Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Roman Ruins
( 10am-7pm)
The sprawling Roman ruins (included in the admission fee for the town's
museum) tell a vivid story. On the one hand, their domesticity is obvious, with elaborate
mosaics, heated baths and trickling fountains that evoke delightful, toga-clad dalliances.
But smack through the middle of this scene runs a massive defensive wall, splitting and
cannibalising nearby buildings in its hasty erection to fend off raids.
It's the disproportionately large wall that will first draw your attention, followed by the
patchwork of exceptional mosaic floors below it. Here you'll find the fabulous
Casa dos Re-
puxos
(House of Fountains); though partly destroyed by the wall, it contains cool pond-gar-
dens, fountains and truly extraordinary mosaics showing the four seasons and various
hunting scenes. With a 50-cent coin you can turn on the fountains.
The site's most important villa, on the other side of the wall, is said to have belonged to
one Cantaber, whose wife and children were seized by the Suevi in an attack in 465. It's a
palace of a place, with baths, pools and a sophisticated underground heating system.
Excavations continue in the outer areas. Eye-catching features include the remains of a
3km-long aqueduct, which led up to a hilltop bathing complex, and the forum, once sur-
rounded by covered porticoes.
RUINS
Museu de Conímbriga
(
www.conimbriga.pt
; admission €4, free Sun before 2pm; 10am-7pm)
To get your head around Coním-
briga's history, begin at the small, somewhat old-fashioned museum. Displays present
every aspect of Roman life from mosaics to medallions. There's a sunny cafe-restaurant at
the back, open summer only.
MUSEUM
Getting There & Away
Buses run from Coimbra directly to the ruins (€2.30, 45 minutes) at 9am or 9.30am (only
9.30am on weekends). The return trip is at 12.45pm and 5.45pm (only 5.45pm on week-
ends). There are also half-hourly buses to Condeixa-a-Nova, which is a half-hour stroll
from the ruins.
Luso & Buçaco
A retreat from the world for almost 2000 years, the slopes of the Serra do Buçaco are now
home to the 105-hectare Mata Nacional do Buçaco (or Bussaco). Harbouring an astound-
ing 700 plant species, from huge Mexican cedars to tree-sized ferns, this national forest is
