Sapientia Boutique Hotel

Though perhaps less famous than Oxford, Heidelberg, or Bologna, the Portuguese university town of Coimbra is cut from the same cloth. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s the intellectual capital of the Portuguese-speaking world, and it should come as no surprise that Sapientia, its most stylish boutique hotel, is no neon-lit dance club but rather a thoughtful, quiet, refined sort of place.

In fact they bill themselves as a “books & wine hotel,” which, to us, sounds like a winning combination. It’s surely no accident that there’s plentiful lounge space, from the courtyard patio to the rooftop, and the all-white rooms, suites, and apartments allow for plenty of indirect light, which is certainly easy on the eyes. Though the buildings date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the style is modern, a sort of quasi-rustic minimalism, with artwork made from the pages of classic books.

Located as you are right next door to the university, you’ll rub elbows with visiting scholars at breakfast, and eavesdrop on heady conversations in the wine bar over tapas, or on the terrace overlooking the rooftops of this thousand-year-old town. This might just be your chance to finish that book you’ve been meaning to read — or write.