Portugal is the perfect destination to travel with friends, or in a group. “Portugal is small but bully.” There are a lot of places that are real gems.
We introduce you to Coimbra.
El Fado de Coimbra is a highly stylized genre of fado music originated in Coimbra. According to tradition, to applaud fado in Lisbon one would clap his hands, while in Coimbra cough as if clearing the throat is the typical way.
In addition, Coimbra has a contemporary music, boasting several live music venues, and some of the most popular clubs and music festivals in Portugal.
. Students Festivals
Coimbra is also known for its university students’ festivals. Two are held every year. The first one, Latada or Festa das Latas («The Tin Can Parade») is a homecoming parade that occurs at the beginning of the academic year, and is a welcome to the new university students (Caloiros).
The Festa das Latas goes back to the 19th century when the Coimbra students felt the need to express their joy at finishing the school year in as loud a way as possible, using everything at their disposal that would make noise, namely tin cans. The highlight of this festival, which now takes place at the beginning of the academic year (November) is the special parade known as the Latada. After marching through the streets of the city the new students are «baptized» in the Mondego River thus entering into the Coimbra academic fraternity.
The second one, Queima das Fitas («The Burning of the Ribbons»), takes place at the end of the second semester (usually in the beginning of May) and it is one of the biggest student parties in all Europe.
. Music acts
Coimbra has a lively music scene that caters for most tastes with lots of festivals and events beyond the academic festivals and the traditional Coimbra fado genre. It includes several live music venues, and some of the most popular club nights and music festivals in Portugal.
This so musical town, Coimbra, is located on a hill by the Mondego River. It is a small, university city, which oozes history in every corner and in which can eat wonderfully. Also we discover an excellent gastronomy. It has numerous restaurants and taverns of the most interesting. It has a good handful of pastelarias ‘pastry shops’ (as they are called in Portuguese) in which to drink one of the many types of coffee served in the country accompanied by a delicious sweet. Both for breakfast, and at mid-afternoon on a terrace while listening to one of the university musical groups that brighten its streets, anyone who visits the city cannot stay without sweetening his life in one of those flag patisseries.
. Parks and gardens
Coimbra has many attractive and pleasant green spaces such as parks, playgrounds, gardens and forests. The most famous park in the city is probably the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, the fifth oldest in the world. The Portugal dos Pequenitos park is an educational theme park built during the Estado Novo. Its buildings are scale copies of Portuguese architectural landmarks and were completed in the 1950s.
The city’s green areas also include the Mata Nacional do Choupal, the Mata Nacional de Vale de Canas, Jardim da Sereia (also known as Jardim de Santa Cruz), Penedo da Saudade, Manuel Braga Park, Verde Park do Mondego and Choupalinho. Quinta das L tears, a 19th-century palace and estate, which was transformed into a hotel and golf resort, also contains a large park. Also noteworthy is the Paul de Arzila, a natural reserve occupying an area in Coimbra municipality (in Arzila), and in the neighborhood municipalities of Condeixa-a-Nova and Montemor-o-Velho.
Iberinbound iberinbound@iberinbound.com is a leading incoming travel agency for Student and Educational Tours in Spain and Portugal, providing tailor-made trips at lowest rates. Thanks to our long experience, we have special rates for accommodation and visits for students groups. Each year hundreds of students are travelling with us. Moreover, we have designed a large range of programs and study visits especially for our groups. All our tours are tailor-made to each School, High School or University group’s requirements.