COIMBRA - Portugal - page 280

Car Rental: Avis has a tiny office in Station A (Mon-Fri 8:30-12:30 & 15:00-19:00,
closed Sat-Sun, tel. [phone], toll-free tel. [phone]), InterRentCar has one
in Station B (Mon-Fri 9:00-13:00 & 15:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-13:00, closed Sun, tel.
239-496-559), and Hertz is near the bus station at Rua Padre Estevão Cabral (tel.
239-834-750).
BusTickets: The InterVisatravelagency sells Intercentro company international tickets
to Salamanca, Spain (€36), and beyond. They charge a small commission, but it's
worth it (Mon-Fri 9:00-12:30 & 14:30-18:30, closed Sat-Sun; Avenida Fernão da
Magalhães 11—leaving Station A, walk 100 yards to your left, then take the first left;
tel. [phone]).
Local Guides: While the city doesn't offer walking tours, the TI has a list of private
guides, such as CristinaBessa (mobile [phone], [e-mail] ) , Maria
Jose Fernandes (mobile [phone], [e-mail] ), and Rosa Lopez
(mobile [phone], [e-mail] ) . Local guides charge €100 for a
half-day tour.
Getting Around Coimbra
If you're arriving by train at Station B, you'll need to take the free shuttle train to
Station A (see “Arrival in Coimbra,” earlier), which is within about a 10-minute walk of
everything I've listed.
While most visitors do the entire city on foot, taxis are cheap (around €4-5 for a short
ride) and a good option if you've been up and down too many hills.
The cute little electric minibus (nicknamed pantufinhas, or “grandma's slipper”) is si-
lent and easy; it's designed to get grandmas—and anyone else—up and down the steep
hills of the old town. It makes a continuous 20-minute loop through the lower old town
(Baixa) and around the upper old town (Alta), passing through Largo da Portagem, down
the pedestrian shopping lane to Praça 8 de Maio, and by the old cathedral. There are no
regular stops—you just wave it down to get on, and tell the driver when you want off (pay
driver €1.50, or use a multiple-ride pass—described next).
Local buses are expensive (€1.50, better-value 3-ride pass-€2, 11-ride pass-€6.10, no
time limit, sharable, also a €3.20 one-day pass, all are sold at kiosks). These passes are
also valid for Coimbra's Elevador do Mercado from Mercado Municipal to the top of
town (described on here ).
Metro Mondego, a new light-rail system starting at Station B and mostly serving the
suburbs, is scheduled to begin running sometime in the next few years.