Coimbra

The adjacent museum displays archaeological finds and shows two films, one about the nuns who lived here, the other documenting the 20-year renovation that cleared the river ooze that had buried it — Lonely Planet

Step through the Renaissance porch and flamboyant 18th-century arch to the echoing tiled interior...also impressive is its restrained Manueline cloister. — Lonely Planet

This convent on a hill was built in the 17th century to house the Poor Clair nuns who were forced by floods from their old convent. — Fodor's

It's made of massive granite blocks...and the harsh exterior is softened somewhat by its graceful 16th-century Renaissance doorway. The somber interior has a gilded wooden altarpiece — Fodor's

The university's main entrance is the Iron Gate, a 17th-century confection designed by architect António Tavares...it stands on the same spot as the original gateway to Coimbra’s Moorish citadel — Lonely Planet

A place of serious scientific study, with more than 1,200 species of plants covering 50 acres. There is also a foliage-filled greenhouse and a small botanical museum. — Fodor's

Houses a museum displaying some 250,000 curious and intricate scientific instruments as well as rooms filled with interactive displays and interesting experiments. — Fodor's

With a fine 16th-century Manueline portal opening onto the courtyard...its baroque organ, mannerist main altar, and rococo side altars are stunning. — Fodor's