Paço das Escolas (University of Coimbra)

Why go

The University of Coimbra's tourism site says the Royal Palace was built at the end of the 10th century as a fortress for the city's governor under Islamic rule, became the residence of Afonso Henriques in 1131, and has housed the university since 1544, after its permanent move from Lisbon to Coimbra in 1537; it presents the palace rooms as the Armory, the Great Hall of Acts and the Private Examination Room. The Centre of Portugal tourism board, which dates the university's arrival in the palace to 1537, calls the Great Hall of Acts (Sala Grande dos Actos) the Sala dos Capelos and describes the tower that holds the clock and bells regulating academic life. The university's ticket programmes list the Royal Palace, St Michael's Chapel and the Joanina Library as the visitable spaces of the Palace of Schools and combine them with the Science Museum spaces, one programme leaving out the library; its visit information page said on 9 October 2026 that the University Tower was closed. This record is the palace complex around the Pátio das Escolas, not the University of Coimbra as an institution and not the UNESCO World Heritage property 'University of Coimbra, Alta and Sofia', which covers many buildings; the Joanine Library is a separate building on the same courtyard.