Coimbra / Rio Mondego

Half an hour’s drive from Casa das Pedras Grandes is Coimbra, Portugal’s third largest city and once it’s capital. Home to Portugal’s oldest and most prestigious university, it is sited on the hillside above the Rio Mondego. One of its most famous assets is the Baroque Library, a remarkable example of Baroque art and one of the most important European libraries of its day. There is plenty to see and do in Coimbra, from visiting its many beautiful buildings, wandering around the narrow cobbled streets in the old part of the city. to shopping in its modern indoor shopping centres. There are bars, cafes and restaurants to cater for every taste and pocket. Coimbra has the feeling of a large town and in common with the rest of this region of Portugal, makes it’s visitors feel safe and welcome.

Conímbriga

Buçaco Forest / Luso.

The Buçaco Forest (Mata Nacional do Buçaco) is around an hours drive away and a great place to spend a day with a picnic or spoil yourselves with a meal at the Palácio do Buçaco. The forest has a religious history dating back to the sixth century and is the most famous in Portugal. Carmelite monks are responsible for its fame and beauty, building it’s boundary walls and starting to plant it’s extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs in the seventeenth century. Napoleon suffered his first notable defeat here in the Peninsular War and there is a small museum. There are a maize of woodland walks which wind upward from the Luso road to the Cruz Alta which commands panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. The Palácio do Buçaco is a very ornate building and is on the site of the old Carmelite monastery. It was built for the Portuguese monarchy as a summer residence and is now a hotel where you can enjoy a drink at the bar, meal in the restaurant or just go in and admire the decor.                                  

The spa town of Luso is a short drive or hours walk through the Buçaco Forest. Famous for it’s water’s healing properties, it is very popular with the Portuguese who fill their bottles and water containers up at the outdoor Fonte de São João. There are places to enjoy a massage, hydrotherapy or a visit to the casa do chá for a cup of tea.

Serra da Estrela

Montemor o Velho

The historic town looks down over the flood plain of the Rio Mondego. At the highest point is the 14th century castle, one of the largest and finest in Portugal. There are attractive grounds and walkways and plenty of castle walls to explore. Within these walls is the church of Santa Maria da Alcáçova, founded in 1090 and home to the tomb of the explorer Diogo de Azambuja, said to have sailed with Columbus.

Costa de Prata (Silver Coast) / Figueira da Foz

The Silver coast is famous for it’s seemingly endless, nearly deserted stretches of sandy beach, broken by quaint fishing towns and villages. The low lying coastal plain that runs parallel to the beaches, provide plenty of picnic areas and walks to enjoy. Figueira da Foz is a lively seaside town on the coast, with miles of beautiful sandy beach and long promenades to stroll along. It is a popular location for all water sports including surfing and is packed with bars and restaurants for the less energetic.