Song Square and Choupalinho Park, Coimbra

If you cross the Santa Clara Bridge from the city center, you can see an interesting monument on the left depicting a grand piano with a boy sitting on it playing the trumpet. This is the so-called "Song Square" (Praça da Canção), a venue for concerts and festivals.

Beyond the square, a long straight canal runs parallel to the river bank. Along its banks stretches the park Choupalinho Park (Parque do Choupalinho), one of the recreation areas of modern Coimbra.

The canal ends with a water polo pool, and there is also a pier for launching kayaks.

For fans of physical education, there is a lawn with exercise machines.

I was walking in the park in the early morning, so there was no one here except for a group from kindergarten in yellow panama hats.

And a few rowing enthusiasts were training on the river.

For those who prefer a more relaxed holiday, there is a pedal catamaran rental service.

The park has a sailing club, picnic area, live science center (Exploratório), swimming pool.

A long pedestrian bridge with colored glass fences connects Shoupalinu Park with Mondejo Park on the other side of the river, which is where I went.