Moliceiro boat trip
ModerateThe canals by painted boat
A short ride along the central canal and into the salt-pan district, aboard a boat once used to harvest seaweed.
CentroBoatsCanals
Aveiro & Costa Nova, Portugal
Ideal: 1–2 daysBest: May–SepPrice: Moderate
In 60 seconds
Aveiro & Costa Nova in 60 seconds
Aveiro is a small, cheerful city built around canals off a vast coastal lagoon, the Ria de Aveiro, where salt was once harvested and seaweed gathered in high-prowed moliceiro boats. Today the boats, painted with saucy cartoons and saints, carry visitors along the canals past some of the best Art Nouveau façades in Portugal. Taste ovos moles, the city's sweet of egg yolk and sugar in wafer shells shaped like fish and seashells, sold since the 19th century. A few kilometres away across the lagoon, Costa Nova is a beach village of wooden houses painted in bold red, blue, green and yellow stripes, facing an endless Atlantic beach; nearby, the Vista Alegre porcelain factory has made tableware since 1824. A day or two between Porto and Coimbra.
CanalsCoastArt Nouveau
Best for
- Food
- Beaches
- Weekend
Known for
- Moliceiro boats
- Ovos moles
- Costa Nova's striped houses
- Art Nouveau
Skip if
You expect a 'Venice of Portugal' — the canals are few and short; Aveiro is a pleasant small city for a day, not a long stay.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Aveiro & Costa Nova fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Costa Nova
Striped wooden beach houses
Rows of houses painted in candy stripes between the lagoon and a long Atlantic beach.
ÍlhavoBeachPhotography
Art Nouveau Aveiro
Tiled and curling façades
Walk the canal-side streets for whiplash curves and azulejo façades, and visit the small Art Nouveau museum.
CentroArchitectureFree
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
More places to eat
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Cais do Pescado
ExpensiveFish and seafood by the canal
Octopus, seafood rice and fish from the lagoon and the sea, at tables facing the water.
CentroCanalSeafood
Confeitaria Peixinho
InexpensiveOvos moles since 1856
The oldest maker of Aveiro's egg-yolk sweets, sold in painted wooden barrels.
CentroHistoricOvos moles
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Vista Alegre
InexpensivePorcelain factory village since 1824
A factory village with a museum of two centuries of Portuguese porcelain, a chapel and a factory shop.
ÍlhavoDesignMuseum
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Beira Mar
The old fishermen's quarter
Low tiled houses and the fish market between two canals; the place for dinner.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Aveiro centre
ModerateHotels by the canals
Walk to everything and catch the bus to Costa Nova.
TrainsWalkable
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Trains from Porto take about an hour and from Lisbon about two and a half.
- Getting around
- Walk the centre; free city bikes and buses reach Costa Nova and Barra beach.
- When to go
- May to September for the beaches; the canals are pleasant all year.
- Taste locally
- Ovos moles, eel stew (caldeirada de enguias), Bairrada sparkling wine and suckling pig from the nearby Bairrada.
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 1500s
Aveiro prospers on salt, fishing and a harbour on the lagoon.
- 1808
A new channel to the sea reopens the silted lagoon and revives the town.
- 1824
The Vista Alegre porcelain factory is founded nearby.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Porto
Port wine and the Douro
Porto has its own guide.
1 hr by trainCity
Coimbra
The old university city
Coimbra has its own guide.
40 min by trainUniversity