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SOS: Help with Coimbra

Posted by (Bay Area, California) on

Ola:

I am now in Porto and planned to stay at Regua for one night for the Douro River trip. However, the hotel just emailed me yesterday asking me to check in after 7pm, because of late check outs by cyclists from the “Douro Granfondo” bike race. All they offer is a 10% discount. I worry that I won't find a free table at any restaurant to eat dinner at and simply just don't want to deal with this situation.

So, I am planning to stay for one night in Coimbra. However, I don't have the Coimbra section of Rick's book with me. WHat I always do with guidebooks is to cut out sections that I need for my trip to reduce weight. I initially set my heart for the Douro river trip (and so have that section of the book) but have to suddenly shift gear.

What hotels do you recommend? My trip is coming up this Sunday and thus urgently need some help. I know Kelly just wrote an excellent review of Coimbra and stayed at Hotel Oslo. It's a nice hotel, but I would rather not stay in a Scandinavian minimalist style room in Portugal. I just took a quick look at booking.com and found "Casa da Baixa Downtown House"
on Rua Ferreira Borges 145, Coimbra. What do you think of the location? Is it too inconvenient to walk to from the train station?

All recommendations (sightseeing, restaurants, which are the areas where locals live in, what/where to avoid...) are welcome. While reading Rick's book, I do recall having to transfer from the major B train station to the smaller A train station, which is closer to old town. Thanks a million.

Posted by
138 posts

I was going to advise you to look at Tivoli Coimbra Hotel, a nice budget one, I stayed once, but unfortunately, its sold out for your dates. Maybe they can offer you an upgraded room category instead of a discount?

And according to the CP website, Coimbra has two train station - Coimbra and Coimbra B. So check your train ticket info before making a choice.

Posted by
118 posts

the location of the Casa da Baixa is in a great location! Less than 10 minutes (flat) stroll from the local train station (Coimbra-A station).
some of the hotels RS recommends are Hotel Astoria, Hotel Vitoria, and Ibis Hotel. I picked three that have different price points and offer some options. All are very close to the "action"

Since you are staying one night, maybe a walking tour? there is also an hop on/hop off bus too. The TI is next to Largo da Portagem (huge open area) if you are facing the river it is to your left, enter on Avenida Emidio Navarro.

there are lots of little restaurants around, we didn't have a bad meal while we were there. really depends what you are in the mood for. Goat in red wine is a speciality.

re: train stations. the train for Porto will include the transfer at Coimbra-B to Coimbra proper. However, the wait time can be anywhere from 10-20 minutes. That is why we took a cab instead of waiting.

this might help too https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal/coimbra

hope this helps!

Posted by
1638 posts

Thanks, everybody. I immediately booked Casa da Baixa. It looks like it's brand new and beautiful.

I will report back about my Coimbra trip. Looking forward to it.

Question: If I am just staying for one night, is it too much of a rush to add 1/2 day to Aveiro?

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