The beautiful city of Coimbra is renowned for its sublime architecture that dates back to the Roman era. A great example of this is the splendid University of Coimbra, founded in 1290, it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2013.

However, Coimbra is so much more than a cultural city. It’s a spot that water sport fans seek out when holidaying in Portugal. The main reason for this is Mondego River, the longest river exclusive to Portugal. It runs 145 miles from the Gouveia municipality and has its source in Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal. The Mondego gives you the opportunity to go rafting in with your family and friends as the rapids are rarely stronger than class 1.

Less than an hour’s drive from Coimbra you can also access other rivers, such as Barragem da Aguieira and Nossa Senhora da Ribeira, where you can practice the group activity of stand up paddling. Many people mistakenly think that SUP, as it’s called in the world of extreme sports, is an easy activity. However, they couldn’t be more wrong, SUP works all your muscles symmetrically, acting as one of the best forms of exercise you could ever do.

Coimbra has a mild Mediterranean climate, the temperature varies from 14 degrees in winter to 29 degrees in summer – glorious for outdoor activities and sports, so what are you waiting for?