Aveiro

Aveiro (ah-VAY-roo, /ɐ.ˈvɐj.ɾu/) was already a major salt producer in Roman times and continued to be so until the 1970s, mainly due to the age-old salt cod industry. It also played a major role in ceramics, ship building, metal working and machinery manufacture, as well as being a natural shipping port for centuries. Next door to Aveiro, the city of Ílhavo still has remnants of the cod fishing and salt cod industry. A famous porcelain and cut glassware factory was established there in the early 1800s and is still in operation today (guided tours are available).

Aveiro is 68 km (42 mi) to the south of Porto and 58 km (36 mi) north of Coimbra, straddling the Ria of Aveiro and the River Vouga a few kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, where you can easily reach by car (5 minutes) or by bus (every hour). The city of Aveiro has a population of approximately 80,880 inhabitants (2021 preliminary), of which 12,500 are students at University of Aveiro, one of the most important Portuguese universities. Aveiro is at the center of the Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Aveiro (Aveiro Regional Intermunicipal Community), encompassing over 370,000 inhabitants.

The late poet, musician and teacher Zeca Afonso and the late physicist Dr. Mário Sacramento are both famous anti-fascist activists from the city. Overall the atmosphere is rather laid back and relaxed while some students are foreigners, lending it a somewhat cosmopolitan feel.

Architecturally, the CBD and "centro histórico" are characterized by some excellent examples of 15/16th century, Belle Epoque, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Estado Novo buildings, while parts of the city are intersected by canals with picturesque bridges and navigated by brightly painted boats called moliceiros, similar in profile to the gondolas of Venice. Originally the moliceiro was a working boat and the name derives from moliço, a type of sea weed abundant in the lagoon and formerly harvested to be used as fertilizer in the agricultural fields of the region. Although an exaggeration, the city is called the "Portuguese Venice". The real charm of Aveiro's lifestyle lies in its coast, with its fantastic sandy beaches of São Jacinto, Torreira, Barra and Costa Nova. This local coast is branded as Costa da Prata or the Silver Coast.

Historically, the importance and prestige of Aveiro grew with the arrival in the 15th century, of princess Dna. Joana, daughter of King Afonso V, to join the sisterhood of the Monastery of Jesus. Upon her death, she bequeathed her vast wealth to the benefit of the town. Her intricately carved and decorated tomb in the monastery constitutes a singular example of fine arts of the period. In the 17th century she was canonised, thus becoming Santa Joana. By the 19th century, local parliamentarian José Estevão propelled Aveiro to the fore of industrialization by spearheading the redevelopment of the harbour facilities and city canals and the arrival of the railways, sowing the seeds for an economic boom.

Today however, the best-kept secret of its attraction apart from the extensive soft sand beaches that reach from Mira in the south to Espinho in the north is the relative authenticity and less costly accommodation and food when compared to Alentejo and the Algarve. The summer months of June to August are the busiest with holiday makers. Also, easy access to major road networks and railways make it easy to take day trips to popular destinations such as Porto, Espinho, Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, Viseu and Serra da Estrela. The Beirão people are well known for being hospitable and helpful towards anyone who is polite.

Aveiro has a humid, temperate climate in summer and a not-so-cold but wet weather in winter. November, December and January make up the rainy season, while July and August are the driest months. Autumn and Winter tend to have strong coastal winds, excellent for kite or wind-surfing, as well as for sailing.

Of later times, the primeiro banho do ano or the first sea dip of the year, has become an annual local tradition in the early hours of every New Year's Day with hundreds of participants vying for the T-shirt given to confirm the feat.

• 🌍 Aveiro Cathedral (Sé de Aveiro). An example of unique Portuguese baroque architecture. (updated Sep 2021)
• 🌍 Museum of Aveiro (Museu de Aveiro), Avenida de Santa Joana, ☏ +351 234 423 297, museucidade@cm-aveiro.pt. Tu–Su 10:00–12:30 & 13:30–18:00, closed M. In the former Convento de Jesus. (updated Sep 2021)
• 🌍 Edifício Paços do Concelho (Câmara Municipal), Praça da República. Aveiro's city hall. (updated Sep 2021)
• 🌍 Antiga Capitania do Porto de Aveiro (former capitanate of the Aveiro harbour). Now converted and utilized as the new Municipal Assembly Hall. The harbour complex is quite large and spread out on the "ria", offering views of the various inshore individually specialized areas handling different types of cargo. Near the main harbour entrance, is the Jardim Oudinot with a permanent museum ship exhibit, where the former "bacalhoeiro" (cod fishing ship) Santo André is open to visitors, several sports grounds, jogging and cycling paths, picnic areas etc, further along, is the old fort of Aveiro, the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes (Our Lady of Sailors) chapel, a café, a tavern, a hotel or two, the yacht marina and club house. Continuing along, one gets to the ferryboat berthing harbour for São Jacinto and fisherman village in the north shore. The area has seen a revival with restaurants and snackbars offering a great option to end off a nice nature day trip. 
• 🌍 Church of Saint John the Evangelist (Igreja de São João Evangelista), Praça Marquês de Pombal. 18th-century Baroque and Rococo church, a national monument. It was part of a Carmelite convent. (updated Sep 2021)
• 🌍 Dom Pedro Children's Park. 
• 🌍 Praça do Peixe (Fish market), Largo da Praça do Peixe. Tu–Sa 07:00–18:00, closed Su M. (updated Sep 2021)
• 🌍 Igreja da Misericórdia. 
• 🌍 Santo António Park. 
• 🌍 Capela de São Gonçalo (Saint Gundisalvus Chapel), Largo de São Gonçalinho 6. 18th-century hexagonal chapel. 
• 🌍 Salineira Aveirense (Salt pans), Antigo Cais de São Roque 79, ☏ +351 234 423 739. M–F 09:00–12:30 & 14:00–19:00, closed Sa Su. As salt production for many centuries played such a big part in the importance of Aveiro in pre industrial times, it's quite surprising today, to still see remnants of that manual labour activity. As one leaves the city to join the freeway towards Barra and Costa, stay on the right hand side local road that runs roughly parallel with the canal and travel some 300 m alongside the canal and the remaining "salinas" come into view. Sometimes, depending on the season, one can see how the salt water is trapped in the rectangular basins for saturation and evaporation. Later on, it is harvested and made into conical mounds. Locally produced salt is sold at certain shops. There is the "Flor de sal", in the purest form, and the cheaper "sal de Aveiro". (updated Apr 2021)

• 🌍 Centro de Congressos de Aveiro (Aveiro Conference Centre), Cais da Fonte Nova, ☏ +351 234 406 370, ccongressos@cm-aveiro.pt. The attractive 1914 face-brick industrial design ceramics factory building of Fábrica Jerónimo Pereira Campos at the end of the Canal do Côjo was repurposed in 1995 to provide the backdrop for Aveiro's convention center. The facilities are used for a variety of presentations, talks and shows such as TED, National Geographic, exhibitions, stand up comedy, and symposiums. If in town, enquire at city hall for the current program. (updated Sep 2021)
• Surf at Costa Nova and Barra Beach - You can rent a wetsuit and a board on local surf shops.
• Windsurf and Kytesurf on the river and on the sea - You can rent this material on local windsurf shops.
• Moliceiro tours - leaving from the central canal.
• Salt pans and bird watching tours at the Special Protection Zone of Ria de Aveiro, for a chance to meet the salt worker Marnoto in person and spot the many bird species that inhabit the lagoon. geral@salinasaveiro.com (☏ +351 234 056 149)
• Sailing at Costa Nova Beach - There's a local Sailing club - CVCN - where you can find sailing lessons.
• Kayak at Ria de Aveiro or Rio Vouga - It is quite easy to find local guides that takes you for a different afternoon experience.
• Walking tours - There is a local walking tour shop that has 3 way-outs every day.
• Take some sun at Costa Nova and Barra Beach
• 🌍 Hiking in the Dunas de São Jacinto (Take the bus to Forte de Barra and then the ferry). There are four different paths through the woods. You can see the Atlantic and the some lakes.
  Teatro Aveirense This is the city theatre venue, where seasonal pieces are staged as well as one off productions.
  S.C. Beira Mar It was a regular Primeira Liga football team, but due to financial hardships the club was administratively relegated in 2015 and now plays in Serie C of the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores. Nevertheless, on home match days the club ground is the 32,000-seat Estádio Municipal de Aveiro in Taboeira parish and offers good entertainment. On occasion, the Aveiro Municipal Stadium also hosts top notch games between Portuguese top national league sides and sometimes international matches.
  Jardim Oudinot, the Park Oudinot is along the left hand side of the main road leading to the harbour complex. It has pathways, sports grounds, children's play areas, the Santo André museum ship and various other facilities.
  Clube dos Galitos founded in 1904, is an eclectic culture and sports club with long traditions in rowing, counting several Olympians amongst its past athletes. It also offers swimming, chess, basketball, mountain biking and a philatelic section. It organizes a keenly attended local annual open mountain/off road biking event. 

• Ovos moles - A traditional sweet speciality made from egg yolk. Sold at most of the local bakeries.
• Pão de Ló - A traditional baked cake available in several "pastelaria" establishments throughout the city.

The city is doted with many eating places ranging from local inexpensive "snack-bars", "pastelarias" and small neighbourhood restaurants to fancy and upmarket eateries. The Forum and Glicīnias shopping centres have food courts serviced by various cheap to reasonable priced fast food outlets specialising in different types of cuisine. Some global fast food brands are also available. The area with the most restaurants is found between the Old Neighborhood (Bairro Antigo) and the fish market plaza (Mercado do Peixe). There are also some decent restaurants and seafood places at Barra, Costa Nova and Vagueira.

The most famous area for night bars is Praça do Peixe (fish plaza).Here you will find a good variety of bars typically open til 03:00 in winter, and 04:00 in summer. Note that all the bars in Praça do Peixe have free entrance. Clubs are best on Friday and Saturday nights from 01:00 to 05:00. Women usually pay no admission fees, but for men it is usually around €5. Drinks are fairly cheap, around €4 or €5. Try a caipirinha with strawberries (morangos).

• 🌍 Estação da Luz, R. da Fonte, ☏ +351 234 943 979. Somewhat outside of town, this is the dance club preferred by the locals. House with some mainstream pop as well. One of the smaller dancefloors/bars features salsa music. It is somewhat selective, so it is possible that tourists are sometimes denied entry. 
• 🌍 Mercado Negro, R. João Mendonça 17 2º (near Praça do Peixe). Tu–Su 14:00–23:00, closed M. An alternative space with a bar, good music, an auditorium that usually hosts both national and international independent artists' concerts, and modern design in an old art nouveau building. (updated Apr 2021)

The best kept secrets are the extensive soft sand beaches that reach from Mira in the south to Espinho in the north, coupled with the less costly accommodation and food when compared with further south Portugal and the Algarve, this unique environment tucked between the Ria and the Atlantic has well kept amenities to do water sports, sunbathe, swim, enjoy fresh fish, and seafood meals, bicycle or stroll along and watch wonderful summer sunsets from Costa Nova and Praia da Barra with its imposing lighthouse dominating the horizon or take the ferry boat across the Ria to explore the São Jacinto dunes and Torreira beach town.

Further inland, one can also enjoy a short trips to local towns and villages that have quite a bit to offer in terms of authentic local gastronomy and sightseeing outside the usual "tourist trap" offerings in major centers. Go to Angeja, to savour their special enguias (eel dishes) or rojões (tender and lean pork chunky cutlets), or Anadia among others and Bairrada, with their wines and leitāo assado (roasted piglet). These trips can also be done by using several regional bus services based not too far from Aveiro railway station.

• Coimbra — home to Portugal's oldest and most prestigious university
• Fátima — Catholic pilgrimage sight known for its 1917 Virgin Mary apparitions
• Figueira da Foz — popular oceanside beaches
• Luso — spa town in Mealhada municipality
• Porto — Portugal's second metropolis
• Serra do Buçaco – a mountain range in Mealhada, Mortágua, Penacova municipalities
• Viseu — charming hilltop city in Beira Alta province