COIMBRA - Portugal - page 300

and a 50-minute show at 18:00, which includes a glass of port wine (€10). This is a nice
alternative to late-night shows, but can be popular with tour groups; reservations are smart
in summer for the evening show (just past the Arco de Almedina on Rua Quebra Costas
#7, tel. [phone]).
À Capella, on the hill above the Church of Santa Cruz, offers an intimate fado exper-
ience. The tiny chapel has been turned into a temple for Coimbra-style traditional music,
and it's fado every night all year long (three musicians perform from 22:30 to about 24:00,
but they often start late). Come for the music, the cool scene, and the snacks and drinks
(€10 cover, reservations smart in summer, at the triangular corner midway down the main
drag, climb the steep Rua do Corpo de Deus 100 yards until you see the old chapel on
your left, tel. [phone]). If you're coming to eat, note that the chapel opens nightly at
21:00 and serves snack-like meals at a fair price.
FadoDiligência is a bar famous for its informal music schedule—locals love to come
here and just jam (guitar and voice). It's a good spot for a folk or fado sing-along in a
warm, relaxed atmosphere. They even know a few Beatles tunes, so request your favorite
and take center stage if you're feeling bold. I'd eat elsewhere and come here for drinks.
There's a reasonable €5 minimum (shows daily 22:30-2:00 in the morning; from Praça 8
de Maio, take Rua Sofia to your second left, Diligência is 2 blocks up on your right at Rua
Nova 30; tel. [phone]).
More Fado: During the tourist season, you'll find sit-down fado nightly at the recom-
mended Restaurante Trovador. The mayor organizes Thursday street concerts that fea-
ture fado music through the summer. The Galeria Almedina, under the Arco de Almed-
ina, also puts on free fado shows (Sat in June-Aug, ask at TI for details). The recommen-
ded Café Santa Cruz, next to the Church of Santa Cruz, hosts live fado several nights a
week.
Parque Dr. Manuel Braga —Coimbra's inviting riverside park sprawls upstream from
the Santa Clara Bridge to the Pedro and Inês Bridge. You'll find boat tours, some recom-
mended restaurants, a strip of trendy evening spots, and the Portuguese Pavilion from the
Hannover Expo (2000 World's Fair in Hannover, Germany).
Little Portugal (Portugal dos Pequenitos) —Across the Santa Clara Bridge is a chil-
dren's (or tourists') look at the great buildings and monuments of Portugal and its former
empire in miniature, scattered through a park a couple of blocks south of town, straight
across the Santa Clara Bridge. Wanting to boost national pride, Salazar commissioned ar-
chitect Cassiano Branco to build these mini-replicas in 1940. If you've been through some
of Portugal already, it's fun to try and identify the buildings you've already seen and look
at what's to come.