On the left bank of the Mondego, the legendary Lapa figures in many stories of Coimbra life. Immortalised by poets, and for almost a century a meeting point for well-known intellectuals, it forms part of the 17th-century Quinta das Canas, which still preserves much of its former glory. It is worth a visit for its leafy setting, for its gardens and plants, for the rich riverside vegetation which surrounds it, and for its fine views of the city.