Coimbra

We were in Coimbra 10 years ago, and it was lovely to come back. Last time we shared the experience with Richard and Bugsy; this time, with the Campbell/Capocchis. We accidentally stayed in the same hotel. The hotel Oslo! Last time we were here, we drove in, drank our own body weight in white port and left! Managed to see more of the town this time.

It was the anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, when Portugal peacefully ousted the dictatorship, so the town was hopping.

Coimbra is home to the University of Coimbra, founded in 1290, and one of Europe’s oldest universities. There are grand courtyards, sweeping views, and the faint sense that someone nearby might break into Latin at any moment. In 1759, the country expelled the Jesuits from the campus, overturned canon law, and introduced science and medicine.

The Joanina Library was built in the 18th century, it’s all gilded wood, and painted ceilings, and shelves that look like they’ve been dusted by aristocrats rather than librarians. The books—some dating back centuries—are protected not just by careful climate control, but by a colony of bats. They quietly patrol at night, nibbling on insects that might otherwise snack on the collection.

Then there’s the delightfully odd Cabinet of Curiosities, within the university’s science museum. Think of it as a Renaissance collector’s fever dream: part science lab, part treasure chest, part “what on earth is that?” It is all slightly unhinged.

We had a wonderful meal in a quirky little restaurant down an alley called Cosy Corner after listening to a Fado concert in Cafe Santa Cruz, a cafe built in an old monastery.Read more