I found myself in the Museu da Cidade de Coimbra because it was raining and I didn't feel like walking up to the university, so I was a bit surprised to discover this is an art museum and not a museum of the city history, as the name led me to assume.
The ground floor has two temporary exhibitions, which I believe are free to view. There are three floors of ceramics, furniture, and painting in the permanent collection. It began as a private collection. It has a nice variety of pieces spanning historical periods and the world, with a focus on Coimbra, naturally. The building itself is quite lovely.
The three euro ticket will give you access to the permanent collection, as well as entry to the Torre de Almedina (a city history museum) and the Torre de Anto (a fado museum). The ticket is valid for two weeks, which means you don't need to cram all three into one day.
The museum staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. I wasn't really in the mood to chat, yet they won me over with their desire to make sure I understood the history of the collection and enjoyed the art. read more