Known as the “Portuguese Venice”, the city is calmly dominated by the Ria de Aveiro, described by Saramago as “a living body that connects the land to the sea like a huge heart”.
Next to the Ria, a vast lagoon basin where the waters of the Vouga River mix with the waters of the sea, Aveiro, crossed by the maritime streets where the colorful moliceiro boats glide, is one of the most interesting cities on the Portuguese coast.
When in Aveiro, make sure to visit Costa Nova and let yourself be enchanted by this colorful piece of the Portuguese coast. It is a different beach for the wooden houses painted with white stripes and bright colors that used to be haystacks and shelters for fishermen. Right next door, on Praia da Barra, is the dominant and imposing Barra Light, the tallest lighthouse in Portugal.
Hailed as the Portuguese equivalent to Venice, maritime Aveiro is perched on the shores of a coastal lagoon.
Brightly-colored moliceiros (traditional boats) cruise the city’s canal network, while Aveiro’s old town boasts buildings decorated with traditional azulejo tiles.