Kings, Scholars and Rebels Self Guided Tour of Coimbra

Stand at the triumphal arch that a Portuguese king built to rewrite his own dynasty's burial ground.

Order coffee beneath the soaring vaults of a church that once served as a hardware store.

Climb the stair locals call the Backbreaker and meet the bronze woman who once kept this city drinking.

Step inside a medieval watchtower where a doomed poet scrawled his name and a fado museum now whispers.

Look up at the crenellated parapets of the only Portuguese cathedral still dressed for battle.

Descend beneath a bishop's palace to the largest Roman structure in Portugal, built to flatten a hilltop

Cross the stairs Salazar built as a showcase and students turned into the stage of a national protest.

Pause under the iron gate every Coimbra student passes through twice, once to begin and once to burn.

Enter the courtyard where Portugal's first dynasty of kings was born and where rectors are still crowned.

Meet the two bat species who have worked the night shift among sixty thousand rare books for centuries.

Notice the armillary sphere above a chapel door that hides one of Europe's loudest Baroque organs.

Duck through the last surviving Moorish gate in Coimbra and find the legend of a princess carved above

Spot the Friar Killer whose statue rules the square where medieval traders paid their toll to enter Coimbra.

Linger on the bridge that has joined the two sides of Coimbra in three forms across five centuries.

Explore the ruins of a monastery the river swallowed, founded by a queen who turned bread to roses.

Wander the gardens where a royal romance ended in murder and a fountain still holds her tears.