Portugal

Coimbra, Lamego, and Braganca Portugal

June 2nd - 5th

Coimbra is located on Mondago River in northern Portugal. It has an old town, a large pedestrian only shopping area, and a very old university located on top of a very steep hill.

Rua F Borges - a pedestrian shopping street.

Church of Santa Cruz

Inside the Church of Santa Cruz. The wall are decorated with blue and white tiles from the 18th century.

 Mercado Municipal - the covered market. It has stalls for everything - fruits and vegetables, bakeries, meat, cheese, fish, flowers and everything else you can think of.

A very nice mural.

University of Coimbra founded in 1537.

Bill looking inside a whale at the university's science museum.

Lamego is a beautiful town we stumbled across while looking for a campground for the night. We found one on top of a very steep hill overlooking the town. This is a view from our camping spot.

This is the view you can't miss as you drive into town. It is the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora Dos Remedios and the amazing staircase leading up to it.

The staircase has lots of terraces between the climbs.

We walked down the staircase to the town for dinner then walked back up as the sun went down. It was a good way to work off the dinner.

Evening view of the church.

 We drove through the Douro Valley to Pinhao, famous for port wine. From there we drove up into the very steep hills. The views of the vineyards were beautiful.

Braganca - We enjoyed walking around this town. It had an old town and a modern side. There were walking trails everywhere.

We parked in a free camping spot with about 25 other camper vans just below the Castelo de Braganca. The castle was a great spot for an evening walk.

Street within the castle walls. 

One of the gates into the castle.