Coimbra

Today was our biggest travel day to date (except Vancouver to Barcelona of course) as we headed from Porto to Sintra. We had decided to spend a few hours in a city halfway through our travels called Coimbra, most well known for their university. After saying goodbye to our lovely Airbnb host Julieta, we made our way to our next destination.

We quickly found a cafe where we could sit outside and truly embrace the Portuguese culture. We were surrounded by locals, men were getting their shoes shined, a church was beside us in the square, and young adults, dressed in black capes and ties as if they’ve walked out of a Harry Potter film set, beside the church, singing and playing a variety of instruments. We then headed to the main attraction, the University. A few things we have learned about Portuguese towns is that not only is there absolutely no grid system to the streets, but these streets are hilly. Coimbra was no exception, with the University perched on top of the hill, overlooking the city.

Built in 1290, it is evident how old this university is and incredible that students still study here. While we were there on a Saturday, there wasn’t too much student life, but we explored a few of the buildings. The Biblioteca Joanina was the most intriguing, filled with elaborate paintings on the ceiling and thousands of books that were centuries old. Apparently, this library also has a colony of bats that come out at night and feast on any insects that would destroy the books. We were fortunate to have the guide working there let us take photos despite the no photography sign.

After that, there wasn’t much else to see in Coimbra, and the weather agreed. It began to pour and we even saw lighting in the distance, perfect timing to catch our train to Lisbon, with a connecting train to start our time in Sintra.