Long a Moorish stronghold and for a century the seat of Portugal's kings, Coimbra's upper town rises quickly and picturesquely from the banks of the Rio Mondego. The most picturesque way to enter its labyrinth of lanes is via Arco de Almedina - the city's heavy-duty Moorish gateway - and up the staggered stairs known as Rua Quebra-Costas (Backbreaker).
People have been gasping up this hill (and falling down it) for centuries; local legend says it was the 19th-century writer Almeida Garrett who persuaded the mayor to install the stairs.
