Why move to Aveiro
People have been living in the Aveiro region since prehistoric times and they keep on coming, attracted by the best of the Portuguese coast and a thriving urban centre.
Aveiro, the district’s capital city of 120,000 people is set a little way inland from the coast thanks to a lagoon formed in the 16th century after a storm raised a great sandbar. Today it has returned to prosperity with new industries made possible by the creation of a delightful canal system which has earned Aveiro the title, the Venice of Portugal. Like its Italian counterpart you can hire a moliceiro, a boat which will guide you, gondola style, under bridges and past colourful Art Nouveau houses.
Head to the coast you’ll enjoy a warm mediterranean climate with summers which are pleasantly cooler than you’ll experience inland. To the north are sandy beaches and towns brimming with character and history such as lhavo, where you’ll find the Vista Alegre porcelain factory. Praia da Barra is home to the country’s oldest lighthouse and Praia da Costa Nova, the subject of many a postcard thanks to its striped beach houses. You’ll find blue tiled houses in Ovar, a town which has incorporated industrialisation, but retains signs of its rural past as oxen share the roads with 4x4s.
If you’re looking for somewhere that caters for body and spirit, then investigate the town of Luso. Its hot springs are believed to have therapeutic value and are perfect for soothing your aching joints. And to clear the mind, take a trip into the forest of Bussaco, an ancient woodland and arboretum which was once a monastic retreat. The monastery itself is now closed but you can still enjoy contemplative walks in a hermits’ grotto and the valleys of ferns.
To the east lies Caramulo; set amid a rolling mountain range it once drew people for its sanatoria and pure air. Today, ironically, it’s just as famous for its motor museum, but you’ll want to leave the car at home and get out to enjoy the beautiful Serra do Caramulo. As well as stupendous views, the surrounding countryside offers rolling green fields, waterfalls and forests of oak, chestnut and pine trees.
Head north and you’ll arrive at an altogether different landscape around the village of Arouca. A UNESCO Geopark (an area of outstanding geological interest), it can be explored on foot, canoe or kayak. Not quite as ancient, but not far off, the village is home to a thousand year old convent which sits in the cobbled main square where you can enjoy sweet chestnuts and other delightful confectionary produced here.
Major roads connect Aveiro’s capital to the north, south and the eastern uplands, with Porto and Lisbon both easily accessible by rail.