Coimbra from Porto

It's very easy to get from Porto to Coimbra by train and do the tour by yourself (the university tour is self-guided). In Porto, assuming you are staying near the center, you'd catch a train from Sao Bento station one stop to Campanha station and pick up another train there on to Coimbra. You will probably have to connect again at Coimbra-B station to get the final short train on to Coimbra proper; from that little destination station, it's an easy walk to the old town and up to the university. The train goes through Aveiro too (which I did not stop at) so you could probably do both in one single long day. Coimbra is a lovely town but not very big, and it wouldn't take all day to see it.

Thanks so much. That is what I needed to know. Did you find any other activities to do there?

I walked down by the river a little. I'm a photographer; I took pictures of the bridge and city at night. There are some nice views down from the top, great views on a clear day.

I did the Rick Steve's self-guided walking tour which took an hour or so.

Some people head to the Roman Ruins outside of Coimbra - I didn't do that.

Nice! I will look into the ruins. So you think a half day is “enough”. I tend to spend a lot of time just wandering . Was the library nice? Like libraries 😀

Eh - I did the university tour but not the library option (which cost extra. ;-) If you plan to head out to the Roman Ruins, you might want to plan a full day just for Coimbra, as it will take some time to get there and back. You can't walk there from town I believe.

If you are only doing a day trip, you might want to look at Go Walks in Coimbrã. The university and library are included in the tour - and the library is definitely worth seeing. It’s a great way to be introduced to the town and see the high points in a short amount of time. I was very impressed with the tour and the reasonable price.