Known as the Portuguese Venice, the beautiful city of Aveiro, in central Portugal, is crossed by a series of canals where dozens of moliceiros or local gondolas full of tourists pass through. Aveiro is not only considered a beautiful city just for its canals and moliceiros, but also for its architecture, mostly Art Nouveau.
Aveiro has just over 55 thousand inhabitants and has many attractions. Founded in 1505, the city has port, railway, university and tourist importance. And in addition, the city is linked to the famous Portuguese soft egg sweets, fishing and salt extraction.
Aveiro is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountainous areas of Portugal, which begin to appear towards the centre of the country. As a result, the city boasts a very varied landscape, characterised by a long sandy coastline, a beautiful estuary and numerous parks and gardens.
One of the places that must be visited in the old city center is the famous Fish Market, a traditional place where a wide variety of fresh fish are sold and which are the basis of the best fish and seafood restaurants in the city. Around the market, we find many restaurants and cafés, each more inviting and cozy than the last. It is difficult to choose. But among these traditional cafés and restaurants, we also see some bars and many shops.
Art Nouveau
While strolling through the historic center of Aveiro, where the Fish Market, the tip is to go into one of the cafes and taste the delicious and traditional soft egg sweets, which are the region's specialty. Such sweets have been produced in the city for hundreds of years, without the recipe having been changed. A walk worth taking is along the city's canals, in the moliceiros, which insist on crossing each other in a continuous movement.
Still in the historic center of the city, visit the Church of Our Lady of the Presentation, known as Vera Cruz. The building, erected in the first half of the 18th century, has two tile panels on the facade and a richly decorated interior, in the Baroque style, highlighting the use of tiles mixed with many golden and hand-carved wooden decorations. A small church that turns out to be a pleasant surprise.
The city has many other attractions. This is just a text introducing the famous Portuguese Venice. We will publish more texts about Aveiro and the region, an area with a lot of cultural diversity.