We continued north on the trusty A1 highway for an hour to Aveiro.
Aveiro is a city in central Portugal, known as the “Venice of Portugal” for its canals and colorful moliceiro boats. Located on the west coast of the Ria de Aveiro Lagoon, the city is recognized for its Art Nouveau buildings, nearby beaches, such as Praia da Costa Nova with its striped houses, and local cuisine, including the sweet ovos moles pastry. Ovos moles de Aveiro literally translates as “soft eggs from Aveiro”. It is the iconic Portuguese delicacy often referred to as “mole”. It is a traditional pastry from the Aveiro region, made with a rich, creamy egg yolk and sugar mixture, often served inside a small communion wafer shell shaped like a shell, a fish, or a barrel. It originated with Dominican, Franciscan, and Carmelite nuns in 16th-century convents in the Aveiro region, who used the leftover yolks after using the egg whites to starch their habits.
The folks in Lisbon say this is a classic attempt to rip off what their monks and nuns actually started at the monastery in Belem.
The origin stories for each town’s pastry are essentially the same. The packaging is a bit different, and they look quite different, but the ingredients are identical.
I think it’s just the Catholic Church trying to make an honest buck while feeding a hungry country.
After checking into our hotel, we walked over to a beautifully landscaped linear park running along both sides of the canal. Colorful arched bridges, some bedecked in colored ribbons, crossed the canal as motorized gondolas cruised by, their captains chirping into microphones as they described their lovely city.
We stopped for an incredible late lunch at Subenshi, a Japanese fusion restaurant, ordering assorted sushi platters rather than specific rolls. I had no idea what I was eating, but it was all good. Most restaurants in Aveiro close between two and three, and then reopen at seven. We got in right under the wire.
After lunch, we did a zig-zag hike along Canal Central de Aveiro, past the canal boats, the Museu de Aveiro / Santa Joana, the Aveiro Railway Station, the Ponte Lacos de Amizade (Ribbon Bridge), Museu de Arte Nova, the Aveiro Museum, and the Se de Aveiro Cathedral. It was another fine day for a hike around a Portuguese fun town.
The Aveiro Museum is housed in the 15th-century Convent of Jesus and features breathtaking Baroque gold leaf work and the ornate tomb of Princess Saint Joana, a Portuguese Princess who gave up everything to become a cloistered nun. Admission is $12.
The Sé de Aveiro (also known as the Aveiro Cathedral or Church of St. Dominic) is located just outside the city center. Founded in 1423, this national monument is famous for its stunning Baroque facade, beautiful limestone portal, and its rich history as a former Dominican convent.
The Museu de Arte Nova is housed in a blue-and-white treasure house along the waterfront, facing the main canal. The defining landmark element is a large carved eagle perched atop the facade. Inside and outside, the museum showcases a special hybrid style: Art Nouveau azulejos. While Europe used glass and steel, Aveiro used traditional hand-painted tiles decorated with animals, birds, and flowers. These unique tiles weren’t just decorative—they also helped waterproof local adobe structures against the lagoon’s high humidity. The museum itself doesn’t just hold stationary relics — it acts as an open-air itinerary planner. The entire first floor is dedicated to an interactive roadmap. It guides design lovers on a scavenger-hunt-style walking tour of 28 iconic Art Nouveau facades scattered across the neighborhood. One of the most loved spots in the building is the Casa de Chá (Art Nouveau Tearoom) on the ground floor. During the day, it is a peaceful spot to drink specialized infusions and sample local ovos moles pastries in the courtyard. At night, it transforms into a trendy, atmospheric music lounge.
Museu da Cidade de Aveiro is housed in yet another Art Nouveau treasure. It pays homage to Aveiro’s past and present, showcasing the town’s cultural traditions through interactive exhibits that change regularly. The community plays a big role in selecting the ever-changing displays. We especially liked the seaweed harvesting boat.
Our leisurely stroll through the historic Beira Mar district took us through Aveiro’s historic fisherman’s quarter. Located just outside the medieval walls, it is defined by narrow cobblestone lanes, colorful low-rise houses decorated with traditional ceramic tiles (azulejos), and bustling canals. The neighborhood’s lively epicenter is surrounded by excellent, affordable seafood restaurants and traditional taverns.
The Aveiro Train Station is famous for its striking 1916 facade covered in 50 magnificent blue, yellow, and white azulejo tile panels depicting regional life, acting as an outdoor history book. The tiles, crafted at the Fábrica da Fonte Nova, illustrate traditional scenes such as fishermen on moliceiro boats, the Rio Vouga, and the Monastery of Jesus. When the original modest station was built in 1864, the marshy terrain caused embankments to sink repeatedly during construction. The historic red-roof building still stands proudly near the city center and is beautifully maintained, complementing the modern station next door.
The most interesting fact about the Church of Aveiro’s Mercy (Igreja da Misericórdia de Aveiro) is that it took nearly 70 years to build because of its incredibly ambitious design. The initial architectural plans were drawn up in 1585 by the famous Italian master Filipo Terzi, but the complex Mannerist and Baroque structure was not actually completed until the mid-17th century (between 1653 and 1669) under local Portuguese master builders. The striking blue-and-white azulejo tilework seen on the outside today was not part of the original design; these tiles were added much later in the 19th century. The grand entrance features four Corinthian columns framing majestic national symbols, including the royal shield, the Cross of Christ, and an armillary sphere. We were told by several locals that the interior was pretty special, but unfortunately, the front door was guarded by a pitbull-like lady who waved her hand and shook her head emphatically, ordering us to leave immediately. We were never sure why.
Aveiro has a high concentration of Art Nouveau buildings, primarily due to wealthy emigrants returning from Brazil at the turn of the 20th century.
These individuals, along with a rising conservative bourgeoisie, sought to showcase their newly acquired social and economic success by building homes in the “new style” that was then popular across Europe.
Unlike other European cities, Aveiro uniquely blended Art Nouveau with traditional Portuguese elements. Local factories, such as Fonte Nova, produced affordable tiles (azulejos) with floral and sinuous motifs that helped waterproof buildings while adding the signature Art Nouveau flair.
Today, Aveiro is recognized as the “city-museum of Art Nouveau” and is one of only 20 cities worldwide in the Réseau Art Nouveau Network, the guardians of the Art Nouveau legacy worldwide.
We decided not to take a boat ride on the canal/lagoon because it looked kinda hokey, and we could walk the same routes for free. But all the travel books will tell you to do it, and it was the most popular activity in town. So, here’s the skinny on the Stormwater Pond Express.
The most popular choice is a 45-minute cruise through Aveiro’s four urban canals: Central, Cojo, Pirâmides, and São Roque.
There are two types of boats.
Moliceiro boats are slender, colorful vessels originally used to harvest seaweed (moliço). They are famous for their hand-painted prows, often humorous or historical.
Then there are the Mercantel Boats, which are slightly larger than moliceiros, and were historically used to transport salt and goods.
Guided tours (often bilingual) covering city history, salt flats, and Art Nouveau highlights cost approximately $15–$18 per person.
We also missed the Aveiro Salt Pans, where the locals cultivate salt in fields right outside town.
The process, managed by a skilled worker known as a marnoto, involves a series of shallow clay ponds that gradually increase the water’s salinity through evaporation.
High-tide seawater from the lagoon is captured in the first and deepest reservoir called the viveiro.
The water flows through a network of canals into smaller, shallower ponds (algibés, caldeiros, and cabeceiras). As it moves, the sun and wind evaporate the water, concentrating the salt.
When the brine reaches a specific salinity, it is released into the final, shallowest ponds called crystallizers (talhos or meios de baixo).
The first thin layer of crystals that forms on the water’s surface is delicately skimmed off by hand daily.
The crystals sink to the bottom. Every 2 to 3 days, the marnoto uses a long-handled wooden squeegee to rake this salt into small white pyramids at the edge of the ponds to dry.
In spring, workers clean the ponds of accumulated mud and compact the clay bottoms to make them impermeable.
In summer, the main harvest season runs from June to September, when heat and wind are strongest.
In winter, the pans are often flooded with rainwater or additional seawater to protect the clay structures from erosion during the off-season.
You can walk through the salt pans for free or take a guided tour at the Ecomuseu Narinha da Toncalhada, an open-air museum that explains the site’s history and ecology. Some active pans, like Narinha da Noeirinha, also offer salty baths in which the high salinity lets you float effortlessly, much like the Dead Sea.
We were there in April, and there wasn’t anything to see other than shallow ponds. So, we headed back to our hotel and assumed a horizontal position. It was just like floating on the Dead Sea.
