The guide will pick you up at your hotel or meeting point and drive you to Coimbra, providing information about Portuguese history and culture during the journey.
The first stop on your experience will be a visit to the University of Coimbra, a 13th-century university, including the tower with a panoramic view, Pátio das Escolas, Sala dos Capelos, Chapel of São Miguel, and the Joanine Library.
You will also have the opportunity to explore the city, highlighting the Monastery of Santa Cruz, the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, and the Old Cathedral (Sé Velha).
Heading to Aveiro, you will experience a ride through the canals of Aveiro on a moliceiro, a traditional boat from the region, observing the city and its network of canals.
The last stop before returning to the city of Porto will be at Costa Nova Beach, famous for its wooden houses painted with colorful stripes.
Pickup included
our expert guide will collect you from your hotel/accommodation or meeting point and will drive you to Coimbra, your first stop! On your way, the guide will give you insights regarding the Portuguese history, development and cultural facts of portuguese heritage.
We begin this visit, precisely at the university founded in the XIIIth Century and which UNESCO has placed on its list of World Heritage sites, in a classification that also includes Rua da Sofia and the upper part of the city. It's well worth climbing its tower, which houses the bells that signal the start and end of classes, in order to appreciate the superb 360º view of Coimbra. But there is much to see at ground level, too: the Pátio das Escolas courtyard, the Sala dos Capelos hall where the most important ceremonies are held, the Chapel of São Miguel with an imposing Baroque organ and the Joanine Library, which has more than 300,000 works dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries arranged in beautiful gilt-covered bookcases. The buildings occupy the place of the Palace where the first Kings of Portugal lived, when they made the city the capital of the kingdom. Admission to the university and library is not included.
On the banks of the river Mondego, Coimbra is famous for its University, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe, which over time has shaped its image to become "the city of students". There are several monuments from those times that display the splendour of Romanesque art. In the shopping area and area of historic cafés in the City Centre, visitors really must see the Monastery of Santa Cruz, which houses the tomb of the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, and on the other bank, the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, recovered and rescued from the waters of the river that invaded it over the centuries. The Sé Velha (Old Cathedral), too, on whose steps the monumental serenade takes place in which students dressed in black capes sing the Coimbra Fado with heartfelt emotion. This is one of the events in the Queima das Fitas ritual (Burning of the Ribbons) every May, in which newly graduated students celebrate the completion of their course, at a very colourful party. This liveliness is felt throughout the year, however, in the many pubs, restaurants and “Repúblicas” (student residences), examples of community life.
Choose to be picked up from a list of locations
Centre located Hotels in Porto or Vila Nova de Gaia