fortress-like Romanesque beauty. 📚 No trip to Coimbra is complete without visiting its crown jewel: the University of Coimbra, founded in 1290. The highlight? The breathtaking Joanina Library, a Baroque library that houses vast collection of books dating from the 16th to 18th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🌙 As night falls, take a quiet walk past the illuminated Roman Aqueduct at the outskirts. 🏨 Accommodation We stayed at ibis style centro. It is affordable and right smack in the middle of everything, thus making it easy to walk to places of interests and restaurants. 🍴 Food Recommendations Food is everywhere in Coimbra considered it’s a university town full of students. You will have food ranging from fast foods like Burger King, to bubble tea and ice cream shops. There’s 1 restaurant which stood out for me, which is Taberna Laura. The Chanfana is very delicious. The waiter is also very patient with us and explained the dishes that we were not familiar with. It’s so good we went back a second time. 📌 Tips We went there during May when the temperature is down, but it is still like an oven. There is not much sheltered area so please bring along a cap and sunblock. I was almost burnt even after putting on sunblock. For the library of Joanina, please book tickets way in advance and choose the later afternoon time slots as those are not very popular if you want to avoid the crowd. #travel #portugal #coimbra