Coimbra

The very lively old university city of Coimbra deserves an all-day visit. Coimbra was the capital of Portugal from the 12th to the 13th centuries. The first Portuguese university was established here in the 14th century, but was moved to Lisbon for a time. It was permanently returned to this city in 1537, and Coimbra has been the intellectual center of the country—indeed, of the whole Portuguese empire—ever since. The older town on the hill is the location of the majority of the sights. The original university buildings are here, alongside some rather prosaic newer structures. Retaining the old ways, some students can still be seen in traditional black capes bearing colorful ribbons corresponding to their faculty (medicine, law, etc.). The main university building has a large central patio, and the impressive library building is just outside. Just down the hill to the north you will find the Machado de Castro Museum with admirable collections of painting, sculpture, ceramics, and furniture, as well as a display of Roman antiquities. Slightly behind the museum is the old Cathedral (Se Velha), a good example of the Romanesque style from the 12th century and containing a fine Gothic retable in the soaring interior.A long walk down the hill past the old cathedral passes through the old part of the city, then the notable Almedina Gate and, beyond that, the lower town (the more modern part) along the Rua Ferreira Borges (on the north it becomes Visconde) where the main shopping area is situated. At the north end of the street is the Monastery of Santa Cruz (on the 8th of May Square), in whose church is the impressive tomb, among others, of Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. A bit to the east of the monastery is the large, colorful central market, worth a short visit.If you are traveling with children, you might enjoy a visit to the children’s park called Portugal dos Pequeninos (Children’s Portugal), a complex of miniature buildings representing the geographical styles of the whole country and of the former overseas empire. It is located across the Santa Clara Bridge over the River Mondego. In this same area is the Santa Clara-a-Nova Convent where the remains of Saint Queen Isabel (wife of King Diniz) lie in a silver tomb.