Coimbra.
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Overview

Coimbra is the traditional capital city of Central Portugal's historic Beira Litoral region. With over 140,000 inhabitants (2021), it is the largest municipality there and one of Portugal's four largest metropolises. An important urban and administrative centre since the birth of the Portuguese nation, the city has amassed vast cultural and architectural heritage and is the seat of one of world's oldest universities, a .

Understand

Coimbra (koo-EEM-bruh, ) was settled by the Romans as Aeminium in the 1st century CE.

Get in

By plane The most convenient airports for Coimbra are (in order of distance): Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport - Porto Portela Airport - Lisbon

Coimbra has two main train stations:

By car The principal motorway serving Coimbra is the A1 (Autoestrada do Norte), with several exits that will be put you about 10 min away from the city centre. Driving from Porto takes about 1 hr, and Lisbon is about 2 hr away.

The A13 motorway (Autoestrada do Pinhal Interior) provides a link from Entroncamento and Tomar.

The A14 motorway (Autoestrada do Baixo Mondego) provides access from the coastal city of Figueira da Foz.

The IP3 road serves Chaves and Viseu.

Some buses (e.g. Flixbus) don't use the bus station, but leave from a parking lot further up the same road, underneath the flyover, opposite the Audi car showroom by the roundabout. Halfway between the bus station and Coimbra-B railway station. No ticket office. No benches. There is a bar just across the road and a 24 hour hamburger place 2 minutes away towards the town centre.

By shared shuttle There are a few companies providing door-to-door shared shuttle service to Coimbra from either Lisbon or Porto. It is a budget option with more personal service than the bus. You can get to Coimbra from your hotel in Lisbon or Porto with shared shuttle, and get off by the square Largo da Portagem, which is the area visitors ususally start their touring. If you are coming from airports, you can go with Coimbra airport shuttle. It is recommended to book ticket in advance to guarantee a seat.

Get around

By foot Most of the things to see and do in Coimbra and most of the places to eat, drink, and sleep are within reasonable walking distance of each other and of the rail station in Baixa. There are several hotels, restaurants, cafés, pastry shops, and nightclubs.

Most monuments are in Baixa and Santa Clara (across the Mondego river). Smaller shops, restaurants, and hotels are mostly in Baixa and Santa Clara. Major shopping malls are in Alta, by Solum, and near the municipal stadium/pool.

By bus The SMTUC (Serviços Municipalizados de Transportes Urbanos de Coimbra) operates several bus routes in and around Coimbra.

The "Pantufinhas" or Linha Azul (Blue Line) provides transport in the historical city centre, and a link between the lower and upper town.

By elevator There's an elevator (Elevador do Mercado) that connects Rua Padre António Vieira with Rua Olímpio Nicolau Rui Fernandes (next to Mercado Municipal D Pedro V). A valid SMTUC ticket is necessary to gain access.

By car Coimbra is a hard city to drive in as it was built around medieval structures. Also, finding a parking spot can be difficult. The best option for visiting Coimbra is to find a hotel with parking or to park near the city centre and then walk around. The main attractions are in the city centre and within walking distance of each other.

Coimbra Baixa is the lower city (downtown). Alta is the highest part of the city, which is also difficult to drive around.

See

University of Coimbra. Founded in Lisbon in 1290, the second oldest university on the Iberian peninsula eventually found a permanent home in Coimbra in 1537. Among the beautiful buildings on the campus is the Biblioteca Joanina library. The university enrolls over 20,000 students, and famous alumni include national poet Luís de Camões and Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar. It's been a since 2013.

Quinta das Lagrimas. It has a tragic story of love.

Estádio Cidade de Coimbra. One of the Euro 2004 sites.

Old Cathedral of Coimbra. A 12th-century Romanesque cathedral. In the 16th century, many Renaissance features were added.

New Cathedral of Coimbra de Coimbra. A late-16th- and 17th-century Mannerist and Baroque cathedral.

Monastery of the Holy Cross. Founded in 1131, this church is a national monument where Portugal's first two kings, Afonso Henriques and Sancho I, are buried. It was built in Romanesque style, and became Manueline over the centuries through renovations.

Old Monastery of Saint Clare. 13th-century Gothic monastery/convent on the bank of the River Mondego. It's a national monument.

Memorial da Irmã Lúcia. Dedicated to Sister Lúcia, one of three shepherd children who the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to at Fátima in 1917. She later became a Carmelite sister.

Parque Dr. Manuel Braga. City park on the Mondego River. Formerly property of the Benedictine monks. The park includes the Water Museum and several monuments.

Parque Verde do Mondego. City park by the Mondego River.

Penedo da Saudade. A beautiful garden.

Machado de Castro National Museum. Museum housing the sculpture of Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731–1822), among numerous other artworks. Collections include archaeology, sculpture, precious metals, jewellery, paintings, textiles, ceramics, furniture, and drawings. From the 12th century to 1910, the building served as the palace of the bishop of Coimbra.

Science Museum of the University of Coimbra. Scientific collections from the fields of botany, zoology, anthropology, mineralogy, astronomy, geophysics, physic, chemistry, and natural history. Some items date back to 1772 when reforms by the Marquis of Pombal lent importance to the study of sciences.

Do

Have a walk up to the top of University Hill from the Mondego river (one of the three great rivers of Portugal), a gorgeous view.

Portugal dos Pequenitos. A theme park containing child-sized recreations of Portuguese monuments and villages, including pieces from the islands and from Coimbra itself, as well as models of sights from former colonies. There's also a museum showing 300 scaled-down recreations of historical clothing.

Football: Académica de Coimbra were promoted in 2026 and now play soccer in Liga 2, the second tier. Their home ground Estádio Cidade de Coimbra (capacity 29,600) is central in New Town.

Fado There are two kinds of fado in Portugal: fado from Lisbon and fado from Coimbra, neither should be missed (fados are nostalgic songs accompanied by Portuguese guitar). Coimbra Fado group Verdes Anos

Student life There is always a lot going on in the student community, go and find out what's up. There are two student festivals held every year: Festa das Latas Queima das Fitas

Buy

The mediaeval centre of Coimbra is unusual in retaining a number of independent bookshops, boutiques, toy shops, galleries, antique and food shops. There are several bookstores, cafes, restaurants, esplanadas.

If you are even just a bit into pottery, the traditional pottery is a must.

Eat

Having a meal is not really a problem in Coimbra, since the city has a lot of restaurants, some featuring regional cuisine, in the old city (Baixa). Rua de Azeiteiras, a street in Baixa, has lots of nice traditional restaurants.

Budget Three reasonably big shopping centres serve the standard fast food meals you can find everywhere. They are located in key places in the city, but not necessarily close to the tourist attractions of the city.

Molho de Brocolos. Organic vegan food. Location isn't great tucked away at the back of the 2nd floor of a slightly run-down shopping centre, but the food and the staff totally make up for it.

Fangas Mercearia Bar. Small but tasty dishes, rich in flavour mainly because they use local products, good vegetarian even vegan choice, nice selection of Portuguese wines, surprising(ly good) desserts.

Itália. The Italian restaurant in the city park and over the river, very close to the Santa Clara bridge (very popular with tourists). You have a lot of outside tables, if the weather permits, and the food is prepared by Italian cooks. It's not very expensive either.

Zé Manel dos Ossos. A unique atmosphere inside the restaurant is responsible for this fame, but the food is good too. The walls of the restaurant are filled with small pieces of paper, with writings from clients. Be aware that it is quite a small space, so there's a big probability that you won't find a table. Generous portions and a charcoal grill that makes a big difference compared with the electric ones. Try the bone marrow stew (from which the restaurant takes its name) or the grilled seabass or a great dish of stewed octopus and potatoes.

Restaurante Vitória. Restaurante Vitória is in the city centre and has traditional dishes suchs as "cozido à portuguesa", "bacalhau assado na brasa", "chafana". Nice and quiet restaurant.

Salão Brasil. In the "baixinha" (downtown) centre. A unique room, with huge windows and very spacious, invites for a relaxed meal. The food is great with some unique dishes from around the country - like "Vitela Maronesa" and "Secretos de Porco preto". Vegetarian meals. During the weekends there is jazz, folk and fado concerts - most of them for free. It's great to finish your meal - you have plenty of time, Portuguese are always late - and get a concert right there. Sometimes they get very crowded.

A Taberna. If you want to try chanfana, one of the most famous dishes of the region, you should definitely go to this restaurant, close to the football stadium. This restaurant is specialized in a limited amount of dishes, but the quality of the food is just amazing. Go there at night, and try the chanfana, even though you may not have a clue about what this is. This is the place for those who really appreciate good food. Don't go too late at night, because it can be a little crowded. The restaurant is very good, and it's located in the most densely populated area of the city.

Toscana. Another very popular Italian restaurant, close to the new bridge. The decoration is great, with a lot of pictures from Florence, Venice, Rome. The quality of the food is quite high. It's definitely not your standard pizza.

O Telheiro. On the downside, it is very hard to get a table (but you will get one if you wait) and it is out of the centre of Coimbra (approx. 5 min from Coimbra B train station).

João dos Leitões. One of the most typical restaurants of the city. Its main dish is a roasted piglet served whole with potatoes and salad.

Drink

There is a lot of quality wine production in the regions surrounding Coimbra, try some Bairrada wine. Don't miss the licor beirão, a national sweet liquor drink created and made in the region. Try the different varieties of aguardente (firewater). One is made only from grapes while the other is made from mixed fruit. Each have a unique and different after taste.

Café Santa Cruz. A historical cafe next to the "Igreja de Santa Cruz" (Holy Cross Church).

The bars in the City Park are open all day long.

Night out The bars in the Parque Verde do Mondego are a good place to go for a drink during spring and summer. The bars around the Praça da República are full of the spirit of the students of the University, mainly during weekdays in autumn, winter and spring.

A warning: the students in this town seem to prefer Tuesday or Thursday night to go out. On weekends, this city is sleepy as many students go home to their families.

àCapella. A bar where you can find yourself surrounded by Portuguese guitar tunes and Fado de Coimbra. Get a grip of this so traditional local culture.

Bar Diligência. The oldest Fado House in Coimbra. Typical night bar where you'll find Fado de Coimbra and all kinds of Portuguese traditional music.

Salão Brazil. A restaurant but also a bar, most worthy during weekends, with - mostly - free jazz, folk and fado concerts.

Bar AAC. Coimbra University academic association bar. Entrance sometimes limited to University students.

Quebra. Nice location on the stairs leading to Se Velha. Open air concerts.

NB Club Coimbra. Disco near Praça da República.

Noites Longas. Disco near Praça da República, alternative sounding (metal, rock).

Sleep

Budget There are several cheap hostels around the city centre.

HI-Coimbra Pousada de Juventude. Youth hostel.

Residencial Gouveia. It offers rooms with free Wi-Fi and air conditioning (optional) and allows you to make reservations at the official site. It does not include meals.

Hotel Domus. They have cheaper rooms in another building just opposite.

Residencia Aeminium Coimbra. Great location near transportations and all main attractions.

Hotel Ibis Coimbra. It's a modern looking hotel with amazing features.

Oslo Hotel Coimbra. Near the train station and all main attractions. The staff are helpful and the view is nice.

Solar Antigo Luxury Coimbra. Hotel rooms, spread out across various buildings on a narrow street, incorporate original stone foundations.

Quinta das Lágrimas. The best and most expensive hotel in Coimbra. The hotel itself is a historical site. The hotel's restaurant may be the best restaurant in the city. It's the most expensive place in the city though... Be sure to wear your best clothes if you go there. It's a very fancy place.