Top Coimbra Nature Walks

One of the world's oldest universities, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Portugal's University of Coimbra is a special place—but it can be tricky for first-time visitors to know where to go. Instead, leave all the planning to someone else on this small-group, guided tour of the university's highlights. Look forward to discovering the magnificent Joanina Library, St. Michael's Chapel, and more, all while learning insider facts and stories.

Embark on a journey through the heart of Coimbra with convenient mobile guide on your smartphone. This itinerary is specifically crafted to allow you to explore the city's attractions within a brief span of 1.5-2 hours. Experience the charm of quaint streets and lookout points, intriguing tales, and local folklore. Navigate the route at your leisure, without the need to keep up with a tour group. Feel free to pause at a café or detour to explore an intriguing side street, and return to the route whenever you wish. If you have just one day to visit Coimbra, spend it with an audio guide and gain more insights than those who have spent a week there.

Venture into the forests of Central Portugal, without the worry of getting lost, on this private and personalized tour of Bussaco. Enjoy time away from the bustling streets of Coimbra and spend time in nature as you explore enchanting landscapes, learn about the area's biodiversity, and visit the gardens of the Bussaco Palace Hotel—a unique opportunity to visit an area of the country that many tourists miss.

Discover the rich history and traditions of Coimbra and its ancient university during this guided tour. Join your dedicated tour guide and walk around the campus of Portugal’s oldest university, visiting the Royal Palace, chapel, the assembly room, and the stunning Joanina Library. Then, venture out to the city to see key landmarks including the cathedral, the Barbican Gate, and the Santa Cruz Monastery.

Visit remote places up in the mountains outside Coimbra that take a 4-wheel-drive vehicle to reach on this private tour of the schist villages around Lousã Mountain. Drive up into the mountains to see a series of these scenic villages made of shale stone, some of which will involve hiking to reach and passing through forest home to local wildlife. Places on this tour are limited to travelers.

Escape the crowds and delve into the natural and agricultural wonderland of the Gaios trail— leading to the Penedo C'Abana viewpoint—on a hiking tour of Tábua. Throughout this private hike, you'll be able to stop to rest and take photographs whenever you like, as well as walking at a pace that suits you and your party.

Venture away from the city of Coimbra and spend a day immersed in nature during this private excursion. Head to the mountains for a look at the small shale villages that dot the landscape including Piodao, relax on the riverside beach in Coja, and see a few waterfalls. Throughout the tour, your guide regales you with information about the local area and makes time for you to explore.

Discover one of Portugal’s largest Roman settlements—and couple visits to ancient ruins with a museum excursion—during this private-half day Conimbriga tour. Choose between morning and afternoon start times, depart from your Coimbra hotel, and travel via private vehicle. You’ll discover Conimbriga’s ruins and famed aqueduct, will visit the PO.RO.S - Portugal Roman Museum in Sicó, and can also explore the Museu Monografico de Conimbriga.

Venture beyond city limits to discover some of Portugal’s most transportive scenery—and enjoy a fully personalized experience—on this private half- or full-day tour of the Serra da Lousã mountains. Pick your tour time and duration, meet your driver-guide in Coimbra, and set off via 4x4 vehicle. You’ll head into the mountains, will go off-roading, will look out for wildlife like deer and foxes, and will visit the region’s historic schist villages.

Dating back to medieval times, the mountainous villages surrounding Coimbra are like something from a fairy tale, but navigating the winding roads alone can be stressful. This private half-day trip transports you through the traditional villages of Lousa, providing cultural context and translation that you’d struggle to get if you were on your own.

Serra da Lousã is known for its “magic villages” of schist but it is not just its stone houses that are magical. In this walk of about 18 km and 900 m of positive difference, we will take you to discover its forests of oak, chestnut and pine trees, always accompanied by water courses and waterfalls. Along this walk we will visit several schist villages where we will take you to imagine what it would be like to live in this summer refuge for shepherds and farmers. Come with us on this adventure, the nature of Serra da Lousã awaits you.

We invite you to live an experience in the imposing Massif of Sicó that shapes this wild scenery, as well as the way of life of the people. Here, side by side, stone and man steadfastly resist the wear and tear of time. You look around and the entire landscape appears dominated by the sharp edges of the stone. On the way to Buracas valley, we will hike in fields of lapiás, authentic “stone cemeteries”, dolinas (sinkholes) and hold your breath for the most impressive scenery of all: the Casmilo caves, popularly known as “the mouths of the mountains”. Then we will enter the canyon and hike to the Our Lady of Circulo Santuary, in the top of the mountain, and visit the Outeiro windmill! In this hike we will also pass in three mountain villages. IMPORTANT: Feel safe, we have the "Clean & Safe" seal from Turismo de Portugal!

Portugal's first capital has a habit of giving old buildings new jobs. A royal throne room is now where doctoral students defend their theses. A parish church is now a café. A Moorish gate still guards the hill. This self-guided audio walking tour, on the Tourific app, stitches it all together. Follow a route from the Monastery of Santa Cruz, where Portugal's first two kings lie buried, up cobblestone backstreets to Europe's oldest surviving university, where bats work the night shift in the Joanina Library. Hear how a student serenade became the secret signal that toppled a dictatorship, and trace the doomed love of Pedro and Inês. Walk at your own pace, pause when you want, restart when you're ready. No fixed meeting time, no group to keep up with, full offline access. Over 20,000 travelers have used our self-guided walking tours, and this Coimbra audio tour comes with a full refund guarantee. If you'd rather wander and listen than follow a raised umbrella, this one's for you.

Serra da Lousã is known for its "magical villages" of schist but it is not only its stone houses that are magical. This off-road tour will take you to the discovery of its oak, chestnut and pine forests where noble creatures and magical silhouettes inhabit the Deer. Among the forests where these majestic beings inhabit we will also take you to observe and know smaller species, but no less important for the ecosystem, which gave us their unique colors and look… Come with us on this adventure, the Serra da Lousã Nature awaits you.

Penacova, the village "where Nature lives", where "breathe good air", a place that awaits you and where the river Mondego will guide you! In this village, near Coimbra, where every corner and nook has a story to tell, we will leave on an adventure and in each place, a letter will find! This letter has a history, a memory, a tradition, a monument, a landscape and all together define the identity of this region. Follow and listen to the melody of the waters of the Mondego River and the Alva River, feel the "good air" of Penacova around your face and discover belvederes, windmills and waterfalls while the green mountains will accompany you. Allow yourself to meet the Nature that lives in this county, allow you to enrich your life with stories and build in your heart a book of memories to never forget.

The Roman Empire had an enormous weight in our culture and the evidence of this can be found a bit everywhere in the Sicó area. In this adventure we will start to discover the complex of the Roman Ruins of Conímbriga where you can contemplate the architectural capability of the Roman people and how they lived. From here we will head towards another “ex-libris” of this region, the Casmilo Holes, majestic geological formations that were once complexes of underground caves that are now exposed to the surface. All this and much more is what we will discover in this adventure... ENTRY INCLUDED

Discover the natural wonder of the Mira de Aire Caves, one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal, on a private tour from Coimbra. Explore the stunning underground world shaped over 150 million years, featuring illuminated galleries, limestone formations, and underground lakes. The journey also includes a visit to the Medieval Castle of Porto de Mós, offering a glimpse into Portugal's rich history. Enjoy the convenience of private transportation from your hotel, ensuring a comfortable and personalized experience. - Private tour with hotel pickup and drop-off for added convenience - Explore Mira de Aire Caves with an expert guide and see geological formations - Visit the historical Medieval Castle of Porto de Mós - Experience the stunning Aires and Candeeiros Mountain Range en route

Schist villages have already been dubbed “magic villages”, their names sound like Romans, Arabs and even barbarians, but it is their characteristic appearance that makes them so fantastic. These structures, which date back to medieval times, emanate an architectural beauty that is still difficult to match today, even more fascinating are the places where they are found due to the need to settle for pastoral and agricultural activities. During this adventure, we will take you to discover some of the most beautiful Schist villages in Serra da Lousã, as well as the breathtaking landscapes that this unique place has to offer… In the afternoon we will visit Penacova, the village “where Nature lives”, where “you can breathe good air”, a place that awaits you and where the Mondego river will guide you! Follow and listen to the melody of the waters of the River Mondego and the River Alva, feel the “good air” of Penacova contouring your face and discover windmills and watermills while the green mountains will accompany you.