A little Venice in one corner of Portugal?
Well, not quite Venice, but a charming, though modest, copy.
About an hour south of the Portuguese city of Porto and about 3 hours north of Lisbon, lies Aveiro – a unique city with canals – often called “the Venice of Portugal”. This city is connected to the Aveiro lagoon by three canals. Moliceiros boats – that look a lot like the colorful version of the gondolas of Venice – transport fishermen and tourists from one part of town to another. The boats were traditionally used for seaweed harvesting but today, they are mostly used for canal cruises and fun rides.
A bit of history
Back in the 15th century, Aveiro was used by merchants due to its proximity to the sea and its salt mines. In 1575, a strong storm destroyed most of the city and its original port. Later, around 19th century, the fishermen in the area helped with construction of canals to connect the lagoon with the ocean.
This has made Aveiro a rather unique buzzing city.
During our one-month long road trip through Portugal and Northern Spain, we spent just one weekend in Aveiro. Here are some of the highlights of Aveiro, and what we got to see there.
Visit Sé Catedral de Aveiro
The Aveiro Cathedral, also known as S. Domingos de Aveiro Church, is located in the historic centre of the city. It was founded in 1423 as a Dominican convent.
The cathedral features a distinctive bell tower and an entrance hall with four Solomonic columns, which give it a very impressive visage.
On entering the cathedral, you will find the S. Domingos cross, made in a grand gothic style in the 15th century. The exterior and interior of the cathedral display different types of architecture as it underwent many changes from its inception. Its higher choir is in the baroque style, while the transept and major chapel feature modern architecture.
The Gothic cross in the churchyard, set on a 17th century pedestal, adds to the cathedral’s majestic looks.
Enjoy a walk along Jardim & Lago da Fonte Nova
On the right bank of the Ria’s Central Canal is the large open area, right in front of the Conference Centre of Aveiro – a landmark building installed in a former ceramics factory.
This is the place where the traditional colorful tourist boats (moliceiros) start and stop for fun rides. In the olden days, this channel was used for transporting goods from factories.
On one side of Lago da Fonte Nova there is a large garden area with restaurants and an open tree lined path. There is an interesting set of structures on the green area representing the traditional Portuguese confectionery sweet called ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’. This delicacy is a soft mixture of egg yolk and sugar, wrapped in a rice paper shell shaped like a fish or seashell.
We walked around this area around the lagos admiring the structures and boats and taking pictures.
Tie a ribbon on the Friendship Bridge
At the other end of the canal is a shopping cum eating area. The canals have many ‘bridges of friendship’ – full of colorful laces and tiny ‘love padlocks’ tied around the bridges criss-crossing and spanning the canals. These are called Ponte dos Laços de Amizade in Portuguese.
A very romantic bridge – we saw a man proposing marriage, on bended knee with a ring in a box!
There’s also a garden at a higher level where you can go for a picnic and observe the views from the top.
This is a busy area with many moliceiros gliding on the canals, tourists walking around, shopping, taking photos and enjoying themselves. Cafes and restaurants are strewn around this place.
Moliceiros Pier or Cais dos Moliceiros
On the other side of the city is the central canal where the Moliceiros Pier is located. This is a long and wide canal, with a lovely path alongside where you can take long walk right up to the large Aveiro Lagoon. Colorful moliceiros await tourists for longer rides here. This is the perfect place to see lovely sunsets.
There is also the old city in a large square called General Humberto Delgado Square. It has an old bridge over the central canal. This is a very lively part of Aveiro with boats sailing under the bridge, cars driving over it and loads of tourists around it.
There are some interesting statues on the edge of the bridge. Of particular mention is a statue of a woman carrying salt in wicker basket – named A Salineira.
Admire the architectural styles of old buildings
Aveiro is known for its beautiful Art Nouveau architecture style, many of which feature a blue color for motifs and designs on the doors. This design is exhibited in many buildings in the city.
Aveiro is part of the Réseau Art Nouveau Network, consisting of a group of European cities with a rich Art Nouveau heritage.
We came across some random old buildings with lovely architecture on our long walk along the central canal.
It was a perfect weekend getaway – walking on uneven narrow streets, strolls alongside the canals, taking short moliceiro rides, checking out some history and trying out Portuguese food.
After an enjoyable weekend in Aveiro, we headed southward to explore Sintra and Cascais.
I only did a quick stop in Aveiro, but would love to go back and spend a full weekend there! Looks like there are so many fun things to do 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I’ve only taken day trips to Aveiro, though enjoyed exploring town. I’d also recommend visiting Costa Nova, with its colorful striped houses and beautiful beach.
I would love to visit this place; it’s exactly my kind of vibe. I love anything that has a water body, a sense of calm. Your pictures have ensured that I will visit it someday, they look so beautiful.
Aveiro sounds absolutely charming! I haven’t been there yet, but this article really inspired me to add it to my Portugal travel list. I love canal cities, and the idea of riding a colorful moliceiro boat and exploring Art Nouveau architecture sounds like such a unique experience. The Friendship Bridge and the cathedral both seem like beautiful photo spots too—can’t wait to see it for myself someday!
The Venice of Portugal looks like a beautiful place for a weekend getaway. I like to see how clean the canal is and the different boats they have to transport tourists. The Art Nouveau architecture style surely captured my attention.
As someone who’s been to Venice and a few other towns called the ‘Venice of’ some other place, I think I’d prefer those other places any day! I think Venice is super saturated and gone un-affordable these days!
Aveiro, on the other hand, does look charming. One month long road-trip? That sounds awesome. Those colorful traditional boats look great. It’s history is quite interesting with the proximity to the port & salt mines. 15th C Church. There would a lot of history attached to it. I’m looking at those old Art Nouveau buildings and can’t help but think how different they are to the Art Nouveau buildings in Belgium, that I’ve seen a lot. Gotta read-up more on that.
I am visiting Lisbon and porto later this summer and you’ve just convinced me to spend a weekend in Aveiro! Great blog post!
I visited Aveiro as a short stop between Porto and Coimbra, and it really left an impression. It’s such a charming little place, and reading this makes me wish I had stayed longer. There are quite a few lovely spots you’ve included that I didn’t get to see -it definitely is a perfect destination for a weekend escape.
Your post took me right back to Aveiro — such a charming place! Thanks for the inspiration, it makes me want to go again.
We’ve been to Northern Portugal, however we didn’t go as far down as Aveiro. It looks so lovely, would love to do a moliceiros ride on the canal.
I’ve heard such wonderful things about Aveiro, and it’s definitely a place I’ve been dreaming about going to! To walk amongst all of these gorgeous canals seems like a total dream.
We have spent a lot of time in Portugal but have not yet visited Aveiro. Being tagged as the Venice of Portugal we should definitely put this on our travel wish list. I love all the sights you can see along the waterways. The architecture is so pretty!
I have actually never been to mainland Portugal, but I have heard of Aveiro and how beautiful it is. I didn’t know it was called the Venice of Portugal, but it makes sense, with so many canals. The ribbons bridge is such a cute idea, and much more friendly than the locks, which weigh down so much and are becoming dangers for bridges around Europe.
This post really makes me want to visit Aveiro! It sounds perfect for a relaxed weekend of strolling around and sightseeing, and the colonial architecture is such a nice bonus. I had to look up moliceiros too—they look so lovely (and are probably way cheaper than a gondola ride!).
Awww, the friendship bridge is just adorable! I’m sure my girls would love tying their own colorful laces. Thanks so much for sharing this post.
I didn’t realize there are so many things to see and do in Aveiro. A weekend trip there sounds perfect: strolling around, soaking up some history, and of course, indulging in delicious Portuguese food.
Aveiro, Portugal is a beautiful place with its nouveau style art architecture, canals and cathedrals. Looking at its historic significance as an important transit of trading through waterways it’s rightfully obvious as the “Venice of Portugal.”