Private Tour to Tomar and Coimbra in Lisbon, Portugal

On this tour, we will travel back in time and get to know the mythical Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple. Associated with one of the most interesting religious orders in the world, we have the city of Tomar with its historic center on the banks of the Nabao River. Its main attraction is the Monastery of Christ, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and artistically reflecting the history of Portugal with evidence of Romanesque art, Templar symbolism, Gothic and Manueline styles, Renaissance art, Mannerism and Baroque, highlighting the Roman charola of the church, the famous Manueline window in the chapter hall and the monastery of D. John III.

Highlights:

• Getting to know the mythical Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple.

• The historic center of the city Tomar on the banks of the Nabao River

• Astonishing Convent of Christ

• Tomar Synagogue

• Coimbra University

• St. James's Church

• Old Cathedral

• Santa Clara Monastery

Includes:

• driver(guide)

• private transportation by a/c vehicle

• pick-up and drop-off from and to airport or meeting point

• bottled water

• WiFi on board

Not included:

• Entrance to monuments

Please note: the price for the group of 5-8 people is 480 EUR per group.

The city of Tomar, which is the former residence of the Knights Templar, amazes us with its cultural and artistic wealth. Our admiration reaches its peak at the Convento de Cristo, one of the most important renaissance monuments in Portugal.

You must definitely go up to the Templar castle and get acquainted with the monumental work - the monastery of Christ (Convento de Cristo). The Rotunda Church of Charola is the oldest part of the castle. The Temple of the Templars was built in the 12th century, in the same period as the castle itself, considered at that time the most modern and advanced military structure of the kingdom, inspired by the fortifications in the Holy Land. During the period of reconstruction carried out by order of King Don Manuel I (D. Manuel I) in the 16th century, it was transformed into the main chapel (Capela-Mor), and the entire ensemble of the monastery acquired architectural grandeur, which has been preserved to this day, serving grounds for inscription of the monastery on the World Heritage List.

Tomar the oldest, medieval part of the city is a cross with lines directed to the four cardinal directions, at the end of each of them there is a monastery. Republic Square, on which the main church (Igreja Matriz) is located - the church of São João Baptista (Igreja de São João Baptista), indicates that we are in the city center, and from the west side you can see a hill with a castle and a monastery of Christ on top. On the streets around the square, we will find traditional shops and the oldest cafe in the city, where we will taste local sweets with great pleasure: queijadas curd cakes with almonds and pumpkin, as well as traditional Fatias de Tomar (Fatias de Tomar ) - slices of biscuit poured with syrup, which is steamed from egg yolks in a special dish, which was invented by a local tinsmith in the middle of the last century.

Coimbra is located on the banks of the Mondego River, on a hill dotted with historical sites. The city is home to the oldest university in Portugal, as well as several religious monuments of the XII-XVIII centuries.

Among the main attractions of the city is the amazing baroque library, decorated with gilded shelves, which holds more than 300,000 books.

Despite its ancient history, Coimbra remains a young-spirited city thanks to the high number of students who fill its bars late at night. Here you can listen to Fado de Coimbra, a unique style created by students. No trip to Coimbra is complete without a visit to its University. Rising above the city, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. The university consists of several buildings located around a large courtyard called the Pátio das Escolas. The city received the name "Coimbra" from the Roman Conimbriga, although the ancient city was located one and a half dozen kilometers to the south. The inhabitants left it in the VI century after the invasion of the Vandals. For the new settlement, Eminium Hill was chosen on the banks of the Mondego, which was conquered by the Arabs in the 8th century.

The Moors were expelled from Coimbra in 878, but a century later it again fell under their rule, and was finally liberated by the Castilian king Ferdinand the Great in 1064. When the first Portuguese king, Afonso Henriques, decided to move his capital from Guimarães further south in 1139, his choice fell on Coimbra, which remained the country's main city until 1256.