|
|
 |
Aptly named the 'Venice
of Portugal'',
Aveiro is a
charming town to visit at any time of the year. But to
fully enjoy
Aveiro, which
is rather like a nut you have to shell, you need to
persevere.
Get past Aveiro's gritty
industrial kernel you will find a charming historic
centre built alongside a network of canals with hump
back bridges leading to a variety of cobbled squares.
Historically
Aveiro,
situated in
central Portugal,
was an important port town until the 16th century. The
town's fortunes faltered for a while following a
tremendous storm in 1575 which silted up the natural
harbour and estuary of the River Vouga (Rio Vouga),
which flows through the canals.
The massive shifting of the
sand banks created a new coast (Costa
Nova) and cut off Aveiro's important
sea access. However within 250 years the citizens of
Aveiro had
rebounded. Not only had they created an innovated
network of canals throughout the town, blasted through
the sandbank to provide access to the Atlantic but
followed other industrial projects on the perimeter of
the town to secure it's future. |
|
Aveiro may not be a port
town any longer but it's heart remains with the sea.
Statues and monuments of fishermen and women, in
corroded copper, stand atop many of the bridges, paddles
aloft, and the brightly-coloured traditional seaweed
trawling boats (Moliceiros)
now ferry passengers through the intricate network of
canals. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Art
Deco in Aveiro |
|
Aveiro is more than a former fishing
port, it has become a Mecca for lovers of Art Noveau and
Art Deco. This
small, inconsequential town hosts arguably the largest
and intact variety of Art Deco buildings in Europe, all
in relatively good or restored order.
The existence of so many unusual,
unadulterated Art Noveau buildings with original features
is rare in Europe and especially in
Portugal, where
wealth during this era was normally propagated to the
south.
Aveiro's' tourist board have set up a
tour of the most important, architectural buildings
which provide an alluring mixture of Art Deco techniques
along with chrome, Macintosh-inspired, header plates at
each edifice, mounted in the pathways in front of the
buildings. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Art Deco Tours |
Art Deco Tiles |
Unique Art
Deco Design |
 |
 |
 |
|
Spectacular Art Deco |
Elaborate Architecture |
Art School |
 |
 |
 |
|
Moliceiros in Aveiro |
Accommodation in
Aveiro |
Modern Art
in Aveiro |
|
Where to Eat and and Drink in Aveiro, central Portugal |
|
Aveiro has a
range of restaurants and cafes offering a variety of
cuisines. Though you would be hard pressed not to find a
cafe in Aveiro offering the egg-based petit-four it is
famed for, the Ovo Mole (Egg Mussel).
There is a good range
of restaurants in
Aveiro
to suit all tastes and budgets, though
freshly caught seafood is at the top of most of these
menus. There is a surprising range of international
cuisines represented in
Aveiro with Italian, Greek and Japanese establishments.
If you're only looking
for liquid refreshment, then
Aveiro
certainly proffer sustenance. There are a
number of bars centred around the squares off the
canals, though please note night life in Portugal
doesn't really kick off until 10pm.
Until this time you
may have to pass your time in the adjacent cafe bars or
the conveniently situated shopping mall, complete with
McDonalds and other franchise eaterie. |
|
GekkoPortugal's Recommended Restaurant |
|
O Batel is a cosy restaurant,
situated one street back from the main canal in central
Aveiro. The restaurant not only offers good service, but
a varied, mouth watering menu which lives up to the
description.
Gekkoportugal highly
recommends O Batel on excellent customer
service, superb food and family-like atmosphere. A
restaurant whose menu delivers far beyond the
expectations and the staff whom help this occur.
|
|
Best
Time to Visit Aveiro, central Portugal |
|
Having visited
Aveiro in
February and experienced exceptionally good weather, it
is hard to recommend a certain time of the year to visit
the town, as all excursions are good for this
fair-weather-town.
However if you want to
experience
Aveiro
in full festival swing, then book your
flights for August, the last two weeks. The town erupts
into a carnival of revelry for the
Festival da Ria
(festival of the River). Expected hotel, bed and
breakfast and campsite prices to increase significantly
for this annual festa, then the time to visit,
accommodation pre-booked, the last two weeks of August. |
|
Getting to Aveiro, central Portugal |
|
Aveiro is easy to
access either by road or rail as well as by a regular
schedule of both trains and buses.
From Lisbon:
Aveiro is around 262 kilometres from Lisbon airport to
the south. Lisbon airport is serviced by a variety of
low cost airlines which operate regulate flights into
and out of the United Kingdom.
From Porto:
Only 52 minutes from Porto airport via the electronic
toll road road A28 (77 kilometres).
By Train: Aveiro
is also serviced by a mainline train service, running on
an hourly basis from Porto. |
|
Map
of Aveiro, central Portugal |
|
View A Hard Nut to Crack, Aveiro - Central Portugal in a larger map |
|
|
