The Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, part of the local UNESCO World Heritage, is a natural treasure in the center of the city. The space was created in the 18th century, within the scope of the Pombaline reform, at a time when medicine and botany gained expression in the country. Thousands of species, from all over the world, of scientific interest are reunited there. There are so many places to visit in the Botanical Garden, but now we will highlight the “Great Greenhouse” (Tropical) and the “Cold Greenhouse”.
The “Estufa Grande”, built in the 19th century, is one of the oldest buildings of iron architecture in Portugal. It’s precisely the combination of iron and glass that makes this space so beautiful and unusual. There we can admire tropical and subtropical plants, distributed in three different sections, for example: orchids, 21 species of carnivorous plants, tropical trees and ferns. Also featuring the impressive aquatic plant Victoria, the queen of water lilies, whose leaves can reach almost two meters in diameter and hold the weight of a child weigahing 20 to 30 kg.
The “Estufa Fria”, built in the 20th century, hosts flora adapted to humid, cold and dark environments. The plants are surrounded by a waterfall and a small stream that runs through the entire greenhouse. There is also a statue, “Botany”, which symbolizes the science of plants.
You need to include in your itinerary through Coimbra, a visit to this “admirable world of plants”. Visits must be booked in advance: https://visit.uc.pt or turismo@uc.pt.
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