Mercado Municipal (Coimbra Municipal Market)

Coimbra is a university city, but it is also a market town for a large agricultural region, and the Mercado Municipal D. Pedro V is the place where the two worlds meet. The covered market stands in the lower part of the city, near the Mondego river, in a building from the 19th century, and for generations, farmers, fishmongers and bakers from the surrounding countryside have brought their produce here. Students and professors shop beside housewives and restaurant cooks, and the atmosphere is a good deal livelier than that of the tourist streets above.

The hall is arranged in sections. Fruit and vegetable stalls make up the main part, with piles of seasonal produce brought in from the farms around Coimbra: pears, apples, oranges, cabbages, green beans, tomatoes, onions and potatoes, and in autumn, chestnuts and pumpkins. Other counters sell cheeses, notably those of the nearby Serra da Estrela and the Rabaçal area, cured meats and sausages, olives, honey, dried fruit, bread and cakes. Fish stalls display the catch from the Atlantic coast, only an hour away, with sardines, sea bream, hake and the inevitable dried salt cod. Flower sellers add colour, and some stalls sell household goods, baskets and pottery.

The surrounding region is known for its food, and the market is the best place to see the ingredients. Coimbra's district sits next to the Bairrada wine region, famous for its sparkling wines and for roast suckling pig, leitão, which is served in restaurants in nearby Mealhada. Chanfana, a goat or lamb stew slowly cooked in red wine in a clay pot, is another regional speciality, as are the pastéis de Tentúgal, delicate pastries filled with egg cream and wrapped in a paper-thin dough, made in a village not far from Coimbra, and various convent sweets. You can buy many of the local products here to take home.

A few small cafes and food counters inside the market offer coffee, pastries and quick lunches, a good way to feel the rhythm of the place. Vendors are friendly and often happy to give a taste, and prices are lower than in supermarkets or tourist shops. The best time to visit is in the morning, when the market is busiest and the stock freshest, and it winds down in the early afternoon. It is generally closed on Sundays and may open for shorter hours on Saturdays, so check before you go. Bring cash and a shopping bag.

The market is a short walk from the Baixa, the lower part of the old town, and the riverside gardens. It suits food lovers, photographers and anyone curious about everyday life, and it makes a good complement to the university and the cathedral.