Coimbra Self-Guided Walking Tour

Founded in 1131, the Monastery of Santa Cruz holds the tombs of Portugal's first two kings, Afonso Henriques and Sancho I. Travellers pause outside its ornate 16th-century facade on Praça 8 de Maio, in the heart of the lower town, and hear the story of how the walk up to the university begins here.

The Almedina Gate and Tower is the main surviving entrance to Coimbra’s medieval walled town. Its name comes from the Arabic word for the city, and the arch marks the boundary between the flat riverside Baixa and the steep upper town. Travellers pass beneath it on the climb toward the cathedrals.

Coimbra’s Old Cathedral was built in the 12th century, when the city was Portugal’s capital and still close to the frontier. Its thick walls, narrow windows and battlements make it look more like a fortress than a church, and it is one of the best preserved Romanesque cathedrals in the country.

The University of Coimbra, founded in 1290, occupies a former royal palace on the highest point of the city and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Travellers enter the Paço das Escolas courtyard through the Porta Férrea, the Iron Gate, with the baroque library and clock tower ahead.

The New Cathedral began as the church of the Jesuit college in the late 16th century and became Coimbra’s cathedral in 1772, after the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal. Its tall Mannerist and baroque facade faces a square just below the university.

The Monumental Stairs are the long straight flight of steps that students climb between the lower town and the university quarter. Laid out in the 20th century as part of the remodelling of the university area, they give a clear view back down over the rooftops of Coimbra.

Also known as the Arcos do Jardim, the São Sebastião Aqueduct was rebuilt in the late 16th century to carry water to the upper town. Its long line of arches runs beside the Botanical Garden below the university, and travellers walk along them from the street.

Praça da República is the square where Coimbra’s student life spills onto the street, ringed by cafés, bars and the terraces used by the university’s student associations. The walk ends here, with time to sit down before heading back into the city.