Why you should visit Aveiro

Aveiro is a unique city in Portugal. Many tourists come to Portugal to see major cities such as Lisbon and Porto, but then they get totally surprised and amazed whenever they discover Aveiro.

Let me give you 3 reasons why people love this city.

1. It's beautiful due to its water in diverse variants

Aveiro has many water canals and on a normal day you will see many traditional boats called "moliceiros" passing full of tourists.

The water from these canals comes from a salty river and a lagoon that was formed around Aveiro and that extends until the nearby sea.

The canals within the city remember other cities, such as Venice, but Aveiro is quite different from it except for the romantic environment that is part of its DNA. Depending on the time that you visit it, you'll be able to see many heaps of salt across the landscape.

The views are amazing, with or without salt, as the lagoon acts like a mirror. Besides, many birds inhabit these waters, including a large community of flamingos.

2. Its buildings in Art Nouveau style

There are still many Art Nouveau buildings in Aveiro; Aveiro is the biggest Art Nuoveau city in Portugal where you can enjoy the wonderful façades of these buildings. Other cities (e.g., Porto, Leiria, Lisbon) have also Art Nouveau buildings but not in this quantity and concentration.

One of the most lovely building is the Art Nouveau Museum, an antique house that became the museum for this kind of art/architecture. On the back of the building, there's a nice coffee and bar where you can enjoy a tea or even a gin.

There are many other interesting buildings; they are numbered. You can ask a map at the Art Nouveau Museum or at the Tourism Centre which is nearby.

3. Its food and worldwide known desserts

Whenever at Aveiro, you cannot leave without tasting "ovos moles" (sweet eggs). This is one of the biggest atractions of the city, that you will taste and repeat! The story behind sweet eggs goes back to the time the Monastery of Jesus, nowadays Aveiro's Museum, was still hosting female nuns, couple of centuries ago. Back then, the monastery had many eggs and egg white was used for ironing. There were plenty of egg yolks to foster ideas for a new dessert. And then sweet eggs ("ovos moles") appeared. Nowadays they are known not only across Portugal but also abroad.

Meanwhile, and more recently, a new dessert became known locally: "tripa". It's like a soft pancake very nice, hot, that people eat all year around but especially during winter. It can be tasted solo or with different creams, including chocolate. Of course, and since we are at Aveiro, "tripa" are also usually filled with sweet eggs. It's sold in small shops and probably you'll see some queues.