Coimbra Tourist Attractions
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Top Tourist Attractions in Coimbra
Rich in tradition, the old University town of Coimbra (altitude: 75-100m/250-330ft), principal town of its own district and the see of a bishop, lies halfway between Lisbon and Oporto in the hilly country of Beira Litoral.
Praça do Comércio
To the west of the Rua Visconde da Luz lies the Praça do Comércio, the town's old market place. Nowadays one of the most impressive squares in Portugal, it is well worth lingering in a street cafe and looking at the facades of the nearby houses which have long been home to artisans and craftworkers.
Sao Tiago
At the northern end of the Praça do Comércio stands the Romanesque church of Sao Tiago, founded by Fernando the Great in the 11th C. in thanksgiving for the reconquest of the town from the Moors. The church has a plain timber ceiling.
Convento de Santa Cruz
The former Augustinian monastery of Convento de Santa Cruz contains the tombs of early Portuguese kings.
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Town Hall
The whole of the north wing of the Convento de Santa Cruz is now occupied by the town hall, the Câmara Municipal.
Arco de Almedina
The Upper Town is reached on foot by turning south down the Rua Visconde da Luz and then turning left, beside number 75, through the Arco de Almedina. The arch is a relic of the Moorish town walls. The Gothic two story tower built over it in the 15th C. was occupied by a municipal court in the 16th C. and now houses a Museum of Ethnography.Arco de Almedina was named in the period when Portugal was ruled by arabs in the 11th C.
Paco de Sobre-Ripas
North of the Arco de Almedina in the Rua de Sobre-Ripas is the 16th C. palace of the same name which has a fine Manueline portal.
Old Cathedral
A stepped lane leads up to Sé Velha, the old cathedral, a fortress-like structure built in the reign of Afonso I Henriques (12th C.), with a plain exterior, crenellated walls and a massive Romanesque west doorway. Only the Porta Especiosa, a richly decorated early Renaissance doorway on the north side of the church, relieves the sombre effect of the exterior.The Romanesque interior, with three aisles, is strikingly impressive. The most notable features are a number of fine tombs, including that of Bishop Almeida (16th C.); the large Late Gothic high altar, with representations of the Assumption by two Flemish masters, Oliver of Ghent and John of Ypres; and the Renaissance font (16th C.). From the south aisle a flight of steps leads up to the Early Gothic cloister (13th C.).In the square in front of the Old Cathedral Dom Joao was proclaimed King of Portugal in 1385.
New Cathedral
From the north side of the Old Cathedral in Coimbra the steep Rua do Cabido goes up to the Largo da Feira, which has been considerably enlarged in recent years. On the north side of the square stands the Sé Nova, the new cathedral. Originally constructed for the Jesuits, building was begun in the late 16th C. but work continued well into the 17th C. and, with the banishment of the Jesuits, it was raised to cathedral status in 1772. It has a handsome Early Baroque facade and, inside, barrel vaulting, Baroque altars and a 17th C. organ.
Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
On the west side of the Largo da Feira, in the former Bishop's Palace (rebuilt in the late 16th C.) and in the church of Sao Joao, is the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, named after the Coimbra-born sculptor Machado de Castro (1736-1828) and containing Roman material from excavations, medieval sarcophaguses, Romanesque and Gothic sculpture in stone and wood, goldsmiths' work, furniture, tapestries, porcelain, paintings of the 16th-18th C. (including some notable Flemish pictures), a special section devoted to work by modern Portuguese painters and a department of religious art.From the double loggia in the beautiful courtyard there is a very fine view of the town.
Modern University Buildings
To the south of the Largo da Feira, within the area once occupied by the castle, are the imposing modern buildings of the University; to the east the Faculty of Medicine, adjoining it on the right the Faculty of Arts, with a small archeological museum, and the library (Biblioteca Geral).The Universidade de Coimbra is one of the oldest educational establishments in Portugal.
Old University
To the west, on the highest point of the upper town, where the royal palace (now represented only by a Manueline doorway) once stood, is the Old University, partly rebuilt in the 17th and 18th C., with the earlier Porta Férrea ("iron gate", 1634) leading into the fine courtyard. Enclosed on three sides by buildings, it has a terrace on the south side from which there is a magnificent view.On the north side is the actual Old University building, the Colégio, with the Chancellery and the Law Faculty, and, up flights of steps, the "Via Latina" colonnade where once only Latin was allowed to be spoken. On the east side of the courtyard is the observatory (Observatório) and on the west the University Church, built in 1517-52 as the palace chapel, with a 33m/110ft high tower (1733) and an adjacent small museum of sacred art.
Old Library
Adjoining the church is the sumptuous Old Library, built 1716-23 on the model of the Court Library in Vienna (Joao V's queen, Ana Maria, being Austrian). It has ceiling and wall paintings by António Simoes Ribeiro and valuable furniture with intarsia decoration. Its 300,000 books and 3,000 medieval manuscripts come from all parts of Portugal and since 1910 can only be viewed with a special permit.
Jardim Botânico
Go through the Porta Férrea and straight on to the Praça de Dom Dinis then down the steps and under the 16th C. aqueduct to arrive at the entrance to the Jardim Botânico, the botanic gardens, commissioned by Marquês de Pombal and laid out in terraces on the slopes of a side valley of the Mondego, with large numbers of subtropical plants.
Penedo da Saudade
Northeast of the Jardim Botânico is Penedo da Saudade, traditionally a meeting place for the students but above all a superb viewpoint.
Convento de Santa Clara-a-Velha
On the left bank of the Mondego, to the left of the Lisbon road, are the partly sunken ruins of the Gothic Convent of Santa Clara-a-Velha, founded in 1286, which has gradually been destroyed by the flooding of the river. Here the saintly Queen Isabel (1271-1336) spent the last ten years of her life and here she was buried, as was the murdered Inês de Castro, Pedro I's secret bride. Their remains were moved elsewhere after the destruction of the convent.
Quinta das Lágrimas
About 1km/0.5mi east of the Convento de Santa Clara-a-Velha along the Rua António Augusto Gonçalves is Quinta das Lágrimas, the "villa of tears", where Inês de Castro is said to have been murdered in 1355. The Fonte dos Amores, the "lovers' fountain", in the park recalls her tragic love story.
Portugal dos Pequenitos Parque
Opposite the old Santa Clara Convent can be found Portugal dos Pequenitos, a miniature village established in 1940, with reproductions of the country's most important buildings and of typical homes and buildings from the former colonies. The garden setting makes a visit here enjoyable for adults as well as children.
Convento de Santa Clara-a-Nova
Since the old Convent of Santa Clara was almost completely destroyed in the 17th C. a new convent, the Convento de Santa-Clara-a-Nova, was built between 1649 and 1696 to the right on the Monte da Esperança. It is possible to visit the convent church, cloister and the rooms containing a small military museum. The other buildings now serve as a barracks. The Renaissance convent church is dedicated to St Isabel, wife of King Dinis and Coimbra's patron saint, and contains her silver shrine (1614) which was originally in the old convent and was transferred here to its current position in the choir by Pedro II at the end of the 17th C. St Isabel's empty stone sarcophagus is also worth seeing. Dating from the early 14th C. it is borne on six crouching lions, with the recumbent figure of the queen dressed in the simple habit of the Poor Clares but wearing a crown to show her rank.
Map of Coimbra Attractions
Map - Coimbra
