Aveiro – the “Venice” of Portugal in one day

Last Updated on March 12, 2024

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Aveiro, a small city on the west coast of Portugal, is often referred to as Portuguese Venice. Set along the lagoon Ria de Aveiro, it’s home to canals, bridges and colorful Moliceiros boats. While I think the comparison to the iconic Italian city is a bit far fetched, Aveiro sure is a charming and picturesque place worth a visit. Located not far from Porto, it makes for a great day trip that offers quite a unique taste of Portugal. There are just enough things to do in Aveiro to keep you busy for a day.

Aveiro is not big and one day is definitely enough to explore it. If you arrive in the city early enough, you can also include a visit to the nearby neighborhood of Costa Nova on the same day. Here are some of the best things to do in Aveiro to fill your day.

Things to do in Aveiro, Portugal

Take a canal tour

The colorful Moliceiros boats are one of the main characteristics of the city. Back in the day there were used to collect seaweed from the water, which was later used as a fertilizer. Along with the salt production, it was the main industry in Aveiro. These days its main purpose is taking tourists down the Ria de Aveiro for a 50 minute tour, passing by the main points of interest of Aveiro. It’s a great, relaxing way to see the city from the water perspective, while also giving you an idea of the layout of Aveiro.

It’s one of the most popular things to do in Aveiro and finding a boat will not be a problem. There are many operators and they will all compete for your attention, with most of them departing near the Jardim de Rossio in the city center. A 50 minute tour costs €10 ( €5 for children ).

You can also prebook your Moliceiros boat ride here

The bridges of Aveiro

While cruising down the canals on one of the Moliceiro boats, you will naturally go under quite a few bridges. The most eye catching is Ponte Laços de Amizade ( Bridge of Friendship ), with its bright colored ribbons.

Visit Las Salinas

Due to its favorable location along the coast line and the right climate, Portugal was always the perfect place for salt extraction. For years it was the leading industry in Aveiro, contributing greatly to the city’s economy. Even though the scale of salt production is just a fraction of what it used to be, Salinas can still be find around Portugal. The city of Aveiro is among those places. Visiting the man made salt works and learning about what the process of salt extraction looks like is one of the interesting things to do in Aveiro.

The man made salt works are just a short walk from the city center and can be visited independently ( free ) or with a guide. You can take a walk along the salt beds and with the help of signs in both Portuguese and English, learn about the way the way process of salt extraction.

The set of tanks called Marinha are organized in 3 orders: storage, evaporation and crystallization. The salty water flows through them, forming salt crystals during the last stage of the process. It’s also a great place for bird watching.

Admire Art Nouveau architecture

The early 20th century was the most popular time for Art Nouveau architecture. Many wealthy emigrants returned from Brazil and built Art Nouveau houses to show off their wealth. While the style was short lived, it did leave behind a good number of stunning buildings around Aveiro, which are one of the main characteristics of the city.

There are 28 Art Nouveau houses in Aveiro, with most of them concentrated in the area along the main canal of the city. One of the buildings houses a small Art Nouveau Museum, but honestly that was a bit of a let down.

Try Ovo Mole

There’s no secret Portuguese love their pastry and just like Lisbon has its Pastel de Natas, Aveiro has it’s own little specialty Ovo Mole. The sweet snack is not too complex, made with just two ingredients: egg yolk and sugar, wrapped in thin rice crust. The name Ovo Mole literally translates to soft eggs. They come in different shapes of shells, fish, clams and mussels, which is representative of the city of Aveiro.

While it was a bit too sweet for my taste, trying at least one Ovo Mole is one of the things to do in Aveiro. As the city’s speciality, you can find them everywhere, but among a couple of best places to get them are Oficina do Doce and Confeitaria Peixinho.

Check out the Fish Market

Portugal is known for its sea food, and Aveiro is not an exception. It comes as no surprise, that one of the most important places in the city is the fish market Praça do Peixe. Dating back to the 18th century, the fish market is located in the city center and the place to get some of the freshest fish every day.

On the first floor of the fish market, there is a restaurant Mercado do Peixe, where you can sample some of the fish dishes, with eel being the most popular among the locals.

Visit Costa Nova

Costa Nova is probably the most instagrammable place of Aveiro and the area, thanks to the homes painted vertical stripes. It used to be a fishing village and these houses were used to store the fishing gear. Nowadays, they they are mostly vacation homes available for rent. There are way more of these pretty, colorful houses than I imagined. The neighborhood is filled with them, most located long Avenida José Estevão.

You can easily get to Costa Nova from Aveiro by taking a bus, either from the main bus station ( which is right next to Aveiro train station ) or one of the stops in the city center. It takes between 20-30 minutes to get there, depending whether you hop on the bus, that goes straight to Costa Nova, or the one, that makes a stop at Barra. Either way, it’s an easy and cheap way to get there.

If you don’t want to deal with the bus and prefer to visit with more people on a guided tour, join this small group tour from Aveiro to Costa Nova and Barra. Groups are kept small, up to 6 people, and during the 1.5 hour tour you get to visit both costal towns of Barra and Costa Nova.

How to get from Porto to Aveiro

Aveiro, located 90 miles from Porto is easily reachable by train. Frequent urban trains run from either São Bento or Campanhã train station. The journey takes one hour and tickets are very affordable. Prices depend on the day and time of the day you travel.

Check out the train schedule and pricing here

Once you arrive at the Aveiro train station, you are just a short 15 minute walk away from the city center. Just start heading down the main Avenue away from the train station. Soon enough you’ll recognize the city center by the canals, boats and Art Nouveu buildings.

How to get from Aveiro to Costa Nova

Costa Nova is located 11 km from Aveiro’s city center and it’s easily reachable by bus. It’s easy to identify, as the bus has Costa Nova displayed up front. You can get on the bus at the Main bus station, located just behind the Aveiro train station. If you are already in the center, there’s no need to trek back to the bus station, as the Costa Nova bus has a couple of stops in Aveiro center.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to get from Aveiro to Costa Nova, depending on where you decide to catch the bus. Some of them go straight to Costa Nova, others stop at Barra ( where the Lighthouse is ). You can’t miss your destination, as the bus stops right along the row of stripped houses. The ticket costs either €2.65 ( when it stops at Barra ) or €2.40 ( direct ), and you pay directly to the driver.

READ MORE:

• Best day trips from Porto, Portugal
• Best things to do in Porto, Portugal in 3 days
• 10 days in Portugal – the perfect itinerary by train

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