Coimbra is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The municipality has a population of 142,408 inhabitants, and over 435,000 inhabitants live in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Coimbra made of 16 municipalities comprising a 3370 km˛ area. It is the district seat of Coimbra district, being located in Baixo Mondego subregion, which belongs to the larger Centro region from whom it is the capital. Like most university cities, there is also a large number of dislocated students from outside Coimbra residing in the city. Coimbra is one of the most important urban centers of Portugal after the much larger Lisbon Metropolitan Area and Porto Metropolitan Area conurbations, and plays a role as the chief city of the central part of the country. The city, which was the capital of Portugal from 1139 to about 1260, has a large archeological site with extensive ruins dating from the time it was a Roman town called Aeminium. Coimbra developed into an important cultural centre, mainly because of the University of Coimbra founded in 1290. The university is one of the oldest in Europe and due to its monumental buildings and history attracts tourists from around the world.
The historic city of Coimbra is located in the central part of Portugal, 120 km south of Porto, 195 km north of Lisbon. One of Portugal's biggest crossroads, Coimbra is served by the A1, the main highway of Portugal. It is set by the Mondego River, about 40 km east of Figueira da Foz, a neighbour coastal city with several beaches, summer and seaport facilities on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
