2 Best Sights in Coimbra and Central Portugal, Portugal

Facing Praça da República, in a small square a little way from the old town, you'll find the 18th-century Igreja da Misericórdia and its imposing baroque portal. The walls of the otherwise sober interior are resplendent with blue-and-white azulejos. Look out for the gilded altarpiece and finely carved woodwork, as well as the quiet courtyard next door, often missed by passers-by.

The 12th-century stone church contains fragments of original frescoes and a fine Pietà carved from a single block of granite. The tomb of Pedro Cabral is also in this church. Actually there are two Pedro Cabral tombs in Portugal, the result of a bizarre dispute with Santarém, where Cabral died. Both towns claim ownership of the explorer's mortal remains, and no one seems to know just who or what is in either tomb.