Aveiro

Once a great seaport, this calm city is known for the charms of its canals and, especially, the "ria", a lagoon which links Aveiro to the sea.
On the coast, the cosmopolitan beach of Espinho is a place to visit. A few dozens years ago, it represented what the Algarve, in the South of Portugal, now means for Portuguese holidaymakers.

Mealhada is celebrated for its many restaurants, where good wine and a delicious speciality, roasted sucking pig, attract many visitors.
Santa Maria da Feira, which derives its name from the prosperous fairs held monthly since the 12th century, boasts of a romantic castle on a wooded hill, while Ovar, though now mainly industrialized, still shows signs of rural traditions and has one of the most colourful Carnival parades in Portugal.

This is a busy district, from the shoe and textile industries around São João da Madeira to the vast milk produce of Vagos.
However, if you are looking for more characteristic views, visit, for example, Castelo de Paiva, a small town surrounded by vineyards on hillsides, or Arouca, where lies the body of the Saint Mafalda, in a 12th century monastery.

Arouca Monastery and Saint Mafalda’s Tomb (Arouca)
Religious, classical and baroque architecture. It’s a Cistercian monastery, constructed under the classical roman style. The backs of the lecture hall are carved in gold, with 30 pictures of Saint Mafalda’s and other saint’s lives.

Lady of the Mó Hill (Arouca)
Located 8 km from the village, 711 meters high. It has an excellent view of the Arouca valley and this is where the Lady of the Mó Chapel is located.

The Mill’s Route (Arouca)
There are 17 mills, all lined, that constitute a unique case in Portugal. Located at Alvarenga parish, this group is known as the Mill’s Route and is served by the same water. Constructed in schist and covered with slate, they are similar to the traditional architecture of this region.

Taco’s Megalithic Nucleus (Albergaria-a-Velha)
This nucleus, firstly with three dolmens, has know only two. They look like big hillocks and usually cover different funerary chambers.

Salt industry (Aveiro)
This is an interesting group of constructions related to salt-pans, just like the barns of S. Roque’s Channel, used as storehouses for salt.

Hunting and Fishing Museum (Aveiro)
Located at the Infant D. Pedro Park, this museum brings together a rich and varied collection in fauna. A visit is really advised to the lovers of this kind of art.

Ovil’s Castro (Espinho)
The technical and typological characteristics of the unburied remains at Ovil’s Castro are traditionally related to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC and they integrate the village in the Iron Age.

Gafanhões House/ Morgado’s Farm House (São João da Madeira)
This small palace belongs, since 1523, to the Côrte-Real family and it’s classified as a National Monument. Here you can find a service that organises cocktails and receptions, in an atmosphere where you are able to breed the history of a very old and influent family, in the Portuguese aristocracy context.

Ovar’s Mother-Church (Ovar)
The actual building, completely covered with tiles since 1927, dates from the last quarter of the 16th century and has been suffering successive improvements. It has three naves, divided by two arcades with five spans, two chapels and six altars. It’s richly carved in gold and the front has two huge towers, a high door, the patron’s saint niche and two choir windows.

Jardim dos Campos - Garden of Fields (Ovar)
It looks like a large rectangle, with a central corridor, bounded by arched structures. Different species of roses and creeping plants, in relation with grass-plot spaces, result in a colouring and luxuriant whole.