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Municipality in Centro, Portugal
Photo: Gabriel González from Pontevedra, España, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Aveiro is the provincial capital city of Beira Litoral province, nestled next to a ria, (a salt water lagoon) and the Vouga River delta on the Atlantic coast of Central Portugal. Its origins go back to pre-Roman times. From the 8th until the 11th century, the region was under Muslim control. The charter elevating the town to city status was conferred in 1759 by King João I.
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Sé de Aveiro
An example of unique Portuguese baroque architecture.
Museu de Aveiro
In the former Convento de Jesus.
Câmara Municipal
Aveiro's city hall.
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.
Igreja de São João Evangelista
18th-century Baroque and Rococo church, a national monument. It was part of a Carmelite convent.
Fish market
Saint Gundisalvus Chapel
18th-century hexagonal chapel.
Salt pans
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".
Aveiro Conference Centre
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.
There are four different paths through the woods. You can see the Atlantic and 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.
Tasty burgers (from €5), best craft beer from Aveiro, English-speaking friendly staff.
Pizza shop decorated with chess pieces. Among the best pizza place in Aveiro and mean cocktails. Good vibe, popular with the young set. Have a glass of champagne with your pizza - meal for €7.
In the main central area of Aveiro you can find an amazing steak or just some special of the day dishes (especial do dia) for about €5.
Very close to the fish market, this place serves meat and fish dishes at affordable prices.
Brazilian-style chicken restaurant.
Good cafe for a quick lunch. Standard menu with daily specials.
Café/takeaway that caters for vegetarians and vegans. The menu has delicious offerings at affordable prices.
Homemade vegan foods. Pets are welcome. English spoken. Gluten free options, beers and wines also available.
Italian restaurant with a wood-fired oven. One of the house specialties is a stone-cooked fillet—an enormous beef fillet cooked slowly on a hot stone.
Situated in the upper part of the fish market, this place specializes in fish.
Fish and seafood in the fish market.
Fish, regional stews, meat.
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.
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.
A former games arcade turned live music venue with a good vibe and frequented by an easy going crowd and a barman that can put up a show sometimes. Some proper pool tables and game machines are still present in the back room.
Not only tea, on Friday nights the place metamorphosis with DJs and cocktails.
One of the older nightclubs in existence and still one of the better spots to go out have fun with a group of friends. But being not so near Aveiro center, may be inconvenient for some visitors.
The only hostel in the city. It is run by a local Portuguese couple who are extremely accommodating and helpful. The hostel is very modern with a kitchen, terrace area, cable TV, free breakfast, free Internet and Wi-Fi. Private rooms are available.
Three-star, 70-room hotel 10 minutes on foot from the town centre with a good quality-to-price ratio. The hotel has two annexes, one of which is a little older with cheaper and more simple accommodations.
Three-star, 100-room downtown hotel with restaurant, bar, room service, and free Wi-Fi.
Four-star, 49-room hotel in central Aveiro with bar, room service, free breakfast, and free Wi-Fi.
Four-star, 68-room hotel close to the train station and 15 minutes from the city centre. Amenities include bar, room service, free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and free parking.
Four-star, 128-room hotel a 10-minute walk from the center. Spa, swimming pool, fitness centre, restaurant, room service, bar, good breakfast and free Wi-Fi.
the central upmarketish shopping center and multiplex cinema venue.
With ample free parking available, it has a cinema multiplex, a large chain supermarket, a food take-way or eat-in hall and a plethora of shops from computer repairs and footwear to clothing shops, 24-hr clothes alterations and shoe repair shops etc etc.
This is a local produce market that offers fresh produce, fruit, butcher supplied meats, dairy products, cold meats and charcuterie, regional breads, and confectionary, directly from farmer or producer to the consumer. Many products are organically produced.
Organic shop with traditional bread and rolls, which are much more tasty than the normal industrial bread you get in Portugal.
By train
By bus
And also by the main canal in Rua do Clube dos Galitos near the moliceiro embarking jetty by the Rotunda das Pontes.
By plane
The "Aeródromo Municipal de Aveiro" is actually the former military airbase of São Jacinto, and is planned revert to civilian use, pending certification.
By bicycle
Aveiro is a cyclist friendly city. There are many exclusive cyclist dedicated paths throughout the city and connecting all the way from the city to the beach areas.
By bus
The city of Aveiro has thirteen bus lines operated by Aveiro Bus, who have no English website.
By car
Road traffic in the Aveiro area is relatively easy to negotiate, though you may experience slight delays at rush hours.
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