Conimbriga - Roman Ruins

Today we had a bit of a lazy morning. It was nice to just hang about and take it easy without having to be somewhere at a specific time. We decided that since public transport seemed practically non existent on a Sunday, we would order an Uber to take us to Conímbriga, about 16kms southwest of Coimbra. This went without a hitch, much to Ian’s delight, as it was his first time booking an Uber. In fact, our driver was quite an interesting young man, who was very talkative. He has aspirations to travel to Australia someday. He has finished university, where he studied to be an art historian, and he has worked in his field in both Lisbon and Porto (his home town) but now resides in Coimbra. He was also an aspiring artist, writer and musician.

We decided to have lunch before exploring the ruins, so ate at the restaurant that was part of the small museum located at the ruins. It was surprisingly good. I had fish and, and Ian had grilled chicken, washed down by a glass of wine. Once we were well nourished, we headed out to explore the ruins, which are said to be Portugal’s most extensive Roman ruins, and one of the best preserved sites on the Iberian Peninsula. The mosaic work on the floors, much of it still in tact, was amazing, and the size of the site is quite phenomenal. Established a few years BC, after about 500 years of living peacefully and prospering, the town was subjected to raids (there is evidence of a hastily built massive defensive wall built through the middle of the town). It was totally abandoned when the Roman Empire disintegrated.Read more