Description
Visit Coimbra and Aveiro
Prepare for an intense 1-day trip in which you will get to know two of the most amazing Portuguese cities! If you’re looking to visit Coimbra, the old city, and Aveiro, the Portuguese Venice, then this tour is perfect for you.
Visit Coimbra – Morning
Coimbra is one of the oldest cities in the country. It was the capital of Portugal before Lisbon, until 1255. It is there that we can find the first National Pantheon, the Monastery of Cruz.
The large University of Coimbra was built on an old palace and contains the King John V Library. In the University, we can also visit the Royal Residence and the Chapel of São Miguel.
In the old city, we will find the Roman Cathedral of the XIIth century, the Old Cathedral.
We can’t visit Coimbra without walking in the Quinta das Lágrimas (Garden of Tears). This beautiful garden owes its name to the misadventures of the romance between Lady Inês de Castro and Prince Dom Pedro. According to the romantic tragedy, lovely Inês died in this place.
We will head to Mealhada, Region of Bairrada, where we will have lunch, at your own cost. Here the speciality is roast suckling pig, known as Suckling Pig of Bairrada.
Visit Aveiro – Afternoon
After we visit Coimbra, we part to Aveiro. Aveiro is known as ‘The Portuguese Venice’, a charming city crossed by a channel, where coloured Moliceiros boats navigate and with buildings in pastel shades of Art Nouveau style. The traditional sweet is Ovos Moles which are presented in different shapes, and the Tripas from Aveiro.
The saltworks from Aveiro are among the most well-known saltworks in Portugal, and here we can learn how the salt appears and is extracted. There are those who say that the Salt Worker is lazy because he lives from what nature gives him. But the wisdom of the Salt Worker lies in being capable of relating the salted water, the wind, the sun and the rain, the clayey muds, the seaweed and the wood of the tools, creating what once was the great engine of the world economy, salt.
Salted return to Lisbon with drop off at the hotel.
