COIMBRA PORTUGAL | First Impressions of Medieval Old Town and Coimbra University

[@BucketListTravellers]

What a charming area! The cobblestone streets, little alleyways and beautiful architecture are so nice. Looks like a lovely place to visit.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you, Jay and Jon! Coimbra is so lovely. We had such a wonderful time in this stunning university city 😁😃 ~ Mandy

[@ouritaliandestiny7955]

We just loved Coimbra this past December all decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately we didn't get to see all that you did. We vowed to go back and really explore. We loved all the narrow cobbled streets as well, reminded Debbie of Venice. Um, lunch looks fab and such a great deal! LOL!! The ending cracked us up! We most certainly feel your pain! It seems everytime we want to talk to the camera for an intro or say goodbye, some one has got to run an electric tool or start a big truck and just let it idle, the list goes on!! LOL! Thanks for showing us more of Coimbra!!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Debbie and Stijn! Isn't Coimbra gorgeous! We'd love to go back and spend a month at Fatima's... I think the Air BnB tour is in the third Coimbra vlog 😁😃 I can imagine how beautiful the city would have looked with the Christmas decorations up. We found a couple of excellent places to eat, such amazing value for such tasty food and wine. Yep, it can be a test in patience to video sometimes, which is all part of the fun 🤣 Love you guys! 💕 ~ Mandy

[@vickiamaral6494]

I was there few days before your trip. Loved it!

[@FrugalTravellers]

That's so cool, Vicki! Isn't Coimbra a great city! 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@meetu_]

I loved the whole video and the vibe it gave off! Sorry for the construction work that you caught during your visit! The garden near the river is in construction and it really makes Coimbra lose a part of the chill downtown river charm you could get during the summer time there! BTW "Paz, pão, habitação, saúde, educação!!!" was made into a song by Sergio Godinho during the revolutionary times and it is an amazing song (in my opinion of course)! Just search "Sergio Godinho Liberdade"! Thank you for showing off our beautiful city! Have a good day!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thanks for the comment and the great information. I'm going to search for Sergio Godinho right now. I ❤️ revolutionary anthems! We spent a very hot day across the bridge on the other side of the river and shot some footage there. There will be two more short Coimbra videos coming soon. We loved it there! You have an incredible city. 👍~Lee

[@meetu_]

@@FrugalTravellers Thank you so much for the response!!! Hope you like the song! I also love revolutionary and political music! I've subscribed so I don't miss the next videos! And thank you for the compliment towards the city! Have a good day!!

[@wykedmoose7642]

Bravo...Totally awesome you showed the edgy side of the college town too! F'n excellent music ta boot!!! One of the best vids on Coimbra I've seen. Brava/Bravo

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. We loved the vibe around the Republicas. Definitely our kind of place. Coimbra has some really cool sides to it. 2 more short videos coming soon. 😊👍~Lee

[@seagrey75]

Portugal, Spain, Italy.... Lovely countries.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hello Mark! That they are... but I have to say that Portugal is now my favourite! This country is amazing and is like an undiscovered secret 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@hillarylopes7557]

What beautiful history. Thanks for showing us everything right down to the prices of meals. Love your videos.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hillary, thank you so much for that wonderful compliment! We are so happy that you enjoy our videos, and we really appreciate you taking the time to comment! ~ Mandy

[@christinewitton3260]

Thanks for pointing out that all important "sight" - the local free toilets!

[@FrugalTravellers]

I always look out for free public loos for myself, so decided to start sharing them with our viewers. The toilet segments get such positive feedback that we recently made a new graphic for them, shown for the first time in the Alcobaça market video! 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@spyhunter66]

Great video! I can't wait to visit - we have our first trip planned for Feb 2022 with a 3 day stop in Coimbra!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you for your lovely comment, Zato! We hope you enjoy Coimbra as much as we did! ~ Mandy

[@mytripland]

We liked your video of the old medieval town...big like 🔝and a new sub from Greece!!!🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️Keep on the good work...👍

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you! We're pleased you enjoyed the video! ~ Mandy

[@tuxdude1]

What a great little city! The meal you had was great value with the wine. Good on ya!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you, Todd! We loved Coimbra - there's so much to see and do there, and we found some great value places to eat! We appreciate you taking the time to comment! ~ Mandy

[@moneymindfinance]

Beautiful Portugal😁Stunning views in Coimbra. You can never go wrong exploring Portugal.😍😁✌️✌️

[@FrugalTravellers]

We totally agree - we love Portugal! This is such an amazing country, and Coimbra is such a beautiful city! Thank you for taking the time to comment! ~ Mandy

[@zanzibarandgrill6484]

Great video! We'll be in Coimbra and then staying in of the nearby Schist villages in about 2 weeks.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you for your kind comment! Coimbra is gorgeous, and we're sure you'll enjoy it! It would be great to go to a Schist village... something we'd love to do the next time we're in Coimbra! ~ Mandy

[@acheinacacambarecicle6586]

very good your video. A hug from Brazil

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you, that's so kind! Sending hugs from Portugal! ~ Mandy

[@deenap9607]

Well done!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you so much. 🙏 Glad you enjoyed it. 👍😁 ~ Lee

[@teresita5794]

Gorgeous city and it looks as if you lucked out in the weather department, so much blue sky. Can't wait to visit. Cheers friends!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Yes, we were so lucky with the weather in Coimbra... it made up for the grey skies the week before in Braga 😁😃 Coimbra is such a beautiful city and we're looking forward to going back soon. Thank you for your lovely comment! ~ Mandy

[@LuisSantos-us1ww]

Very nice video about Coimbra, one of my favorite portuguese cities. And I use to go to "Sé Nova" restaurant when I came to Coimbra: it's a nice place.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hello Luis. Thank you for the compliment - we're so happy that you enjoyed the video. How cool that you've been to the same restaurant! It was a great find, with such a tasty and excellent value menu do dia! There are two more Coimbra videos to come, and we hope you enjoy them! ~ Mandy

[@LuisSantos-us1ww]

@@FrugalTravellers Yes and I had lunch in this restaurant with a group of colleagues teachers some years go.

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@LuisSantos-us1ww That's wonderful. We'd definitely go back there the next time we're in Coimbra! ~ Mandy

[@unofficiallatinamericanist]

@@FrugalTravellers Hey legends! A month or so ago, I commented on one of your vids about us getting two Tavira-Sevilla tickets for 10 Euros each with Alsa. I hope you’re well! We are going to Coimbra for 2 nights in late August. How long did you stay in Coimbra for? :) We are also getting the Flixbus to Coimbra (but from Porto) for 4.99 euros each. So good! I found your video about the FlixBus stop very helpful because heaps of reviewers online complained about the stop. The stop does not look that bad in your video lol. How was the walk to your accomodation btw? Ours is 2.4km away or 32 mins walk 😅. But it is super close to the university and the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro 😊. This video of yours was helpful too. I will surely go to “O Sé Nova” for lunch on Day 2. I love a good old lunch special :3

[@cindybruin4888]

Great video as always. I envy your beautiful weather. Thanks for sharing this lively city. I loved lunch as well, Portugal sure is generous with wine. :-)

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you, Cindy! It's always so lovely to hear from you 😃 We had such wonderful weather in Coimbra, it made a change from the grey skies in Braga the week before! Portugal certainly is the place to go for generous sized glasses and servings of wine with the Menu do Dia... yet another reason why we love it here! ~ Mandy

[@thaibillyboy]

Hi guys great to see you, that place looks amazing, i would love to visit there with my cameras, its like a photographers and painters dream, lovely place! Good news for me i might be back to Krakow for the Xmas markets in December, beers are on me if your there, enjoy your trip, thanks.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hello TBB! So lovely to hear from you, and how wonderful that you might be back in Krakow in December! I'm pretty sure we'll still be in Portugal then but hopefully we'll meet up for those beers somewhere, someday! 😃🍺🍻😁 Coimbra is magical! It's so medieval with the university up on the hill and with the cobbled streets of the Baixo area downtown! You'd love it... so many amazing and diverse scenes to photograph! We have 2 more Coimbra videos to come, so it will be cool to hear what you think of them if you watch them! It's made our day to hear from you! ~ Mandy

[@rollingwiththepauls]

Love this video, it had such a light and cute quality throughout. Finally a place where we've been to, albeit just for a quick two hours. So it was nice to see other parts of Coimbra outside of the main pedestrian area. 😃

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you so much. We spent a week in Coimbra so had plenty of time to wander round and get to know it. I loved the vibe of the place and it still remains as one of my favourite places in Portugal. 😁🇵🇹👍 ~ Lee

[@PlanetImo]

Ooh! You've just walked through the arch where I sheltered from the rain when we visited and it's where I bought my tea towels from! 😂 They're getting really scraggy now.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Oh, that's so cool! Let me know when you've shown the tea towels in a vlog! We'll catch up on your daily vlogs when we're back to having WiFi at our next house sit! ~ Mandy

[@PlanetImo]

@@FrugalTravellers Argh no wi fi!!! Nightmare!!

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@PlanetImo Yes... it's another lesson in patience 😁😃 The owner provided a sim card with data, but we underestimated how much we'd need for 2 weeks, so have to be careful to not go over the 5GB provided! ~ Mandy

[@PlanetImo]

@@FrugalTravellers I bet!! I try to avoid steaming video when on data but even when you scroll through Instagram or Facebook, videos just start streaming randomly!

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@PlanetImo Yes, I've become far more aware of that, so it's helped keep my scrolling to the bare minimum! We both miss watching KZbin videos so are really looking forward to the next housesit and wifi! 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@PlanetImo]

Lovely vlog, guys! There's always drilling going on in Lisbon, too!

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you, Imo, for your lovely comment! We had to laugh about all the drilling and hammering... vlogging is a great way to develop patience, isn't it! 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@PlanetImo]

@@FrugalTravellers I don't think I've ever worried about that kind of thing... I just shout over the top of it, usually! Ha ha! Mine's a daily life, rather than info type channel though, so I suppose it's a different kettle of fish.

[@PlanetImo]

Lovely to see those ladies in the traditional dress around 1:27

[@FrugalTravellers]

Well spotted! We're not too sure if they were nuns or widows! ~ Mandy

[@PlanetImo]

@@FrugalTravellers Yeah - I don't think you see so many about these days, but in archive footage there's a lot. Maybe it's still more common in the remote villages? Maybe just much older ladies?

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@PlanetImo Hopefully a local will see this and let us know. You can't beat local knowledge! 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@josefranco4739]

@@FrugalTravellers i believe they are just some old ladies, widows like you said, in the old days widows usually used a very similar black clothes!

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@josefranco4739 Thank you for the information! We appreciate you taking the time to write and let us know! ~ Mandy

[@Nyhiker]

Thanks for sharing all these beautiful places you visit in Portugal. Do you think you’ll spend another winter there?

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hello Tom. It's lovely to hear from you, and thank you for your lovely comment! We're in the process of applying for residency, and are looking forward to spending another winter here. We love Portugal! ~ Mandy

[@khormaka5981]

Great video! Where should I park my rental car if I plan to stop by and explore the town for 5 hours on my way to Porto? I am looking for a safe parking lot. I heard that there are a lot of car break-ins in Portugal.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you for your comment. We've only ever arrived by bus, so are unable to help you with your question. ~ Mandy

[@GLITCHDADA]

Graff will always tell you the vibe of a place great stuff as always , miss the beer reviews 😉👍

[@FrugalTravellers]

Ok, I have to admit it took us about 30 seconds to work out what Graff means 😁🤣 It was blimmin' brilliant in that part of town - students are so inspirational! The wine is just so delicious and so cheap here in Portugal... it's hard to even do wine reviews as we'll be waxing lyrical about 90% of them! Never fear... we won't always be in Portugal AND we have older footage of beer tastings that we can use to make more videos when we run out of other footage 😃😁 ~ Mandy

[@GLITCHDADA]

@@FrugalTravellers 🍻

[@FrugalTravellers]

@@GLITCHDADA And thank you for your lovely comment! It's always great to hear from you! ~ Mandy

[@Nadelina_kb]

Meals seems cheaper than Setúbal. The university is majestic, it’s also interesting to know about the republicans. Great information through the video. Yes reality is not glamour all the time 😄.

[@FrugalTravellers]

We found such excellent Menus do Dia in Coimbra... it was more expensive down in the Low Town but I think it was still cheaper than Setúbal. The cheapest city for lunch deals is still Porto by a long shot! Thank you for your lovely comment, Nadelina 😁💕 ~ Mandy

[@balochvlog7709]

Good nice

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you for the lovely compliment! ~ Mandy

[@reginadiasrebelo9128]

There is also : * o observatorio geofisico e astronomico, * Portugal dos Pequenitos miniature since 1940, * a casa de BISSAIA BARRETO with its two libraries and a great number of paintings from also portuguese painters like José MALHOA, SILVA PORTO, BORDALO PINHEIRO, SOUSA PINTO, André GONCALVES, Marcos DA CRUZ, Pedro Alexandrino DE CARVALHO... * the museums, * a Mata Nacional do Choupal with its sport area, * a praia fluvial, * o golf, * o camping ⛺, * the new areas of Coimbra and not only the historical center, * o FORUM with a lot of different restaurants on the last floor, * o Penedo da Saudade, * etc.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thanks for all of these great tips. 🙏. Coimbra is so full of interesting things to see and do. One of my favourite places in Portugal. Hopefully we return one day. 🙏☺️❤️

[@karenharley1459]

Ah what a wonderful vlog, watching it with so much envy looking out to our grey drizzly sky in the UK. Wish we were there. Just wondered,is it mandatory to wear a musk outside around the towns in Portugal? Had us laughing at the end, it really must be quite hard to film these vlogs sometimes, much appreciated.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Hello Karen. Thank you so much for your lovely comment! Coimbra is a beautiful city, and we had such great weather when we we were there. Re: masks, they must be worn inside public buildings, and if you can't keep a distance of 2 metres when outside. We're so happy you enjoyed the video and found the ending amusing... it made us laugh 😁 There will be 2 more Coimbra vlogs, and we hope you enjoy them as well! ~ Mandy

[@linogalveias]

Coimbra native here, enjoy the city! Quim dos Ossos for a local dish :) go around to Serra da Lousã, Aldeias de Xisto, Luso, Buçaco... little streets and alleys... Choupal :D best miradouro: a little one by Santa Clara-a-Nova :) local pastry of course... find some chanfana :D go to Montemor-o-Velho, Figueira da Foz, Mira, Tocha....

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you so much for all of these wonderful local recommendations. We have left Coimbra now but have a feeling we'll be back so will make a note of these. We loved our time there and have two more videos coming soon. Thanks so much for the advice. I'm curious about Chanfana now. I'm going to Google it. Obrigado 🙏 ~ Lee

[@FrugalTravellers]

Just Googled it. Love goat meat. 😊 Definitely want to try this. 👍👍

[@reginadiasrebelo9128]

The main meal in Coimbra is CHANFANA which is goat meat cooked with red wine in a special way.

[@FrugalTravellers]

Wow, that sounds delicious 😋 How did we miss that? We'll have to go back and go and look for it. 👍

[@fabiborges5885]

I study at the university and during the last semester the constructions disrupted the classes haha

[@FrugalTravellers]

And here's us complaining about not being able to make a 2 minute video, while you're having your studies disrupted! 😃😁 Thank you for keeping it real! ~ Mandy

[@linogalveias]

"a paz, o pão, habitação, saúde, educação"... that's from the song Liberdade, by Sérgio Godinho kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaGpdqFoabmsq6M

[@FrugalTravellers]

Thank you so much for the link, Lino. We didn't know it was from a song before. Will check it out. 😊 ~ Lee

[@zequinha3423]

But you missed one of the most stunning "Bibliotecas" (libraries) in the world...very strange!!! :-(

[@FrugalTravellers]

We sat outside for at least 2 hours and watched different groups go through on the obligatory organised tour. We love libraries and love strolling around them at leisure, not being escorted on a 15-minute guided tour that costs €7.50. Wd looked at the people's faces as they left, and no one looked happy or impressed or amazed. It might be a spectacular historical edifice but it's not the type of experience that we chose to have! ~ Mandy

[@leanderian]

Do you think a Londoner would be happy living in Coimbra?

[@FrugalTravellers]

I really liked it there but I'm from Coventry! 😂😂 I'd definitely recommend paying it a visit and testing the water before making such a big decision. All the best. 😊👍 ~ Lee