At the top of Celas, a sloping residential area of Coimbra, in the center of Portugal, where bourgeois houses and student shared accommodation mingle, The Luggage stands out, with its white facade, its huge windows, its tiled roof, its covered porch marked out stone columns and elegant moldings.
This thirteen-room boutique hotel was established ten years ago in a Victorian-style house built in 1927, commissioned by a wealthy family in the city, importers of Brazilian coffee and lovers of English culture. The owners have preserved the decor of the place and its warm atmosphere, while infusing fifties touches with pieces of vintage furniture scattered around, particularly in the breakfast room, a sort of time capsule with its checkerboard floor and Scandinavian chairs. .
An establishment closer to a holiday home than a hotel, with its many nooks and small lounges where you can relax in checkered woolen armchairs. The spacious suite 201, bathed in light, enjoys the most beautiful view of the old town, illuminated after dark.
Despite contemporary details, such as the high-quality bedding, suite 201 has retained its historic character with its ceiling moldings, its painted wooden interior shutters, its pine parquet flooring on which a sideboard and an armchair are placed. On the other side of the double doors, the equally spacious bathroom recreates the charm of yesteryear, with tiled floors and marble sink. The Luggage is a relaxed, very affordable address, ideal for exploring the city on foot.
At 260 meters: taste typical dishes
It’s probably not the most elegant restaurant in Coimbra, but it’s one of the tastiest. First the soup, a Portuguese specialty masterfully interpreted by Troika Beer & Food, then the pulled cod, the eggs “broken” (another Lusitano dish) or the desserts… the entire menu, made up of local dishes, is in tune. Let yourself be guided by the advice of the French-speaking boss, whose warm service will make you forget the somewhat cold atmosphere of the place.
At 750 meters: get lost in an exotic garden
Listed as a UNESCO heritage site, the botanical garden of the University of Coimbra extends over 13 hectares in the heart of the city. A maze of paths along which exotic trees grow, like a huge Ficus macrophylla, there are tiered gardens and tropical greenhouses where a stream and a waterfall flow. Wildly romantic, this green lung deserves to get lost there or sit on one of its stone benches to observe the hundreds of shades of green…
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