Day tour to Fátima and Coimbra from Porto
This tour allows you to take all the time you need to truly feel the energy at this place that is so special for all Catholics, for the very devout, as well as for those who love the history of Portugal. Fátima is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. The tour can be adjusted so as to include the candle procession that takes place every day from March 28 to October 31, between 9.30pm and 11.00pm.
This trip begins in Porto, and then onto Coimbra, the city of students and the oldest university in the country, (12th century), and one of the oldest in the world. Take the time to visit the Joanina Library with its collection of over 300,000 books and some of the rarest manuscripts in the entire country. Visit the Old Romanesque style Cathedral (Sé Velha). We recommend crossing the river to visit the Santa Clara Convent and the Quinta das Lágrimas (Estate of Tears), where the love between Pedro and Inês blossomed.
We recommend having lunch at one of the taverns downtown, where you can find the most delicious snacks. We then head towards Fátima, where Our Lady of Fátima appeared to the three shepherd children in 1917. Here, we will visit the basilica, where Francisco, Jacinta Marto, and Lúcia are buried, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the largest Catholic sanctuary in Portugal.
There will also be time to see the Chapel of Apparitions, a small temple built at the request of Our Lady of Fátima when she appeared to the three shepherd children, and Azinheira Grande, the tree that Jacinta, Lúcia, and Francisco passed before seeing the Saint.