Tragic Love

After you have gone through the Arco de Almedina, the 9th century Moorish gateway that is part of the remains of Coimbra's medieval wall, and climbed the Quebra Costas (back breaker) steps to the ancient university and cathedral, go back down to the square by the River Mondego and grab a taxi across the bridge to the Quinta das Lágrimas (house of tears) in Santa Clara.

The hotel was built on the site of Portugal's most tragic love affair. In the 14th century, Prince Dom Pedro fell in love with the beautiful Spanish noblewoman Dona Inês. They lived with their two children until one January night in 1355, when Pedro's father, King Afonso IV, fearing that Inês' Spanish brothers were plotting to usurp his throne, had Inê murdered in the garden.

When the inconsolable Dom Pedro became king in 1357, he had Inês' body put on the throne and forced the country's nobles to kiss her hand. The lovers remain entombed together in the monastery in Alcobaça, but the spot in Santa Clara is a shrine to their sad, eternal love. The gracious 54-room hotel, with its fine restaurant, occupies a converted 18th century manor house owned by José Miguel Júdice, a direct descendant of Pedro and Inês. Its dark trees evoke the memory of Dona Inês.