RTW Trip – Aveiro, Portugal

RTW Trip – Aveiro, Portugal

After weeks of moving around at a breakneck pace we knew we had to stay in one place for a while and do very little touristing. Essentially, we needed a vacation from our vacation (full-time travel is as exhausting as a full-time job!) Aveiro was that break for us and we couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to take it easy for a little while.

Fact.

The city is known as the “Venice of Portugal” because of its canals that run through the city.


Aside from the canals, the city is unlike any other city we’ve visited.

While in town, we stayed in one of the best AirBnBs we’ve experienced yet — the Aveiro Arts House. I’ve mentioned before that sometimes the place you stay can make a huge impact on a trip and this was absolutely one of those places. Hugo’s (the host’s) grandfather Vic was an artist and filmmaker from Aveiro and the house used to belong to him. Hugo told us a lot about his grandfather’s work, including a showing of a short film Vic had filmed in town. Learning about the city and its art through such a lens really added a new level to our appreciation for the city. It also turns out that Vic’s artwork is present throughout town.

Mural by Vic.
Ditto.

Much like other cities in Portugal, art is clearly a cherished part of the culture. It is everywhere.

Aside from the canals, Aveiro is known for its saltpans (which are really cool if you’ve never seen saltpans before).


Costa Nova

The other thing folks love to do in Aveiro is visit Costa Nova. Costa Nova is a beach town on the Atlantic known for its colorful, striped houses. It’s a quick bus ride outside of Aveiro so we decided to make a short day trip out of it.

When we first arrived in Costa Nova we wandered up and down the main road looking at the houses and the nearby inlet. Although it was beautiful we kept thinking “this is the beach!?”


We didn’t realize the beach was on the Atlantic until we wandered across the main road and to the other side town. I had always wanted to see the eastern side of the Atlantic so it was a dream come true when the realization hit.

No, THIS is the beach!

We also tried our first Tripa. It’s similar to a crepe and oh so good.


But more than anything else, we loved these giant pineapples next to the sea.

Ok, so they’re trees. But they look like pineapples!

You can view the rest of my Aveiro pictures here!

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