Aveiro – The Portuguese Venice

I recently had the pleasure of finally going to a place where I have always wanted to go, Aveiro. If you like the water, this is your city.

It is surrounded by water and it is a unique place in Portugal. Some say Aveiro is Portugal’s Venice due to its many canals; it has around 55.000 citizens and it is located 70 kms south of Porto, which is the 2nd biggest city in Portugal.

Why have I always wanted to go there? Pretty simple, because of all that water and its typical boats, the Moliceiros.

This city is also known for being an important industrial centre due to its seaport. I was lucky and saw a well known ship here in Portugal that catches codfish, among other types of fish.

I have been hearing about Pascoal’s products since I was a little boy, so when I saw the boat I just had to stop the car and get those pictures.

You can know more about Pascoal’s products here: Pascoal site

Aveiro is also famous for producing salt and the boats Moliceiros were the best way to carry it since they are very big. One thing that many people don’t know is that Moliceiros were the fisherman’s boat but also their home. They slept with their family inside the boat, on the prow.

In the next picture you can see it better.

As you may guess, nowadays these boats aren’t used to fish anymore, however they are still used for tourism and for only 6€ (six euros) you can have a 45 minute sail along the canals. There is always a guide explaining the landmarks of the city and the history places.

A very funny thing about the Moliceiros is that each owner paints his boat with very meaningful drawings, some are about religion or politics or family but others are kind of erotic.

The pictures above have some sentences that in Portuguese mean something like that:

“I have the stick for you flag (portuguese)”, ”Put your stick right, my love” or “Ohhh…if I catch you…Ohhh…if I catch you…”, among others…

Apart from this, you have to eat Ovos moles and Trouxas de ovos, both made with a lot of eggs and sugar; Aveiro is also famous because of these treats. I recommend Confeitaria Peixinho, it is located in the center and you can’t miss it. This establishment is a family business but has, in my opinion, the bestcandy/pastry in Aveiro.

Aveiro has also some historical buildings, like these ones.

One thing you really can’t miss are the canals and their beauty, especially if you are aboard a “Moliceiro”.

There are many places where you can stay for the night or a few days, I stayed at Meliã Hotel and loved it. The city center is very close and most attractions are at the distance of a walk. Nevertheless, one of the most used transports is the bicycle, that are free and you can find one almost everywhere. They are called BUGA.

You can get to Aveiro by train, as most people do. The train station is very close to Meliã Hotel so it’s the same to say it is very close of the city center.

The locals say that the best way to know Ria de Aveiro (the city and surroundings) is by bicycle or by boat, if you have the chance.

I can only say that I loved it there and when I get the chance I want to return.