As the famous Fado singer Amália Rodrigues once sang “Coimbra is a lesson; of dream and tradition…”

Bathed by the waters of the Mondego, Coimbra is a true lesson about the history of Portugal.

Coimbra, which was the former capital of the kingdom, offers a variety of amazing monuments: from the world-famous University of Coimbra, to the Monastery of Santa Cruz, where the first two Kings of Portugal lie, along with the imposing Old Cathedral, several convents, monasteries, churches, and museums present themselves as worthy of a visit.

But Coimbra is also a lesson in tradition. In no other Portuguese city is the excitement of academic traditions to be seen, as much as in Coimbra. The Monumental Serenade, that marks the beginning of the academic celebrations, gathers hundreds of people next to the Old Cathedral, mesmerized by the beautiful ballads of the Coimbra Fado. In the magnificent university grounds, the bells of the University Tower have been regulating cadamedic life since the sixteenth century, in the City of Students, as Coimbras is known.

Immortalized by Fado, Coimbra is also “Capital of Love” in Portugal, as the gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas revive what is probably the most beautiful and tragic Portuguese love story, that of D. Pedro and Inês de Castro.

Experiencing all of this, those who visit Coimbra will surely learn to say SAUDADE!