Coimbra Sports & Outdoors

4 more images

The football-stadium in Coimbra, quite close to the University, was really nice! We watched the Euro2004-game between France and Switzerland there, and as all the stadiums we visited during the tournament it was amazing!

From outside it doesn't look so fantastic, but then inside it was a great arena.

Only bad thing was the atletic tracks, which unfortunately made sure that the crowd got really far away from the pitch.

Shame on me, but I'm not sure if Coimbra has a team in the first portugese division. If someone know, please tell me! And if they have a team there, make sure to visit a game with them, since the stadium really is worth seeing.

It's easy to find the way to the stadium, as it was only to follow the signs. Despite that I chose to leave the city center early to make sure we didn't get late.

So instead we ended up being at the stadium four hours before the game started...
And since we were driving back north in the evening we couldn't really have a few beers either.

So in the end we were one of the first spectators inside the stadium. Which I guess is something to be proud of too.
Or not... :)

Associação Académica de Coimbra (Academic Association of Coimbra), the Coimbra University Student's Union, the oldest university in Portugal.
There is a football club with the same name, that started being a section of the student's association, but later became an autonomous entity. This club has also a long tradition in portuguese football.

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!