Conimbriga

Only 2km/1.25mi southeast of Condeixa lies the extensive site of the Roman town of Conimbriga, founded in the second century B.C. and destroyed by the Suevi in A.D. 468. Although still being excavated, it is already clear that this settlement, to which present day Coimbra owes its name, constitutes the largest Roman site in Portugal.

The town was secured by a wall about 2km/1.25mi long, and some of it, dating from the A.D. third century, still remains. The many ruins of houses, baths and fountains, and their mosaics, some of which are quite well preserved, are testimony to the wealth and good taste of Conimbriga's inhabitants. The third century "House of Fountains" is especially well worth seeing. The mosaics depict hunting scenes, dolphins and Perseus with the head of Medusa (it may be possible to persuade the attendant to turn on the fountains which date from Roman times).