The district of Coimbra, belongs, in his most part, to the traditional province of Beira Interior, although several of its eastern counties are divided among the provinces of Beira Alta and Beira Baixa. It borders at North with district of Aveiro and the district of Viseu, at East with the district of Guarda and district of Castelo Branco, at South with the district of Leiria and at West with the Atlantic Ocean.
The principal geographical characteristic of the district, is the Mondego River Valley, the largest river that born in Portugal and predominates the landscape around the Western district.
Presenting contrasts between the sea and the mountains, in the region, there are landscapes of beaches, in Figueira da Foz and Mira, a spa, as well as saws, which are the S. Pedro de Açor, Arganil, Calcorinho, and Lousã.
The capital of the district is the city of Coimbra, where there is its university, founded in 1290, being the oldest in Portugal, having contributed to Coimbra becoming over the centuries, a city of strong university tradition.
In Coimbra, occurred one of the biggest episodes in the history of Portugal with the forbidden love of D. Pedro I and D. Inês de Castro, in the Fourteenth Century, being that their story continues to be part of the city's heritage as well as the national literary heritage.
Coimbra has several monuments with a vast history, which are the Arc and the Doors of Almedina, the Arches of the Garden, the Convent of Santa Clara-a-Nova, the Convent of Santa Maria de Celas, the Convent of São Francisco, the Monastery of Celas, the Lorvão Monastery, the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, the New Cathedral and Old Cathedral, the Quinta das Lágrimas and the Aqueduct of S. Sebastian.
There also to highlight in Coimbra, the Conimbriga Monographic Museum, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the Museum Machado de Castro (Classified as World Heritage), the Roman Bridge of Bobadela, the Tapir of Pinheiro dos Abraços,, in Oliveira Hospital, classified as public interest Real Estate, besides the Portugal dos Pequenitos.
From the gastronomic point of view, it stands out in Coimbra, the lamprey rice, the chanfana and the roasted pig. In terms of sweets, there are the Cheesecakes and the corn cobs, the rice pudding, the nuns of Santa Clara golden soup, the arrufadas, the Tentúgal pastries, the cookies bolinhós and the eggs pudding.
Its area is 3947 km ², with a resident population of 436,056 inhabitants, in 2006.
