One day in Coimbra
Coimbra, Portugal may be Portugal’s greatest hidden gem. While Porto and Lisbon are certainly more famous, if you are visiting Portugal I urge you not to miss out on Coimbra. The city is famous for its University – a reported inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. There’s much more than the University to see if you have one day in Coimbra. The city has two beautiful Cathedrals, one of Portugal’s most beautiful abandoned monasteries, excellent food and world-class museums. With one day in Coimbra we had limited time and only visited to following sights:
Coimbra University
Coimbra university is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. Over thime Coimbra has shaped its image to become “the city of students”. Coimbra University is an active University. If you go during the semester is you could be seeing students walking around in big groups wearing…Harry Potter costumes?! Nope! These were Coimbra’s robes long before Harry Potter!
Viewpoints
The city is located on a hill so many places uphill give phenamonal views over the river. The are no offical viewpoints but look around at the university, library or a restaurant and you will find one. Our hotel – Sapientia Boutique Hotel – had a rooftop view that was stunning.
Monastery of Santa Cruz
The Monastery of the Holy Cross (Portuguese: Mosteiro da Santa Cruz), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the status of National Pantheon.
Where to stay
Sapientia Boutique Hotel is a great place to stay if you’re looking for a hotel close to the very center of Coimbra – you can get there in just a few minutes on foot. Apart from that, however, the hotel has a lovely bar and a terrace, as well as a great restaurant. The rooms are all very well equipped because they all come with a kettle, a minibar, and even a safety deposit box, whereas some even have a complete kitchenette. The breakfast is also on a very high level, and the hotel even organizes things like wine tasting. Everything a hotel should have and more!
After Coimbra we continued or roadtrip that started in Lisbon, with a stop in Peniche to Porto.
