Partners: GoodsFromJapan | JapanVisitor | PortugalVisitor

Aveiro Braga Cascais Coimbra Estoril Faro-Loulé Guimaraes Leiria Lisbon Belém Porto Nazaré Obidos Sintra Tomar
Viana do Castelo

Portugal Travel Guide: Aveiro

Aveiro © Dias dos Reis

Aveiro

• Located on a huge lagoon south of Porto.
• Town of canals and graceful bridges.
• A real 'sea' town: famed for fish and salt.
• Gateway to surrounding beaches.
• Relaxing coastal town.

Great Gifts From Portugal

Located on the Lisbon-Porto train line along the Costa de Prata, Aveiro (uh-vye-ro) is a regional port city with a population of 40,000. Historically, the city has prospered as a seaport, with salt as one of its main industries. In spite of relative economic decline, it boosts a spectacular bird sanctuary nearby, the Museu de Aveiro, and charming canals and homes. Decent beaches are nearby.

Aveiro was originally founded in the time of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The development of the salt industry, agriculture, and fishing, and the first cod-fishing expeditions to distant Newfoundland in 1501 brought the city a period of great prosperity in the 16th century.

However, in the winter of 1575, heavy storms destroyed the deep channel that had once linked the marshy lagoon known as Ria to the sea. This effectively destroyed the city's sea trade. The Ria was not joined to the sea again until the early part of the 19th century.

Today the city's many bridges and canals and pastel-colored homes give it a genteel feel. In the canals, you can see the beautifully painted boats known as moliceiros. The bird reserve is at Sao Jacinto and is accessible via a bus from the AV Aveirense bus stop on Rua Clube dos Galitos. The Museu de Aveiro, which is located on Rua Miguel Bombarda (234 423 497), features the tomb of Princess Joana, which is a marble mosaic masterpiece.

Aveiro Tourist Office

Regional Tourist Office of Rota da Luz.
Rua Joao Mendonca, 8.
Tel. 234 420 760; Fax 234 428 326.

Getting to Aveiro

Train

The city is more easily reached by rail than bus. There are eight departures a day from Lisbon's Santa Apolonia Station on intercity trains that take two hours and fifty minutes and cost EUR 11.50 ($12.30) for 2nd class seats, EUR 18.20 ($19.50) for first class seats. On the high speed Alfa Pendular trains, travel from Lisbon's Santa Apolonia Station is cut to two and a half hours and the price notches up to EUR 26.80 ($29) in Conforto class or EUR 17.60 ($19) in Turistica class. On Alfa trains that make a few more stops and take about five minutes longer, it is possible to make the trip for EUR 14.50 ($15.50) in tourist class, EUR 23.80 ($25.50) in Conforto.

Traveling south from Porto, fares are EUR 10.20 ($11) or €9 ($9.65) in Conforto, EUR 7.10 ($7.60) in Turistica. The journey takes forty-five minutes.

Note: You can save 10% by buying a return ticket. Children under 12 years of age and people aged 65 or over receive a 50% discount.

Car

From Lisbon take the A1 highway north. Takes about 2 - 3 hours.

Bus

On the bus from Lisbon, it takes 4 hours and costs around EUR 11 ($11.80).

Accommodation

At the low end, there is always the drink-all-night-sleep-in-the-fountain option. For those not so inclined, camping is an option. The parque de campismo (234 369 425) at Barra and Gafanha da Nazare (234 366 565) northwest of Ilhavo are both reasonable and close to town. For those who prefer a roof, the pousada da juventude (234 420 536, fax 234 382 395) which is 1.5 km south of town is EUR 26.50 ($28.50) a night for a double, EUR 9.50 ($10.20) for a multiple. Reservations strongly recommended. A good deal near the train station is Pensao Avenida (234 423 366) on Avenida Dr Lourenco Peixinho. Residencial Beira (234 424 297), Rua Jose Estevao 18 and Residencial Palmeira (234 422 521), Rua da Palmeira 7.

Featured Hotel

Mercure Aveiro, Rua Luis Gomes de Carvalho 23, 45 rooms.

Book Accommodation in Aveiro

Hotels in Portugal - Bookings

Hostels in Portugal - Hostelworld.com

Hostels in Spain - Hostelworld.com

Hotels in Portugal - Almeida Hotels

Eating

Close to the train station, Café Restaurant O Aquario, Rua Almirante Candido dos Reis 139 (234 425 014), is reasonable. Near the fish market, Restaurante Ferro, Rua Tenente Resende 30 (234 422 214), serves pratos do dia. Vegetarian fare can be had at Sonatura, which is located at Rua Clube dos Galitos 6 (234 424 474).

Drinking

Along the Canal Sao Roque beyond the fish market, there are several good places to toss one down: Estrondo, Cais de Sao Roque 74 (234 383 366), Urgencias, on a nearby corner (234 428 082), and Salpoente, Cais de Sao Roque 83 (234 382 674).

List your restaurant/bar/hotel contact Advertising

Internet Cafe

Aveiro Digital
opposite Town Hall
10am-8.30pm Mon-Sat.

Local football team

Aveiro is home to SC Beira Mar, a first division side in the Portuguese domestic league that plays its home matches at the Estadio Mario Duarte. Thanks to Euro2004, the team will be soon be playing in a brand new stadium that is being purpose-built for the tournament. The US$39 million Estadio Municipal will have a capacity of 30,000.

The average high June temperature for Portugal is between 22C and 26C.
Get more weather information in Portugal

More Tourist Information on Portugal

Aveiro Braga Cascais Coimbra Estoril Faro-Loulé Guimaraes Leiria Lisbon Belém Porto Nazaré Obidos Sintra Tomar
Viana do Castelo

"The Onside In-Site" Copyright © From 2000. All rights reserved. Soccerphile Ltd.