Location
Coimbra District is located in the centre western Portugal.
There is a big contrast in the landscape between the sandy beaches of the coast, and the mountain side on the eastern part of the District. The river Mondego is the longest river located exclusively in Portuguese territory, and its valley dominates the landscape all over the western side of Coimbra District.
Description
The variety of the landscape provides sandy beaches, lagoons, public baths, natural spring waters and mountain ranges.
Coimbra district is also a region of Christian tradition, where one can find several ecclesiastic monuments and customs. It is a place of legends, love stories, romantic inspiration. In this region, and to preserve its important tradition and heritage, there are several Museums worth a visit.
Gastronomy: in Coimbra District one can find a great variety of seafood, meat and pork dishes. The piglet is also very famous in the region.
There is a wide range of sweets and desserts, mainly due to Christian and the Jewish tradition in the area (arrufadas, bolinhos bolinhós, sweet rice pudding, golden soup from the nuns of Santa Clara , egg custard, Tentúgal tarts and corn pastries).