Trying to see one more place in Portugal, besides Porto, which we fly out of. We'll be in Spain for 9 days, which leaves 6 for Portugal. We will be there in December, so a preference might be places suitable for colder/potentially rainier weather (we are from Portland, so very used to walking around in the rain and still having fun).
In doing some research, the Coimbra and Guimarães came up as potential places to spend 2-3 nights.
Anyone been and have a preference between the two?
I'd choose Guimarães. It's compact, very walkable, and has a charming medieval atmosphere with plenty to see over 2–3 days. Coimbra is interesting for its historic university, but for a short visit I found Guimarães more enjoyable and atmospheric. Since you're already visiting Porto, Guimarães is also an easy and convenient addition to your itinerary.
We stayed in Coimbra for a few days and took a day tour up north which included Guimaraes and Braga where we saw the Bom Jesus do Monte and Braga Cathedrals. I personally would stay in Coimbra and take that day trip to the other towns . Guimaraes was nice but to me not worthy of 2-3 days imo.
Enjoy!
We have only been to Coimbra (2 days) and very much enjoyed it. We walked around the university and toured its library. A short taxi ride away is Conímbriga, a large excavated Roman ruin, which was fascinating.
We stayed at the Hotel Astoria--an old fashioned hotel (think 1920s era) with a good breakfast and great location.
I spent three or four nights in each of Coimbra and Guimarães on my 2017 Portugal trip, and four nights in Coimbra once again just last December. I think both cities are great, and the choice between them is practically a toss-up. You could tape a Portugal map to your wall, throw a dart, and choose whichever of the two cities it lands closest to! But as that advice may not be helpful, I'll add that I would probably have a slight preference in favor of Coimbra, partly because it has its own style of fado, and a few venues in which to experience it; and also because I enjoy getting lost, or at least trying to, while wandering "flâneur"-style among the narrow, humble streets of old medieval centers -- and Coimbra, the larger of the two, has more old historic space in which to wander.
It appears that Guimarães has been "discovered" by day-trippers from Porto, but this does not mean it's worth only an afternoon. In fact, at the time of my visit (again, nine years ago), I found that two full days (i.e., three nights) could easily have been justified just to see all the "tourist stuff" on offer at a leisurely pace. This included three museums, a castle, a fifteenth-century manor house, several old churches, a funicular ride to a hill-top view point, and the quaint historic center itself. Spare time was easily filled with long lunches at any of a number of nice sidewalk cafes in the charming old plazas.
We visited Guimaraes while staying in Porto. It's fine but not worthy of 2 - 3 day visit we felt a one day visit was plenty. If you decide to take the train there be aware of any strikes on the train line. Our return train to Porto was abruptly canceled while we were touring the town. There was no one working at the train station to advise so we waited several hours until another train showed up.
I've spent three nights in Coimbra, and there was plenty to do within the city. We dedicated a day to the university and the surrounding museums. The other full day was spent exploring across the river. Every evening, we wandered the old city center. As for Guimarães, I took the train from Porto and spent one day there. It was a very full day, but we were able to see everything. If you are going to spend multiple nights somewhere, I vote for Coimbra.
