Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you come by car, prepare for snarled traffic and scarce parking. The best free parking
near the Baixa is on the west bank of the river, in a dirt lot just across Ponte de Santa
Clara from Largo da Portagem. Nearer the university, free street parking is available on
side streets around Praça da República.
ELEVADOR DO MERCADO
The
elevador
(€1.60; 7.30am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-9pm Sun)
- a double elevator connected by
walkway, between the market and the university - can save you an uphill climb. Use city
bus tickets or buy a ticket from the lift operator.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Around Coimbra
Conímbriga
Hidden amid humble olive orchards in the rolling country southwest of Coimbra, Coním-
briga boasts Portugal's most extensive and best-preserved Roman ruins, and ranks with
the best-preserved sites on the entire Iberian Peninsula. It tells the poignant tale of a town
that, after centuries of security, was first split in two by quickly erected walls and then en-
tirely abandoned as the Roman Empire disintegrated.
History
Conímbriga actually dates back to Celtic times (
briga
is a Celtic term for a defended
area). But when the Romans settled here in the 1st century AD, it blossomed into a major
city on the route from Lisbon (Olisipo) to Braga (Bracara Augusta). Its prosperity is re-
vealed by well-to-do mansions carpeted with elaborate mosaics and scattered with foun-
tains.
In the 3rd century the townsfolk, threatened by invading tribes, desperately threw up a
huge defensive wall right through the town centre, abandoning the residential area. But
this wasn't enough to stop the Suevi (Sueves) seizing the town in 468. Inhabitants fled to
nearby Aeminius ( Coimbra ) - thereby saving Conímbriga from destruction.
Sights
