Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
COIMBRA FADO
If Lisbon represents the heart of Portuguese fado music, Coimbra is its head. The 19th-century university was
male-only so the town's womenfolk, immortalised in song as
tricanas,
were of great interest to the student body.
Coimbra fado developed partly as a way of communicating with these heavily chaperoned females, usually in the
form of serenades sung under the bedroom window. For this reason, fado is traditionally sung only by men, who
must be students or ex-students.
The Coimbra style is considered more lyrical and pure than the Lisbon variety, though it was influenced over
the decades by musical traditions from all over Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world thanks to the varied
origins of the student body. It ranges from hauntingly beautiful serenades and lullabies to more boisterous
students-out-on-the-piss type of songs. The singer is normally accompanied by a 12-string
guitarra
(Portugese
guitar) and perhaps a Spanish (classical) guitar too. Due to the clandestine nature of these bedroom-window con-
certs, audience appreciation is traditionally indicated by softly coughing rather than clapping.
There are several excellent venues in Coimbra to hear fado. A couple of tracks to get you in the mood are:
'Balada da Despedida', the most famous of the farewell songs traditionally composed and sung by graduating
classes; and 'Canção de Embalar', by the legendary singer and antidictatorship activist José (Zeca) Afonso.
Drinking & Nightlife
Coimbra has some great bars. In the old town, around Praça da Sé Velha, students spill
da República is chock-full of bars and clubs.
Galeria Santa Clara
BAR, CAFE
( 239 441 657;
www.galeriasantaclara.com
; Rua António Augusto Gonçalves 67; 2pm-2am Mon-Fri, 2pm-3am
Sat & Sun)
Arty tearoom by day and chilled-out bar at night, this terrific place across the
Mondego has good art on the walls, a series of sunny rooms and a fine riverfront terrace.
It's got a great indoor-outdoor vibe and can feel like a party in a private house when
things get going.
Café Santa Cruz
CAFE
(
www.cafesantacruz.com
;
Praça 8 de Maio; 7.30am-2am Mon-Sat)
Few cafes in Portugal offer such an
atmospheric backdrop. The interior, set in a dramatically beautiful high-vaulted former
chapel, features stained-glass windows, graceful stone arches, and a Ché mosaic where the
altar would have been, while the outdoor patio area affords one of the city's best vantage
