A small prologue
In April of 2017 I found myself in Portugal and more specifically in the second largest city of the country, my beloved Porto. The one and only week I spent in the country was enough to make me fall in love with it. The architecture, the colorful tiles, the wonderful people we met, the breeze and aura of the city, the fish we ate, what to start with. After four great city exploration days and a little Porto wine, we decided to take the train from the most beautiful train station I’ve ever seen, Sao Bento and visit a nearby town for a bit more- village style- sights of Portugal. This is a guide to the perfect day trip to Aveiro!
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Perfect place for a day trip Aveiro is greatly portrayed as Venice of Portugal. Under no circumstances it is. It has some canals that cross the city and plenty of gondolas but that is mostly it. It’s a beautiful colorful place, but it does not resemble to Venice, and if you start with great expectations like us, you end up being disappointed instead of admiring how beautiful it truly IS as a city. Train ride lasts about an hour or so.
Few words about Aveiro
Aveiro was called by the Roman as Aviarium, which is a ” bird gathering ” place. Every corner of the city is encircled by water and embraced by the Ria lagoon, the link between the city and the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, most of the inhabitants, at least in recent years, were fishermen, and in order to distinguish their homes in the mist, they each painted them in a brightly different color.
The old town will not disappoint you. Art Nouveau buildings with colored tiles (azulejos) are one more special than the other. Beautiful squares with many cafes and restaurants await you to taste the famous Portuguese dish, francesinha, a highly cholesterol-ic but delicious dish! It consists of bread, sausage, a slice of pork steak, egg, melted cheese and tomato / beer sauce. The most delicious thing I have eaten in my entire life.
Do not forget to admire another great piece of art , the old railway station (but what is it with the Portuguese and trains) and take your walk along the Atlantic Ocean , to witness a breathtaking sunset.
Portugal , you will always have my heart
Evita.
