Aveiro

Lined-up in Art Deco rows along the edge of the Baixo Vouga, Aviero’s downtown houses exude a certain elegance not afforded by other, more rustic cities in the Portuguese north. Indeed, there’s something undeniably grand and well-to-do about this seaweed touting town of arched bridges and glistening canals; the very essence that goes a long way towards justifying its nickname as the ‘Venice of Portugal’.

Amidst its centre, small alleyways give way to hidden channels peppered with moliceiros, traditional Aveiran fishing boats presently engaged by Aveiro tour guides to provide visitors a unique viewing of the city’s sights. It is also fairly easy to rent a bike, to visit the beguiling boutiques touting ovos moles de Aveiro (a sugared soft egg speciality of the region) in hidden urban alcoves, the classy emporiums shimmering with ceramic works by Portugal’s famous Vista Alegre Company, as well as the informative Museu de Aveiro housed out of an old convent. A little further afield, some of the most celebrated coastline in Portugal await; the rolling Atlantic swells of Costa Nova; the pretty waterways of the Ria de Aveiro; the palm-threaded promenades of Gafanha da Nazare.