Visit to Coimbra: Train and itinerary?
 

Hi All,

I could use some help planning our visit to Coimbra. Our visit will be brief -- after 4 nights in Porto (staying at hotel Portobay Flores) we will take the train to Coimbra in the morning, tour the city with a guide (thank you Maribel for suggesting Madomis for a private tour guide), and stay at the Quinta das Lagrimas for one night. The next day, we will depart to Lisbon by train, where we will stay for 5 nights.

Here are my questions:

1. Train questions:
on the website cp.pt, and I'm a little confused...Confirming details:
... For fastest travel, confirming that I should book the AP, Alfa Pendicular, not the IC train? when booking, appreciate any details I should be aware of, like comfort class, senior rate, etc.
...I went on to check schedules, and didn't see anything past about 60 days out. When can I book for a trip in early May?
... in Porto, will we be traveling from Campanha train station?
.... in Coimbra, there are 2 stations listed, Coimbra A and Coimbra B. Which will be arriving at from Porto, and which will we be departing from to Lisbon?
... when traveling Coimbra to Lisbon, traveling to Lisboa Santa Apolonia station? (we are headed to the Hotel Valverde on Avenida Liberdade in Lisbon)

2. Coimbra Itinerary Questions:
After arriving by train from Porto, is it too much in one day to do a guided tour of the University, have lunch, take in a fado performance, visit other notable sights in Coimbra and also tour the Roman ruins at Conimbraga all in the same day? Maybe we should visit the Roman ruins the next morning before taking the train to Lisbon? We could always see a fado performance in Lisbon as well. Thoughts?

3 Dinner: Our plan is to relax at the Quinta das Lagrimas hotel and eat dinner at their fine dining restaurant Arcadas, after a long day of touring. It's a special occasion (our 44th anniversary) ....

Given that basic plan for a very full day in Coimbra, please weigh in re: lunch, visiting a fado house, other notable things to see in Coimbra given our short time in the city, and timing of Roman ruins? ... Anything else we should know/do? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

1. Train questions

• The Alfa Penduliar is a bit faster than the IC, that´s all. We book the Alfa Pendular in Confort Class and we book the senior rate. No, you can't book this early. It's waaaaaaay too early. :) It´s 60 days out
• Yes, you catch the train from Porto's Campanha rail station, where the high speed rail arrives and departs.
• You´ll be arriving from Porto at Coimbra B and leaving for Lisbon at Coimbra B. This is the station that the fast trains use.
• Yes, the closest train station to the Hotel Valverde will be the final destination of the train, Santa Apolonia. The AP train also stops before Santa Apolonia at the Calatrava designed Oriente station, but it's a further taxi ride to the Hotel Valverde on the Avenida da Liberdade.

2. Coimbra itinerary questions

• It depends on when your train arrives to Coimbra. With a morning arrival, you can do the Conimbriga ruins, do the guided tour of the University (Madomis supplies the tickets, usually at the lunch hour when there are fewer crows, then lunch and the 6 pm fado performance, Ask Madomis how they can/will structure the day for you depending entirely on your arrival by train to Coimbra-B. They can pick you up at the rail station and after your touring day, deposit you at Quinta das Lagrimas.

3. Dinner at Quinta das Lagrimas. We had a lovely meal at Arcadas, as it was a special event for us as well, along with our friends. Have the hotel reserve a table for you. The dining is lovely, in the former stables and the food superb.

Anything else you should know? Coimbra is extremely hilly, so let your guide do as much of the transporting as possible to avoid all the climbs. Alert them in advance to mobility issues.

Take an Uber to the top of the hill where the University sits and much of your walks will be down.

Except that I wouldn't attempt the Backbreaker's staircase, "Rua de Quebra Costas", as I mentioned early, that narrow staircase that connects the University with the lower town. It's very steep. There's a reason for its name :).

So true about that staircase. Possibly the OP has issues going up but not down if done with care?

Maribel and mjs, Thank you for your quick replies!

- In early March I will arrange the train tickets ...
- We made dinner plans at the Arcadas restaurant
- noted your points about itinerary, timing, and hills

If time allows, do you recommend any other Coimbra sights? In another post, Maribel mentioned Museu Nacional Machado de Castro ...
(Also mentioned walking back across the bridge over the Mondego river to the hotel. If we have the energy, that sounds nice too).

Re: Fado, I've read it is different in Coimbra than elsewhere. If we end up not having time in Coimbra, thoughts about seeing it in Lisbon perhaps?

mjs -- Thanks for Uber suggestion, and the caution to be careful on the stairs. We will not attempt -- enjoying sightseeing without medical attention is a priority:-)

THANKS AGAIN

The Museu Nacional Machado de Castro is a beautifully renovated, splendid museum, a former bishop's palace filled with treasures, whose basement is a. series of vaulted passageways from the Roman occupation of the city. And the views from the museum’s loggia are lovely.well worth your time, that is, if you have time. The Q das L runs its loggia restaurant.

If you have energy, once you reach the flat river area, the walk back to the Q das L over the bridge isn't bad, but you may want to take a taxi back instead to rest up, enjoy the wonderful gardens, take a dip in the heated indoor pool or a sauna and just take in this lovely hotel.

Fado is indeed different in Coimbra----all male. The fado houses in Coimbra give performances at 6 pm.

The great fado singers of Lisbon---many are female, like the late, legendary Amália Rodriques, the "Queen of Fado" (her home is a foundation- museum and sometimes has performances in summer in the garden. She's buried in the National Pantheon)

On the Avenida da Liberdade the benches are dedicated to these legendary fado performers. And Lisbon has a fado museum.
The contemporary ones you may have heard of----Mariza and Ana Moura (we recently attended a Mariza performance here at the Royal Theater in Madrid).

There are so many Lisbon fado houses....usually the performance is combined with dinner, but at some fado houses one can go just to the performance. Preview this with a couple of YouTube videos.
Lisbon fado houses are found in the Bairro Alto and many in the Alfama. Your concierge at the Valverde, I'm sure, has his/her favorite.
Our concierge recommends O Faia in the Bairro Alto. (We stay above the Valverde, right off the A da L)

Some other favorites:
Parreirinhade de Alfama
Fado ao Carmo
Senhor Vinho, an elegant restaurant/fado house in former stables in the aristocratic Lapa districtHere's an admittedly subjective list of "the best"
https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/b...usic-in-lisbon

About the Alfa Pendular vs Intercity Porto to Lisbon trains (that stop in Coimbra), here's all you need to know with photos from The Man in Seat 61. He makes an important point to check to see if the Promo fare is even less than the 50% senior fare. Sometimes it can be, other times it isn't.

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-ro...o-by-train.htm

While the Escadas Quebra Costas is indeed steep, at least there are handrails. But if you have knee problems you may want to avoid this unique walking experience even going down.

https://erasmusu.com/en/erasmus-coim...a-costas-11102

We took it going down, not up on our stroll from the Old Cathedral to downtown and stopped at Restaurante Tapas das Costas for lunch at Rua de Quebra Costas 19, as the Q das L had recommended it. Must reserve as it's extremely popular.
https://tapasnascostas.eatbu.com/?lang=en

Oh my goodness, what a wealth of information on fado and other suggestions for our visit to Coimbra ... I'm taking it all in, and making many notes:-) so appreciated!