City of narrow streets, yards, little stairs and medieval arches, Coimbra was cradle of birth of six kings of Portugal and of the First Dynasty, as well as of the first University of the Country and one of the oldest of Europe. 
The city, located over a hill by the river Mondego, was called Aeminium in Roman times. During late Antiquity it became the seat of a Diocesis substituting the nearby city of Conimbriga, which had been destroyed by invading Germanic peoples, adopting the name of the destroyed city.

Monuments

Church of the Convent of Santa Clara – a Nova
Its construction has started in 1649. It's a baroque building from the 17th and 18th centuries, which proves the works have taken a long time. The Clarists of Santa Clara-a-Velha came to live here only in 1677. In 1696, the body of Queen Saint Isabel was definitely transferred to this Convent.

University of Coimbra
After foundation in 1290 in Lisbon of the General Studies by El King D Dinis, would come even be in the origin of the University of Coimbra in 1308.  After several passages between Lisbon and Coimbra, would stay definitely established in Coimbra with D.Joao III from 1537 in the old Real Palaces.
Besides of the Saint Michael's Chapel (Capela de São Miguel) with his baroque Organ, we can visit the room of the Capelos, and to famous tower, and especially the magnificent and very rich library.

Handicraft

Coimbra and the surrounding area has long traditions of pottery making. The characteristic enamelled ceramics of Coimbra, originating in the 16th century, is still produced in a few factories in the outskirts of the city, and these days mainly decorative pieces are produced. Originally these hand-painted, predominantly blue designs depicted the spice trade. Coimbra ceramics carry some weight in the economics of the region due the growing export demand.

Republics of Coimbra (REPÚBLICAS DE COIMBRA)

Mythical spaces of the Academy, the "Repúblicas" of Coimbra date back to the 14th century, a period the number of students was increasing in the city, as a result of its own affirmation as an important centre of studies.
In order to surpass the needs of accommodation, King Dinis created, in 1309, a royal charter aiming the construction of houses for the students in the area of Almedina. The price of the rent was established by a commission designated y the King and formed by students and "gentlemen" from the city.
So, it was with the construction of these houses that the republics have appeared.

The Fado and the Portuguese Guitar

Truly, it is after the return of the Portuguese Court from Brazil, in 1822 (King John VI) that the Fado is generalized as a dance and as a song.
It's after this date that it turns up in Oporto and in Coimbra.
Here, it has always had a more elevated and romantic style, wich is not strange: in a town that has a students' community since 1290, it is natural that an heritage, invisible but with historical and cultural meaning, may have contributed to give Fado a more erudite character and a more romantic nimbus.
Coimbra, unlike Lisbon, has not an harbour and it may have been its geographical condition that, coexisting with a strong cultural tradition of monastic and university origin, has decisively contributed for the specific formulation of the Fado from Coimbra.