Coimbra, my first love!
No other city has touched my heart as "she" does. I am one of the lucky ones who has had the pleasure of living in Coimbra and being under her spell. I grew up in this marvelous city until 1985, when I turned 16 and moved to the US. I return every year to continue my traditions and enjoy my family, friends and my grandparents house.

The city of Coimbra has a population of about 150,000 inhabitants and a total of 435,000 inhabitants in its Greater Metropolitan Area. Previously capital of the former Beira province, and today the Centro region capital, it is considered the third most important city of Portugal, after Lisbon and Porto, and plays a role as the chief city of the central part of the country. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area is among the biggest in Portugal. With a dense urban grid the city of Coimbra is famous for its monuments, churches, libraries, numerous parks, gardens, nightlife, shopping facilities and above all for its university, one of the oldest universities in Europe.

Its most ancient remains are dated from the time of the Roman domination. The Romans founded the town of Aeminium in this place, which would become the current city of Coimbra.

The Iberian soldier of fortune known as El Cid captured the city from the Moors in 1064. In the following century, Coimbra developed into an important cultural center, firstly due to the school founded in the Santa Cruz Monastery (1131) where Saint Anthony of Lisbon studied, and later because of the University of Coimbra founded in 1290. The university is one of the oldest in Europe and attracts students from around the world, which gives the city a special and rare atmosphere. Nowadays, it has students from 70 different nationalities; almost 10% of its students are foreigners, being Portugal's most international university.

Coimbra has a large archeological site with extensive ruins dating from the time it was a Roman town called Aeminium. The cathedral of Sé Velha, built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style, is still in operation, and it is worth visiting all the old buildings from the university dating from the 15th century through to the 18th century, the New Cathedral from the 17th century, the Santa Cruz Monastery from the 12th century with the tombs of the two first Portuguese kings, Afonso I and his son Sancho I, and the Machado de Castro Museum, the second most important one in Portugal, after Old Art National Museum in Lisbon. The city also houses the University of Coimbra General Library, Portugal's second largest library, after the National Library in Lisbon, and the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra from the 18th century.

Coimbra, is also known for the "Fado de Coimbra" its music and artists and also the reduced child-scale buildings it has erected within one of its city parks, Portugal dos Pequeninos, built in the 1950's and 1960's. These buildings are scale copies of Portugal's characteristic architecture.