Travelling to Aveiro – The Portuguese Venice

Bom dia! Today I will tell you about my trip to Aveiro at the beginning of my Erasmus with a couple of other students. Back then, I didn’t know a lot about Aveiro and especially that it was so beautiful there. However, with time I learnt that it is located on the west coast of Portugal in a beautiful lagoon named Ria de Aveiro. Furthermore, it was inhabited since Roman times and was known for producing the finest salt and later ships. Nowadays, Aveiro is known as the Portuguese Venice, due to its canal running in the center of the city and the colourful boats, called barcos moliceiros, floating around.

My trip to Aveiro started early in the morning at the beginning of October. It was an all-girls trip and our main plan was to spend two days in this charming city in Portugal. If I have to be honest, I believe that we should have discovered Aveiro earlier, because it was amazing.

In this post, I will share with you a lot of useful information on how to get to Aveiro, the main highlights of the city and especially how to get to the beach of Costa Nova, as it can be quite tricky and time-consuming.

Porto to Aveiro

After checking a lot of travel options we decided that the train option would be the best way to get to Aveiro. Thus, we took the train from Porto Campanha to Aveiro, which took us there for around an hour. To me, it was surprising that on weekends there were trains to Aveiro any 45 minutes or less. However, the prices vary from 3.55 euros to 20 euros depending on the type of train. That’s why it is good to go to the ticket office and ask about the price and also for your discount if you are 25 years old or under.

Where to stay in Aveiro?

Aveiro has a lot to offer when it comes to accommodation, as it is one of the most touristic places in Portugal. However, I would suggest that you book a place near the center, so you are also close to restaurants and shops. We stayed near the Forum of Aveiro and paid 10 euros for the night, so it is was cheap. Thus, since we were in the center we went for a nice dinner at Revolta Hamburgueria Cervejaria Artesanal, where we ate some nice burgers for around 10-15 euros.

Things to do in Aveiro

Right after we arrived early in the day in Aveiro we went out of the train station and our journey began. We went straight ahead to explore the beautiful coastal city of Aveiro.

Cathedral of Aveiro

We first passed through the Cathedral of Aveiro, which was found in the fourteenth century. The cathedral has a nice Baroque architecture and also there is like a little square in front of it and only one tree in the middle of it, as a symbol of life.

Monastery of Jesus

Next to the Cathedral of Aveiro we found the Monastery of Jesus, now a museum, which was keeping a fascinating story about the royal family of Portugal from that period.

Back in the days, King Afonso, the fifth helped the locals to create the beautiful monastery and put a lot of effort to make it outstand most of the convents around Portugal. However, his beloved daughter Joana decided to become a nun there, even though she was the heiress of the throne. The king was quite unhappy with her decision, due to the recent death of his first son, but she stayed there against his will till her last days.

Nowadays, you can visit the tomb of the princess, which a fascinating piece of art made of marble. Along with that, you will find the Church of Jesus and the cloister, which are part of the permanent exhibition in the museum. The price to enter the museum is 4 euros per person.

Parque Dom Pedro Infante

A little bit further down the street, we found the Parque Dom Pedro Infante, which the locals tend to visit a lot. It has beautiful gardens with various unknown tree species and is well-arranged around a pond with lots of benches you can sit and take a rest or simply take pictures around as we did. In the park, you can also find a hidden cave in the staircase and beautiful roof made of flowers before the staircase, where you can take some good pictures for your album.

Jardim do Rossio

Then, in the afternoon, after we left our stuff at our place, we headed to the city center of Aveiro. There we went on to explore the Jardim do Rossio, which is next to the main canal of Aveiro. While walking we were offered a ride on the colourful boats along with a glass of wine for 10 euros. They offered to get us to the end of the canal, but we decided to just walk.

Ponte dos Carcavelos

On our way to the end of the canal, we crossed the famous Ponte dos Carcavelos, which was built over another bridge that fell. The bridge was of great importance for Aveiro, as most of the people working in the salt fields were crossing it to get to them. However, today it is more of a romantic stop for couples that would like to watch the sunset.

Salinas de Aveiro

After crossing the Carcavelos Bridge we walked for a bit more and found ourselves in the famous salt fields of Aveiro. We went on a bit of walk around them and observed the ways of obtaining salt and in some places, you could clearly see the salt that was ready to be gathered.

For me, it was interesting to learn that salt in this region was obtained since the tenth century by using a special method that relies only on natural conditions. Nowadays, they are still producing the salt using the old methods for that, which results in the finest salt around.

Forum Aveiro

On the following day, before going to the beach, we went to the Forum of Aveiro for quick shopping and brunch. It is a nice shopping mall with a huge variety when it comes to fashion, so it is definitely a stop on a girls’ trip. Not far away from the shopping center is the Ponte Laços de Amizade or as the locals know it – the Bridge of Friendship. Most of the people crossing the bridge tie ribbons to express their love for their friends or lovers.

Beaches of Aveiro

Finally, we headed to the beach of Aveiro! Thus, first, we went to the bus stop that is next to the main canal of Aveiro and had to wait there for almost an hour, as the bus didn’t come on time. Eventually, we caught the next bus to the beach and the ride cost 2.50 euros. After around twenty minutes travelling we arrived at praia do Paredão Barra where you can see the tallest lighthouse in Portugal. It was built in the nineteenth century and has 288 steps for you to climb to its top. Absolutely astonishing!

Then, we went on with our walk over the beach and I have to say that this is one of the most beautiful beaches in Portugal. So we took a little time just to lay down and take a rest because it is for sure not easy to walk over the sand, but it is definitely a good and calming experience.

Eventually, we found the Assalam bar, which was situated in the Costa Nova beach, where you can also find the famous striped colourful houses. We decided to just stay there and enjoy the ocean and its beauty while having nice food and drinks. Later, we saw one of the most mesmerizing sunsets at the beach of Costa Nova. Thus, around 8 in the evening we had to go back to the train station to catch our train. That's why we asked the staff at the bar to call for a taxi to the train station, which cost us 15 euros, and we caught the train back home.

Overall, Aveiro is a nice Portuguese city to visit for sure. I enjoyed my time there along with the nice company of my new friends and will for sure come back to lay on that beautiful beach again!

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