Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Crowning Coimbra's steep hilltop is the university, around and below which lies a tangle
of old town lanes. The new town, locally called 'Baixa', spreads at the foot of the hill and
along the Rio Mondego.
Upper Town
Long a Moorish stronghold and for a century the seat of Portugal's kings, Coimbra's up-
per town rises abruptly from the banks of the Rio Mondego. The most picturesque way to
city's heavy-duty Moorish gateway - and up the staggered stairs known as Rua Quebra
Costas (Backbreaker).
People have been gasping up this hill (and falling down it) for centuries; local legend
says that it was the 19th-century writer Almeida Garrett who persuaded the mayor to in-
stall the stairs.
Up Rua Sub Ripas is the grand Manueline doorway of the early-16th-century
Palácio de
sance windows and stone ornaments are the work of Jean de Rouen, whose workshop was
once formed part of the town walls. This is soon to become the Museu da Guitarra do
Fado de Coimbra (Coimbra Fado Guitar Museum), which should be open by the time you
read this.
For a glimpse of student life, stroll along any of the alleys around the Sé Velha (old
cathedral) or below the Sé Nova (new cathedral). Flags, offbeat art and graffiti mark the
cramped houses known as
repúblicas
, each housing a dozen or so students from the same
region or faculty.
Velha Universidade
UNIVERSITY
(Old University;
www.uc.pt
; admission €7, incl tower €10; 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-4.30pm
Sat & Sun Nov-mid-Mar, 9am-7.30pm daily mid-Mar-Oct)
In every way the city's high point, the Old
University consists of a series of remarkable 16th to 18th-century buildings, all set around
Coimbra's Moorish stronghold. The highlight is the magnificent library.
