Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lines contrast with the gilt side panels and ornate baroque altarpiece. Down the side is a
gallery of reliquaries featuring bones and worse from minor saints and bishops, including
St Francis Xavier and, harder to believe, St Luke. Climb to the platform for uplifting city
views.
Museu da Ciência
MUSEUM
( 239 854 350;
www.museudaciencia.org
;
Largo Marquês de Pombal; adult/student €4/2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
This wonderful science museum occupies a centuries-old former monastery converted by
Pombal into the university's chemical engineering building. It features intriguing state-of-
the-art interactive science displays coexisting with 18th-century lab sinks; don't miss the
giant glowing globe in a room paved with medieval stones, or the psychedelic insect's-eye
view of flowers. Displays are in English/Portuguese. There's also a great cafe with terrace
and views down to the new town. A combined ticket including the Velha Universidade
costs €9, a €2 saving.
Baixa & Around
Igreja de Santa Cruz
(Praça 8 de Maio; adult/student €2.50/1.50; 9am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Sat, 4-5.30pm Sun)
From the trendy
shops outside, this church plunges you back to Portugal's past. Step through the Renais-
sance porch and flamboyant 18th-century arch to discover some of the Coimbra School's
finest work, including an ornate pulpit and the elaborate tombs of Portugal's first kings,
Afonso Henriques and Sancho I. The most striking Manueline work is in the restrained
16th-century cloister.
tain: a lemon-yellow, four-buttressed affair.
CHURCH
Núcleo da Cidade Muralhada
MUSEUM
& Torre de Almedina
( 239 833 771;
www.cm-coimbra.pt
;
Pátio do Castilho; adult/student €1.80/1.20; 10am-1pm & 2-6pm Tue-Sat)
Housed in the medieval tower directly above the Arco de Almedina, this historical mu-
seum displays a plaster reproduction of Coimbra's old-town layout, complete with castle.
