With a population of less than 100,000 and a dense urban grid the town of Coimbra could fit inside the campus of some of the larger universities of North America. The fame of the town rests mostly in its university, which is one of the oldest in Europe (having received its Royal charter on August 3rd 1290) and attracts students from around the world.
It has a large archeological site with extensive ruins dating from the time it was a Roman town called Aeminium. The cathedral of Santa Clara, built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style, is still in operation.
Coimbra is also known for the reduced child-scale buildings it has erected within one of its city parks. These building are scale copies of its own typical pieces of architecture.