Coimbra Self-Guided Walk, Coimbra, Portugal

This self-guided tour takes you from the old town up to the University of Coimbra, and then downhill again through beautiful gardens.

The walk is pretty comprehensive. You’ll see all the classic city highlights, plus some hidden gems along the route.

The main thing you don’t want to miss in Coimbra is the University of Coimbra, and I recommend seeing it on a guided tour for a more meaningful visit.

A beautiful river called Mondego runs through the city of Coimbra, dividing it into two parts connected by bridges.

The old University of Coimbra is also on the same side of the river. It sits on a hilltop, in a part of the city called Alta (high).

On this side you’ll find Largo da Portagem, the main square in the historic centre, which is the starting point of this tour.

It leads to the other side of the river where you’ll see Santa Clara Monastery on the top of another hill.

It then takes you uphill to the university, Coimbra’s most famous place to visit. It’s worth seeing inside the old buildings.

Other than that, depending on how much time you have, choose if you want to enter the churches, galleries, cafes, etc. mentioned in this walk.

If you enter many of these, the walk would be a bit intense for one day, but you can easily spread this walk over two days. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).