Biblioteca Joanina
Biblioteca Joanina
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:40 PM
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Biblioteca Joanina
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
588 within 3 miles
Attractions
118 within 6 miles
See what travellers are saying
- Sandra ISan Rafael, California83 contributionsMust visit in CoimbraAmazing library! When purchasing the tickets from their website, itis a self guided tour with timed tickets. The tickets also include a self guided tour of the palace, the gardens, and the chapel. It is the oldest university in Portugal set on a hill. Incredible views of the valley and city. A must visit if you have the time. Walk around campus and explore.Visited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten 9 November 2023
- Jan RBrisbane, Australia201 contributionsA Long way to the topWe are senior women who are prepared for a challenge and walking to the university was certainly that…a challenge. Hills and steps, and lots of them However it was worth the effort and views on the way up and once there are stunning The library itself is as others said, a short 10 mins inside the upper floor after leaving the goal below. You cannot take photos inside the library itself. We were cheeky and stood behind an English speaking guide. Make sure you do your homework so you can get the full impact of what was created so very long ago If you can hitch a ride do so. Or if you are younger than 80 (that’s me), then enjoy the workout on foot. Great for the leg muscles and the heartVisited June 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 7 June 2024
- danielh5Westfield, New Jersey98 contributionsBeautiful historical libraryMust see when visiting Coimbra. Cool old library with prison. Bought tickets last minute online so were limited to afternoon. Expect to share space with tour groups. Went without a group, so learned from the information sheets in various languages. Recommend.Visited September 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 8 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
5,152 reviews
Excellent
3,742
Very good
985
Average
286
Poor
75
Terrible
64
NoFixedPlans
Toronto377 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
The cynic in me suspects that the university was told by the government to open this old library to visitors but they did not want to, and so they’ve made it as difficult, inconvenient, unpleasant and disorganized as they possibly can. There is zero signage to direct you to where to purchase your ticket. Then the booth where they were supposed to be sold was unmanned. If you can figure this out, you then get a combo ticket for a bunch of other less interesting sites on campus, and if you are lucky, a timed visit to the library within about a two hour window (most likely longer). Good luck finding the entrance. When you do, it will be jammed with others waiting to enter with the herd and be prodded through at breakneck speed. Expect to wait several hours in the blazing sun in a shadeless courtyard before you can enter. No photos. There are other beautiful old university libraries in the world (Trinity Dublin, Oxford, Osgoode Hall) that you can visit for free and/or have a more genial experience. Don’t stop by thinking you can just see the library and be on your way ... this Byzantine process will suck up most of your day and is not worth it. Oh yes, and in all these hours of waiting around, on the day we visited there was exactly ONE functioning women’s bathroom stall available. Fun!
Written 23 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I K
1 contribution
Jul 2023 • Family
After buying tickets online and waiting for two hours we got a whole 10 minutes to look at the library (which looks pretty nice but imo not extremely spectacular) Make sure you take mental pictures because real pictures are not allowed. Best parts were the ceiling paintings.
It’s a total rip off to pay over €10 per person for 10 minutes in this library. My advise, don’t get tricked into this and just walk into a church (often for free) every now and then. You will see similar (if not better) paintings there and you can come and go when you want to.
It’s a total rip off to pay over €10 per person for 10 minutes in this library. My advise, don’t get tricked into this and just walk into a church (often for free) every now and then. You will see similar (if not better) paintings there and you can come and go when you want to.
Written 27 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janka K
Brno, Czech Republic8,697 contributions
Jul 2021
So this a highlight of Coimbra. But... The tickets can not be purchases at the place, you need to do that at a shop fare away, or online. The place is not well organized and me and my friend needed to ask for directions all the time. Facepalm for this organization.
Another thing is that when you are already inside, there are two floors. One like regular historical library, another one as the super duper fancy that everyone visits the place for. For unspoken reason, it's not possible to take a picture at that fancy part and you as a visitor are very much observed not to do that. I don't understand and I have a feeling like this is rip off.
Another thing is that when you are already inside, there are two floors. One like regular historical library, another one as the super duper fancy that everyone visits the place for. For unspoken reason, it's not possible to take a picture at that fancy part and you as a visitor are very much observed not to do that. I don't understand and I have a feeling like this is rip off.
Written 7 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TripRabbit
Virginia446 contributions
Mar 2020
You have heard all the superlatives, but there are really no words to describe this incredible and truly awesome library. We went in early March, and there were no lines to speak of, but it is easy to see why they can become quite long during peak visitor times. We hired a guide through gowalksportugal.com, and she, like others, already had the timed tickets on hand to make the best use of your valuable time. If you are visiting Coimbra, this is simply one that you do not want to miss.
Written 21 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bruce Johnson
West Linn, OR46 contributions
Sept 2021
Tickets are required to enter this Library. To purchase tickets you must walk to the ticket office located across from the Chemistry Laboratory building. Tickets include entrance to the Chemistry Laboratory, the University Chapel and the Library. Only the Library requires a timed entrance. During our visit much of the square near the Library and Chapel were under construction. The noise & sight of construction took away from the beauty of the square.
Written 7 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ari405
Norman, OK163 contributions
Jul 2022
This was certainly the highlight of the university at Coimbra. An ancient and beautiful library with ancient books. Just be aware that you will have only 10 minutes inside the main building and that you can't get very close to most of the books. But well worth visiting!
Written 26 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aleph_999
Salamanca, Spain681 contributions
Aug 2020
This is a wonderful place, as some other special libraries around the world. Marvelous estipites (columns with the shape of an inverted cone or obelisk giving a sense of air) are the key, in my opinion. The place is magical and the University wold be worth a visit only for this place. The prison is closed due to Covid-19 pandemic
Written 23 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ivo Carneiro De Sousa
Macau, China146 contributions
Aug 2019
This magnificent University Library was built in the first decades of the 18th century when the early arrivals of gold from Brazil turned John the V in one of the richest kings in the world. It is, therefore, gold baroque that dominates the Library large bookshelves, ceilings, and arches with the royal symbols. The tour is relatively fast since visitors can only have a panoramic glance of the bibliographic richness of the Library. We see olf books, some with beautiful covers, but then we don't know much about these books even when you ask about it to the tour guide. The visit would be more impressive and educative if the Library becomes displaying to the visitors a set of its main bibliographic treasures.
Written 13 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I_am_travel_junkie
San Francisco40 contributions
Sept 2021 • Family
While it's a beautiful place to visit, but that's where I met first not-so-nice people in Portugal. Rushed in and out, we ended up with 2 huge groups and zero considerations were given that we couldn't freely move around to enjoy what we paid for.
The whole Coimbra University seemed rundown and not cared for.
Why charge 1€ for a toilet when everywhere else it's free, including on the same campus? Shaking down tourists? Shame!
The whole Coimbra University seemed rundown and not cared for.
Why charge 1€ for a toilet when everywhere else it's free, including on the same campus? Shaking down tourists? Shame!
Written 10 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LuizDutraNeto
Rio de Janeiro, RJ8,570 contributions
Jan 2020
The awesome library of the "Universidade de Coimbra", known as "Biblioteca Joanina", was built between 1717 and 1728. It honors the memory of the Portuguese King Dom João V, sponsor of its construction. "Biblioteca Joanina" is a masterpiece of the Portuguese Baroque style and is considered one of the richest libraries in the whole world. The very first books started arriving in 1750 and its collection has now over 55,000 titles. It is extremely beautiful and absolutely unmissable at any visit to the "Universidade de Coimbra". A true landmark! Enjoy!
Written 14 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We bought tickets in advance for the Johanna Library (ticket includes Baroque Library, St. Michael's Chapel, the Royal Palace), the Chemistry Laboratory, the Cabinet of Curiosities and Botanical Garden) from the University website...can we just show up at each entrance and show the ticket, or do we still need to que at the ticket office to start our visit?
Written 7 August 2022
The library is the only thing that is timed, and the visit only lasts around 15 minutes in there. So if your bar code doesn’t have a specific time, you may need to go to the ticket office, which is a 10 minute walk from the sights. Otherwise, the other sights are restricted access, only a few people at a time but never a long queue or wait.
Written 8 August 2022
My wife and I are considering renting a car and driving from Lisbon to Porto thru the Douro Valley with stops at the Library and perhaps in Tomar. This will be our first visit to Portugal and do not speak Portuguese (but some Spanish).We have done well driving all over Western Europe and in Costa Rica but were concerned that this day trip was perhaps too ambitious, We will have GPS in the car or on our phone. Any thoughts?
Written 7 June 2021
As a Brazilian and speaking Portuguese, I've visited Portugal on many different occasions and wrote many reviews on Lisbon, Porto, Douro Valley, Aveiro, Coimbra, Tomar and many others. If you still need some more information, please check on my reviews. Best regards.
Written 7 June 2021
bdm301
Jerusalem, Israel
Do I have to book tickets ahead or can I just enter when I come?
Written 6 November 2019
You should start by buying from the ticket office when you get there. They will tell you the time of the visit. While waiting for your time, you can visit the rest of the campus.
Written 12 December 2019
I was planning on visiting the library tomorrow with my elderly parents. We arrive by car. Is this going to be even possible, and what are my options? Where do you pre-book online, too? Thanks!
Written 13 August 2019
There are parking options near to the ticket office. If you can find a spot there, you won't have any hills to climb, so walking to the library will be easy. I suggest that you use a gps navigation system to put you close to the location. The library is on three levels, so there will be stairs to climb on the inside.
Written 14 August 2019
Dear Stacey,
Is it possible to buy tickets for the library before arriving?
Thank you,
Abby
Written 10 August 2019
I didn't find anywhere to pre book those tickets. However we accidentally discovered that if you go later in the afternoon the queue was far less and so was the crowd. Bus tours are usually filling the area morning and early afternoon time slots.
Written 16 August 2019
De mémoire vous en aurez pour 10 à 20 minutes, c'est le temps d'attente qui est long et vous devrez réserver un créneau lors de l'achat de votre billet.
Written 10 July 2019
Showing results 1-10 of 19
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing