Biblioteca Joanina

One of the most beautiful Baroque libraries in the world, inside the University of Coimbra

The Joanine Library, completed in 1728, is the centrepiece of the University of Coimbra and one of the most extraordinary rooms in Portugal. Three interconnected halls rise in gilded Baroque splendour — painted ceilings, gold lacquer shelves, inlaid floors, and walls stacked with some 300,000 leather-bound volumes dating back to the 11th century.

Visits are timed and you can't wander freely, but the ten or fifteen minutes inside are worth it. The library is reached through the university's formal Via Latina courtyard, past the clock tower and the ceremonial Sala dos Capelos. Book your ticket in advance in summer; the queues can be long. The combined ticket that includes the university buildings and the chapel is the best value.

things to do museum sight
A story
The library was built between 1717 and 1728 as a gift from King João V, whose name it bears. It holds around 300,000 books and, less well known, a colony of bats — Egyptian fruit bats that live behind the bookcases and emerge at night to eat the insects that would otherwise damage the ancient parchments.