2 Best Sights in Coimbra and Central Portugal, Portugal

These 18th-century gardens are planted with rows of hedges cut in all sorts of bizarre shapes and contain an unusual assemblage of sculpture. Bordering one of the park's five small lakes are a path and stairway lined on both sides with granite statues of the apostles, the evangelists, and the kings of Portugal. The long-standing Portuguese disdain for the Spanish is graphically demonstrated here; the kings who ruled when Portugal was under Spanish domination are carved to a noticeably smaller scale than the "true" Portuguese rulers. Unfortunately, many statues were damaged by Napoléon's troops when the city was ransacked in 1807.

From the Old Town, the botanical garden sweeps down the side of the hill to the Mondego River. Designed by British architect William Elsden and two natural history teachers, Domingos Vandelli and Dalla Bella, it was created during the reform of the university in 1772 by the Marquis of Pombal. It's still a place of serious scientific study, with more than 1,200 species of plants covering 50 acres. There is also a foliage-filled greenhouse and a small botanical museum. The walk uphill along the marked trail takes takes around 45 minutes, or half that if you're headed down.