EASTside Magazine’s Travel Editors Top Bucket List Destinations: 2023 Edition
Aveiro: Portugal’s Venice
Gondola-style boats, moliceiros, float tourist along calm canals brimming with brightly colored houses and art nouveau buildings in Aveiro, just a few hours’ drive north of Lisbon. The must-visit destination in Aveiro is Mosteiro de Jesus, a convent built between the 15th and 17th centuries, made famous by Joanna Princess of Portugal in the 1400s, as she lived a modest life there instead of taking her place on the throne. The structure is filled with marble, ceramics, and gilded woodcarvings certain to delight any history buff or architecture enthusiast. Aveiro’s lagoon feeds the canals, easily traversed by boat, through the old city and the new. Stop anywhere, take a stroll, and sample the local cuisine, famous for its seafood and abundant vegetarian options. Costa Nova, on the oceanside of the lagoon, is a fishing village that maintains the fish market daily and is dotted with brightly colored striped houses along the coastline.
Praia da Barra is a village just a handful of miles south of Aveiro and home to the tallest lighthouse in Portugal. Built in the 1890s, the lighthouse has warned ships for decades about thevlow waters off the coast and creates a stunning environment to walk, as well as a place to learn to surf. On Wednesdays, the lighthouse opens to tourists and its guests can walk the almost 300 steps for the grandest views.
By Tanya White
