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Coimbra - Portugal
Pedro and Inês - by the Olga Roriz dance company
Coimbra (Portugal)
Pátio da Inquisição (Coimbra, Portugal)
Can anyone recommend some good bars/clubs in Coimbra? I am out there for the football, but like to go to a bar/club where i may meet some locals rather than a million english fans!
Cheers
if you are there for football, don't forget to visit cafe brazil.
it's the most legengary bar in portugal.
when sporting lisbon won the championship in 1981the owner swore that he would not raise the price of expresso coffee untill they won the championship again.
that lasted 18 years, but the guy kept his promise and sold his coffee for 1981 prices up untill 1999.
thats what i call a dedicated fan.
That's right! The owner died and his wife kept her husband promise.
In Coimbra you will more than likely find billions of English supporters everywhere during the Euro.
"Praça da Republica" is a good place to start the night in Coimbra. You'll find it inevitably crowded. "Café Cartola" for the after dinner coffee and then decide where you want to go.
I believe the bars and discos around "Praça da Republica" will be awfully crowded, so, the best option, in my opinion is one of those small bars in those small streets in the back of the university.
"Couraça dos Apóstolos" in Rua Couraça de Lisboa, 53. Very good to meet young people. Usually very crowded (students) and noisy.
"Café Museu" for beer, 'moelas' and 'tremoços' in Rua da Matemática.
"Piano Negro" in Rua Borgues Carneiro. For beer, listen to jazz and chat. The owner is a French guy who lives in Portugal for ages.
The Dutch bar "De Sjöelbak" in Rua do Brasil for beer and darts (although, unfortunely, lately the bar is not as good as I remember it was).
"Diligência" in Rua Nova. I believe they have live fado concerts. Although, in Coimbra, the best fado is listened in the middle of the street near "Arco da Almedina" when there are students singing and playing in the street at night (you have to be lucky to find them). Remember: NEVER clap your hands when listening to Coimbra's fado. http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/39ca4/46a30/a/
"Café Com Arte" in Av. Dr. Elísio de Moura is also nice. Popular among architects and architect students.
For night eating:
"Cantinas Amarelas". in Rua Oliveira Matos (a short walk from "Praça da Republica"). Open until 3 in the morning. You can be asked for student card!
"Arco-Bar" in Pç. Machado Assis, 26 for inexpensive meals until 3 in the morning (at least it was) except weekends.
Discos:
The inevitable and extremely crowded "Via Latina" in Rua Almeida Garrett.
"Vinyl" in Av. Afonso Henriques.
Good luck.
Cheers.
RP
Visit the University, drink a coffee in Cartola (it's the cafe at Praca da Republica).
Have a meal somewhere in those little restaurants downtown.
Go to http://195.23.44.46/index_html?lingua=i to find an interative map where you can locate interesting places. Listening to Fado de Coimbra (specially on the first night of Queima das Fitas; first thursday of May).
Wander around the hilly streets of Coimbra. After hours of climbing up and down stairs you will be exhausted. There's many interesting shops lining the narrow stone streets. There's also plenty of opportunities to trip and fall down some of these treacherous stairs!
Republicas is the name given in Coimbra for collective lodging managed by the students.
You have the contacts of all the known republicas in:
http://www.regiaocentro.net/lugares/coimbra/universidade/republicas/index.html
Many students do also rent a room, alone or with some friends. It's common to have advertising in the universities in September.
The students association - http://www.academica.pt/Default4.aspx?tabId=1865 is also a good place to search.
Both pages are only in Portuguese, but... with not start to learn right now?
Perhaps, next year will be a better time to visit Coimbra. The city is busily preparing for the upcoming Euro2004 soccer tournament by building a new bridge called the Ponte Europa as well as a new stadium for the event and it promises to be a lively time!
Parque de Santa Cruz is off of Praca de Republica near the university and offers a number of peaceful spots to get away from the crowds. Of course, when I was in Coimbra there wasn't even a hint of a crowd anywhere to be found so this wasn't really a problem. You'll find a moss covered wall and fountain with some impressive azulejos as well as some paths that meander above the entrance up the hill behind the square.
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