Aveiro - one of the cities with the best quality of life in Portugal, 4k

This walking tour takes place in Aveiro, one of the cities with the best quality of life in Portugal, land of canals and salt pans, soft eggs and excellent cuisine, tiles and a vast architectural heritage. A city with a light, young and relaxed atmosphere.
Date: August 28, 2022.
Location: Aveiro, Portugal.
GPS coordinates: 40°38'29.3"N 8°39'17.8"W


--------------- Video chapters:
0:00 Synthesis
0:37 Costa Nova
2:26 Praia da Barra
3:23 Center of Aveiro
4:17 Buildings in the “Art Nouveau” style
5:25 Beira Mar neighborhood
9:52 Antiques fair
13:33 Old Train Station
14:14 A work by the artist Vhils
14:44 Center of Aveiro
16:16 Salt flats


-------------- Places visited on this tour:

Next to the sea and the estuary, Aveiro is crossed by a network of canals where moliceiro boats travel. These slender and colorful boats were used to collect seaweed and are now used for tourist trips. Visiting on foot does not imply too much effort as the city is flat, and those who like to cycle can opt for “bugas” - the free-use bicycles provided by the Municipality of Aveiro.
Nearby there are several places worth visiting: the Salinas and admiring the whiteness of the salt, which in the summer season forms pyramids drying in the sun, Praia da Barra, where the tallest lighthouse in Portugal is located, or the Costa Nova, known for the striped haystacks.

Beira Mar neighborhood
It is the most typical neighborhood in Aveiro and is home to one of the most popular areas in the city. It's fabulous to wander through the narrow alleys that lead to the São Roque canal, look at the beautiful Art Nouveau façades, spend some time sitting on an esplanade in Fish Square, go into the traditional shops, walk along the banks of the Botirões canal, and, no forget, have lunch or dinner in the city's restaurants.

Art Nouveau script
In terms of architecture Aveiro is considered the Portuguese capital of Art Nouveau with a set of 28 buildings in the center of the city, namely the Art Nouveau Museum, the City Museum, the Fish Market, the old ceramics, and which can be seen when walk through the urban fabric of the city.
An Art Nouveau itinerary is provided at the tourist office.

Moliceiro ride on the canals of Aveiro
The Moliceiro tour in Aveiro lasts 45 minutes and runs along the four main canals of the city: the Central canal, the Côjo canal, the Pyramids canal and the São Roque canal.
Prices for a boat trip in Aveiro are defined for all departure docks: 13 euros for adults and 6 euros for children aged 5 to 12 years.
By taking this tour of Moliceiro, we are enjoying the living history of the city.

Old Aveiro Train Station
The old Aveiro station is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, having been recently refurbished and maintaining the beautiful tile panels that adorn the façade.

Botirões Pier (or Botirões Channel)
It is a very pleasant area to walk around, on the edge of the Beira Mar neighbourhood.
In this area is the Circular Pedestrian Bridge of Aveiro, also known as Ponte do Laço or Ponte dos Botirões, it is a modern pedestrian bridge built over the channels of São Roque and Botirões. Not far away is the so-called Fish Square.

Fish market
This market is an iron building from 1904, which still functions as a fish market and is open every day in the morning except on Mondays because the fishermen don't go to sea on Sundays.

Chapel of São Gonçalinho
The Chapel of São Gonçalinho, was built in the years 1712-14 by some devotees in honor of the Saint for the protection of fishermen.

Aveiro salt flats
The Troncalhada salt pans are open permanently and can be visited independently. It is especially interesting to watch the sunset.

The haystacks of Costa Nova
The haystacks were originally used as warehouses to store nets and other materials associated with fishing, but in the second half of the 19th century, they were adapted to serve as housing in the bathing station, and decorated with the current colored stripes. They are just 10 km from the center of Aveiro.

Work by Vhils (street art)
Using construction tools, Vhils exposes and confronts the architectural surfaces that tell the graphic history of the city itself. Using acids and bleach, he begins to paint the canvas that will be "deconstructed". Then, using hammers, chisels and jackhammers, Vhils sculpts the pieces to create texture, dimension and layering.
It was one of these works that was born in Aveiro: a dazzling face, carved on a wall in front of the Aveiro Railway Station.