Day Trip from Porto to Coimbra

Every Way Compared

There are really two ways to make this trip. The fast train from Campanhã puts you in Coimbra in about an hour and leaves you free to set your own pace and your own Joanina slot. The guided van bundles Coimbra with Aveiro and the boat ride into one day for $111, at the cost of a fixed schedule.

The Porto to Coimbra-B fare is not quoted here, so check cp.pt before you travel.

Tickets and the Station

Trains leave from Campanhã, not from the tile-lined São Bento hall. If you are staying in the center, an urban train covers São Bento to Campanhã in about 4 minutes, and Campanhã also sits on metro lines A, B, C and E. Alfa Pendular and Intercidades services take 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes to reach Coimbra-B, which is the main-line station a short shuttle ride from the Coimbra station closer to the old town. Buy the long-distance ticket on cp.pt or at the station, and buy the University of Coimbra ticket online separately, up to 20 minutes before your visit time.

The time printed on the University ticket is your Joanina Library entry time, so match it to the train you book. Check cp.pt for the current Coimbra-B shuttle arrangement.

The Plan, Hour by Hour

The one fixed appointment is the Joanina Library slot, so build the day around it. Morning slots run 9:00 to 13:00 and afternoon slots 14:00 to 17:00, with groups of up to 50 admitted every 20 minutes. Book online up to 20 minutes before your slot and arrive 5 minutes early, because a missed slot loses the entry and the ticket is non-refundable.

• First train: Alfa Pendular or Intercidades from Porto Campanhã to Coimbra-B, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, then the short shuttle to Coimbra station.
• Late morning: University of Coimbra programme, €16.50 for the Joanina Library, University and Science Museum version, about 3 hours. Your printed time is the Joanina entry, and you can visit the other spaces before or after. Inside the library itself you get 10 minutes, entering through the Academic Prison.
• Lunch: near the upper town, at your own cost. Lunch is never included in any train fare or in the $111 tour, whose guide only suggests restaurants.
• Early afternoon: walk down to the Old Cathedral, the Sé Velha. The cloister visit costs €3 per person, and the cathedral runs 9:30 to 18:30 Monday to Saturday in summer, 9:30 to 17:30 in the cooler months, Sundays 11:00 to 18:00 or 17:00.
• Mid afternoon: the Quinta das Lágrimas gardens, €3.50 for adults, €2.00 for under 15s or over 65s and €7.00 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00 from mid March to mid October and 10:00 to 17:00 the rest of the year, closed Mondays. The gardens hold two fountains and a bamboo grove with a lake.
• Optional, for families: Portugal dos Pequenitos at Rossio de Santa Clara, check the park's own site for ticket prices. Open 10:00 to 19:00 from 1 March to 15 October and 10:00 to 17:00 otherwise, last entry 30 minutes before closing, closed 25 December.
• Last leg: shuttle back to Coimbra-B and the Intercidades or Alfa Pendular to Porto Campanhã.

What to Skip If You Are Short of Time

If your Joanina slot sits late in the afternoon, cut the Quinta das Lágrimas and Portugal dos Pequenitos first, because both sit away from the university hill and the gardens shut on Mondays anyway. The Machado de Castro museum is closed for PRR conservation works and should be treated as not visitable until it reopens, so do not plan around it at all. With only 4 hours on the ground, the University programme at €16.50 plus the Sé Velha cloister at €3 gives you the two sights that define the city.

University of Coimbra and the Joanina Library

The university is the reason most visitors come. Three ticket versions exist: the Joanina Library, University and Science Museum programme at €16.50 for about 3 hours, the University plus Science Museum programme at €12.50 for 2.5 hours, and a guided Paço das Escolas tour including the Joanina Library, Royal Palace and São Miguel chapel at €25 for 1.5 hours. The library admits 50 people every 20 minutes through the Academic Prison and allows 10 minutes inside, mornings 9:00 to 13:00 and afternoons 14:00 to 17:00.

Tickets are non-refundable, the time printed on the ticket is the Joanina entry time and the ticket stays valid for two days, so you can return for any spaces you miss.

Capela De São Miguel

The São Miguel chapel sits inside the Paço das Escolas and is covered by the €25 guided tour. It closes for services every Sunday from 11:45 to 14:00, so a Sunday visit should avoid that window or expect the doors to be shut during it. If your slot is on a Sunday morning, entering the Paço das Escolas before 11:45 keeps the schedule intact.

Old Cathedral, the Sé Velha

The Old Cathedral is a short walk down from the university. Its cloister, begun in 1218 under Afonso II, ranks among the first Gothic works in Portugal, and the cloister visit costs €3 per person. Hours are 9:30 to 18:30 Monday to Saturday from June to September and 9:30 to 17:30 from October to May, with Sundays 11:00 to 18:00 or 17:00.

Quinta Das Lágrimas Gardens

The Quinta das Lágrimas gardens hold the 16th century Fonte das Lágrimas, the 14th century Fonte dos Amores and a bamboo grove with a lake. Tickets are €3.50 for adults, €2.00 for under 15s or over 65s and €7.00 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00 from 16 March to 15 October and 10:00 to 17:00 from 16 October to 15 March.

The gardens close every Monday.

Portugal Dos Pequenitos

This miniature park at Rossio de Santa Clara is the one Coimbra sight built for families. Check the park's own site for ticket prices. It opens 10:00 to 19:00 from 1 March to 15 October and 10:00 to 17:00 the rest of the year, with last entry 30 minutes before closing and 25 December the only stated closure.

Museu Nacional De Machado De Castro

Do not build a day around this museum, because it is closed. The Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro at Largo Dr. José Rodrigues is shut for PRR conservation works and should be treated as not visitable until it reopens. For reference, when open it has run Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 with last entry 17:30, closing on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 4 July and 25 December.

No reopening date and no ticket price are stated. If you had allowed time for it, give that time to the Science Museum included in the €16.50 university programme instead.

The Honest Verdict

Take the train if Coimbra is the whole point. A self-guided day gives you the 3-hour €16.50 University programme, the €3 Sé Velha cloister and the €3.50 gardens at your own pace, and the ride from Campanhã takes only 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Take the From Porto: Full-Day Trip to Coimbra and Aveiro with Boat Ride at $111 if you want two cities in one day without planning.

That van tour runs with up to 8 people, needs a minimum of 3 to run, and includes a University of Coimbra visit, a 50-minute moliceiro boat ride on the Aveiro lagoon, a local pastry and water. Lunch is not included and the guide only suggests restaurants, there is no hotel pickup, and you meet at R. de Cândido dos Reis 105 in Porto. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours.

Families with young children may prefer the train and Portugal dos Pequenitos, since a fixed van schedule and a 50-minute boat ride leave less room for a long stop at Portugal dos Pequenitos. If a single city is enough, the train day lets you spend the whole day there. For other easy rail days, see free day trips from Porto, and for the wine country read the guide to a Douro Valley wine tour from Porto.