University of Coimbra

One of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1290, set on a hill above the Mondego River. Its highlight is the Joanina Library, a breathtaking baroque library with gilded wooden shelves, where a colony of bats protects the books by eating insects at night. See also the Great Hall and the chapel.

Tickets are timed and sell out in summer. Students still wear black capes. Coimbra has its own style of fado, sung by men. It's about an hour by train from Porto or 2 hours from Lisbon.