Aveiro is a small town located at the mouth of the Vouga River into the Atlantic. Its main attraction are the canals that connect the river backwaters and the characteristic long moliceiros boats moving on them.
In the past, Aveiro was an important Atlantic port, but after the sand spit had closed, which closed the bay and the entrance to the port, it remained primarily a fishing and fish processing center, including canned sardines, which are still the local hallmark today. In the past, long, narrow boats with beaked in legendary figures and flowers were used to collect seaweed in the Vougi backwaters. Today they carry tourists along the canals, and every year in August the Festa da Ria festival takes place here, during which the most beautifully decorated boat is chosen.
The second characteristic feature of Aveiro are the local houses. The multi-story tenement houses above the canals have azulejos-covered facades. They create geometric patterns of different colors and make that despite the similarity in construction, each house looks different. There are restaurants and bars on the ground floor of the former fishermen's seats. Many of them specialize in fish and seafood dishes, and you can get shell-shaped cakes typical of Aveiro.
