The Almedina arch and tower are two surviving monuments from the former Coimbra city wall. In the 12th. century, Coimbra  became the capital of the newly-founded kingdom and the castle keep was built at the top of a hill (the present-day Largo D. Diniz). The Porta do Sol, one of the main entrances to the city, was situated here. On the Barbacã gateway, the bases of the two horseshoe arches of the old double gateway to the Muslim city can still be seen. (Núcleo da Cidade Muralhada; Oct. to Mar. 10 am -1 pm and 2 pm – 6 pm; Apr. to Sept. 11 am -1 pm and 2 pm – 7 pm; closed on Sundays and Mondays)

A typically Art Nouveau building with an iron structure. Nowadays it is a museum centre containing paintings, sculpture, Chinese porcelain and Portuguese and Indo-Portuguese furniture.

This cathedral dates from 1598 and took a century to build. The façade shows evidence of the prolonged construction work: during the first phase the outlines were distinctively classical, whereas the second phase is more Baroque in style. Important features in the interior of the church include the late 17th. century gilded wooden altarpiece in the chancel, the 17th. century pau preto choir stalls, the Manueline baptismal font from the old Coimbra Cathedral and the imposing Neo-Classical 18th. century organs. (Largo da Sé Nova. Tues. to Sat. 8.30 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 6 pm. Closed on Sundays, Mondays and state holidays)

The most important and best-preserved example of Romanesque architecture in Portugal. At first sight, it is sturdy and robust, and its crenellated walls give the impression of a fortified building. The façade has a doorway with carved receding arches and a large window above it in the same design.
The large interior has three naves, the central nave being covered by a barrel vault. The side vaults are lower and the semicircular arches are supported by numerous columns. At the top stands the chancel with a wooden altarpiece and two other chapels. There are also other chapels and tombs of important figures from the Middle Ages.
The cloister is a later, Gothic, addition and consists of a series of five-pointed arches encompassing twin rounded arches crowned with an eye window. Despite the Gothic style, the cloister retains an air of Romanesque simplicity.

Work began on this 17th. and 18th. century Baroque building in 1649. Important features inside the church include the gilded wooden chancel altarpiece, where the silver and crystal tomb of the Queen Saint lies, and an image of Saint Isabel.  (Church: Mon. to Sat.: 8.30 am and 6 pm, Sun: 8.30 am - 6 pm; Cloister: 9.30 am - 12 pm and 2 pm – 5 pm, Sat. and Sun. depending on services).

In 1283, D. Mor Dias founded a religious community on the site where the Santa Clara-a-Velha convent was eventually built. The community was dedicated to St. Clare, a sign of the popularity of the mendicant orders that had become established in Portugal at the time. In 1331, the River Mondego flooded the site and it began to sink. If the church nowadays appears lowset and stunted, it is because half of it is submerged in mud. Despite efforts to drain and preserve it, the church and convent were abandoned in 1677 and the community moved to Santa Clara – a – Nova.

An important centre of learning and study during the Middle Ages, this church stands in the lower part of Coimbra, between old buildings. It is a medieval building but was significantly altered during the reign of King Manuel at the time of the Discoveries. A Baroque triumphal arch was also added in the 18th. century, extending the façade as if to encourage passers-by to enter. Behind this, there is a lavishly decorated Manueline porch. The building is therefore a mixture of various styles, a typical feature of buildings that are close to one thousand years old, although nothing has been preserved of the original Romanesque architecture.

The interior is spacious and has only one nave. By the entrance, it is worth taking a closer look at the choir stalls, a marvellous 16th. century work. Passing beneath the choir, there is a fine baroque organ. The interior is covered by a Manueline stellar vault and the magnificent and elaborately decorated tombs are from the same period. The nave also includes a Renaissance pulpit. The whole is a living lesson in ancient Portuguese art. There is also a chapter house and sacristy.Together with the Santa Engrácia church in Lisbon, it is considered a National Pantheon since it contains the tombs of the first two kings of Portugal (King. Afonso Henriques and King D. Sancho I).

King João V, the Magnificent, whose reign was financed with gold from Brazil, commissioned this incredible library as a gift to the ancient university, making it very modern by 18th. century standards.The entrance is through a decorative doorway flanked by two Ionian columns on each side bearing an arch supported on brackets and crowned with an elaborately designed Portuguese coat of arms.
Inside, the gilded wooden shelves, painted ceilings and inlaid floors are unique in the country. The spines of the books line the walls like exotic tapestries.