Living, buying and investing in Coimbra

Coimbra at a glance for expat buyers

Coimbra is central Portugal's principal city — roughly 140,000 residents in the municipality, straddling the Mondego river about 200km north of Lisbon and 110km south of Porto on the main A1 motorway and the Linha do Norte railway. It is best known for the University of Coimbra, founded in 1290 and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world; its hilltop core, the Alta, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That university shapes the entire city: roughly a quarter of the resident population in term time is students and staff, and the rental and renovation markets revolve around the academic calendar. For expat buyers, Coimbra's appeal is value plus substance. Average asking prices were around €1,750 per square metre in early 2026 — markedly below Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, while the city still offers genuine urban infrastructure: a major teaching hospital (Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra), an international airport-adjacent location (Porto and Lisbon airports each roughly 1h45–2h by car or train), restaurants, theatre, and a walkable historic centre. It draws a different expat profile from the coast — fewer pure retirees, more remote workers, academics, healthcare-linked families and buyers who want a real Portuguese city rather than a resort. Winters are cooler and wetter than the Algarve; summers are hot and dry inland.