Booking a room for a few nights for the beginning of December. I really like the look of Quinta Das Lagrimas, but it seems like most of the attractions are on the other side of the river. If you have stayed at the Quinta, are there restaurants, cafes, bars, stuff to do at night near the hotel, or should I look to the other side of river? Not looking to party, just maybe to people watch, have an after dinner drink, fado, etc.
Thank you!
There are some restaurants along Av. Jão das Regras, but not many and not much going on on that side of the river. We stayed at Hotel Mondego by one of the train stations. We walked across the Santa Clara bridge to get to an Aldi and it was a pretty good walk from any of the sites. The Quinta is a mile from any of the sites most people go to. The University is about 1.4 miles from the Quinta.
We did have a rental car.
For Fado, Café Santa Cruz had free nightly performances at 6 and 10pm. The cafe is cash only. The Praça 8 de maio plaza is a good place to people watch as is the street leading into it; R. Vics. Da Luz. A restaurant we enjoyed was Restaurante Dom Espeto. We had a meat skewer that came with a number of sides. With drinks the bill was about 30€. We also has a good meal at the Italian restaurant Restaurante Il Tartufo just down the street from Dom Espeto.
Thank you so much jaimeelsabio! Very helpful. The hotel looked lovely, but I was afraid it was too far from what we were interested in. Thank you also for the great recommendations! I can't wait to get there and go to one of the restaurants!
If you’re only going to be in Coimbra one or two nights the walk to the sites won’t be too bad. Walking back and forth multiple times a day would get old very quickly. Hope you have a nice trip and that it isn’t too cold.
Saw your other post. Óbidos is good for a couple hours with the main activity being walking the walls. There are plenty of day trippers that crowd the main street through town. Nazaré could be very chilly in December and many shops and restaurants will probably be closed for the season. We spent a couple nights there and enjoyed the town. We probably spent 2 hours in the upper town. We thoroughly enjoyed Tomar.
Apart from hotel Mondego, also check out hotel Oslo
(Nice rooftop terrace, free parking, next to train station)
I would hold off on making reservations that far out. I think you'll find the prices drop considerably after 1 OCT. I picked up rooms in Porto last OCT, on the beach, for 75 Euro; half of what they had been a month earlier.
Also, as previously mentioned, try to have 40-50 Euro in 5 or 10 denominations, because it will make paying in places a lot easier.
I stayed near the main square in Coimbra (not across the bridge) at Pharmacia Guesthouse, at Rua Ferreira Borges. I really liked my room and the location.
Some other recommendations for restaurants in Coimbra (from my TR of October trip)
Meals that stand out:
Cafe con leite and pasteis de nata at Biquinha near train station
Breakfast bowl of savory chicken, cabbage, carrots, avocado, mango & poached egg on rice at OCroisant
Octopus rice and side roasted veggies at Solar Bacalhau
Seafood ravioli and bruschetta at Il Tartufo
