Hotel Moliceiro

Moliceiros

by heliopinto

The "moliceiro", is a typical boat from the "Ria de Aveiro". It was used to collect the seaweed, to be sold as a fertilizer...
Each boat has paintings that make it unique. The paintings are usually funny or with nudity...

Aveiro

by ncfg

The Aveiro town, once a great seaport, still carries the charm of its canals and lagoon, known as "the ria".
Aveiro is a beautiful and modern town that is crossed by canals and because of that it is called by the Portuguese Venice.
There you can admire the beautiful boat called by Moliceiro , which is painted and decorated with humour and lots of colours.
This town is specially known for it pastry, the most famous is "ovos moles" ("soft eggs"), they are delicious, do't miss!

Aveiro - Portugese Venice

by magor65

Aveiro is a town of canals and bridges, that's why it is sometimes called Venice of Portugal.
Once a seaport, today it is situated at a lagoon. Its salt pans were well-known as early as in the 10th century. Salt and cod made the town quite rich and it flourished until 1575 when a storm separated it from the sea.
Any visitor coming to Aveiro will be charmed with the colourful facades of Art Nouveau townhouses reflected in the canal and moliceiro boats with pictures painted on their prows and sterns. The seaweed collected by moliceiros is used as fertilizer, although nowadays artificial fertilizers are taking over, which is gradually making seaweed gathering a thing of the past.
A stroll in the old town is a sheer pleasure, but if you have a couple of hours to spare you can visit Convento de Jesus which houses the museum dedicated to Princess Joana, Afonso V's daughter. She was famous for her beauty, but instead of getting married she chose a monastery life.
If you have a sweet tooth you can try Aveiro's speciality 'ovos moles' , which is a yolk paste with much sugar. Some people love it, but I'm afraid I don't belong to them.

Portuguese Venezia

by solopes

Did you think that Portugal was the only country without a so called Venice or Venezia or Veneza? Wrong! We have water so we have also our Venice.

What do they have in common?
1 - Water and canals
2 - The smell
3 - A similar typical boat (Moliceiro versus Gondola)

What are the differences?
1 - The palaces
2 - The prices
3 - 15 000 000 tourists each year
4 - "Ovos moles"

Those are the big notes. But there are many small ones, that you'd better check for yourself

AVEIRO - The city of canals and the sea

by SonOfLusus

Aveiro's gondola-like Moliceiro boats in the city's central canal

View of Aveiro's Central Canal

Aveiro's train station is beautifully decorated with tiles.