Coimbra
Camino Portugues
Coimbra is the third-largest city on the Camino Portugues and the former capital of Portugal during the 12th and 13th centuries. Even if you're not planning to stay, don't skip the walk through the old town — the concentration of history here justifies every step.
The Universidade de Coimbra, founded in 1290 and a UNESCO World Heritage site, dominates the hilltop. The Biblioteca Joanina is its crown jewel — a Baroque library of staggering excess, with gilded shelves, painted ceilings, and a colony of bats that are released each night to eat the insects that would otherwise devour the books. Visit early; the queues grow quickly and entry is timed.
Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, is buried in the Mosteiro de Santa Cruz in the lower town, as is his son Sancho I. The church facade is Manueline; the interior houses some of the finest azulejo panels in the country.
The Se Velha (Old Cathedral), a compact Romanesque fortress-church from the 12th century, sits on the hillside between the university and the river. It's the credential pickup point in Coimbra. The Se Nova (New Cathedral), former Jesuit church turned cathedral, stands above it — Baroque and Mannerist, with statues of Jesuit saints replaced by Peter and Paul after the Order's expulsion from Portugal.
Coimbra has its own fado tradition, distinct from Lisbon's. Here it's traditionally sung by male university students in black capes, and the songs tend toward melancholy and nostalgia for student days. You're most likely to hear it in the bars around the Se Velha on a weekend evening.
All services available. No pilgrim-specific albergue in the city centre yet — the Convento de Santa Clara on the south bank is the nearest option.
Fireworks on the 4th of July, in celebration of Queen Elizabeth of Portugal.
Coimbra served as Portugal's capital from 1131 to 1255, when Afonso III moved the court to Lisbon. The university, founded by King Dinis I in 1290, has been the intellectual heart of the country for seven centuries. It is the oldest university in the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the oldest in continuous operation in Europe.
The city's most famous love story is that of Pedro I and Ines de Castro. Pedro, then crown prince, fell in love with Ines, a Galician noblewoman serving as lady-in-waiting to his wife. When his father, Afonso IV, had Ines murdered in 1355 to prevent Castilian influence at court, Pedro launched a brief civil war. Upon becoming king, he allegedly had Ines's body exhumed and forced the entire court to kiss the hand of his dead queen. Their tombs face each other in the Mosteiro de Alcobaca, 100 km to the south, so that when they rise on Judgment Day, the first thing they'll see is each other.
If you are keen to pass through Coimbra, turn left after crossing the bridge and begin following the river walk. It will pass underneath the highway and then veer right to parallel a canal (on your left).
Stay on this paved road through a roundabout and soon you will have a different canal on your right. It remains a straight road until just before Adémia da Baixo, where it turns left. Cross the overgrown Rio Velho to the right into Adémia.
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