The harbor of Figueira is primarily a commercial harbor were cargoes are of loading timber andother commercial goods. There is also a fishing harbor and on the side remains of what was onceupon a time a military base. For the leisure boats Figueira is a well-protected marina. The city isworth a stopover and it also is a good starting point to visit the city of Coimbra and Aveiro.Themarket of Figueira is very clean and offers plenty of vegetables and fish for sale. Another partof the city is merely a seaside resort. South of the city you also have big salt lakes that wereneeded to harvest salt needed for the preservation of the cod fish caught close to the Canadiancoast.Coimbra: (29 April 2015)Only a 1 hour train ride from Figueira is Coimbra, on the banks of the Mondego river. Coimbra'smain point of interest is that it is where the first Portuguese university was established in theyear 1308. Today it is still one of Portugal's major universities. The buildings are well preservedand dominate the city. A visit inside the university reveals beautiful auditoriums and meetingrooms as well as a library and church. The cathedral is next to the university and most of therest of the city is student accommodations. Some of the the house fronts are decorated withsigns of protest against everything. Downhill, close to the river, is the commercial area were thebakeries offer you delicious looking meringues measuring 20cm in diameter.Called in the tourist pamphlets the Portuguese Venice, we can without doubt say that thisdefinition is overdone. In fact you can only visit 2 canals on a motorized gondola but the ridegives you a good understanding of the past economy of the city and allows you to see thebeautiful houses located along the canals. In the past, the city was very active in the tradingof salt, fish and seaweed which was used as a fertilizer. If you walk in the city you will see thatnearly every house is covered with very colorful tiles. The bakeries sell you a local specialtycalled “ Ovos moles” which are made by mixing 60 eggs with 1kg of sugar and then baked into alight biscuit. We are not sure that your doctor would recommend this, but we can tell you theyare delicious, if you eat just a little bit.