Sé Velha de Coimbra

The old cathedral was begun around 1162, when Coimbra was the capital of a new kingdom on a contested frontier, and it was built accordingly: a squat, thick-walled block with crenellations along the roofline, arrow slits and a narrow west front, so it reads as a fortified church rather than a cathedral. It is among the most complete Romanesque buildings in Portugal, having escaped the rebuilding and earthquake damage that reshaped most of the others. Inside are a gilded Gothic altarpiece by Flemish carvers, sixteenth-century azulejos on the aisle walls and a Gothic cloister of the 1210s, one of the earliest in the country. On the north side is the Porta Especiosa, an ornate Renaissance doorway added in the 1530s that sits oddly against the fortress walls. A new cathedral was built higher up in 1772, which is why this one is called the old one.

What you actually see

• The fortified front - crenellations, thick walls and arrow slits on a cathedral.
• The Gothic cloister - one of the earliest in Portugal, from around 1218.
• The Porta Especiosa - an ornate Renaissance doorway added to a Romanesque wall.
• The altarpiece - gilded Gothic carving by Flemish craftsmen.

When to go

Year-round. One hour. Coimbra's upper town is a steep climb - the elevador from the Baixa saves the worst of it.

Honest expectations

The approach is steep in every direction. The interior is dim and photography is restricted. Services close it periodically. Cloister and church are one ticket, but hours are shorter than posted at times.

Nearby

The university and its Joanina library are above; Santa Cruz and the Baixa are below.