Aveiro: moliceiro boats, ovos moles and striped houses by the sea

The Central Canal runs through the heart of the city, and this is where everything starts. Moliceiros, long boats with curved prows, were built to gather moliço, the seaweed once used as fertiliser in the fields. Today they take visitors on a ride of about 45 minutes through the canals, and the prows are still hand-painted with comic, religious or cheeky scenes. Read them carefully: some are spicier than they look.

Rides leave from several points along the canal and don't usually need booking, except in high summer. You pass under low bridges, by the Fish Market and along old salt warehouses. Nearby, the Ponte dos Laços, covered in colourful ribbons left by couples, is one of the must-have photos.

To see the city differently, there are bikes to rent and the canal area is flat. Aveiro was one of the first Portuguese cities to have shared bicycles, and it remains one of the nicest places to cycle without suffering.

Aveiro has one of the finest collections of Art Nouveau in Portugal. The early twentieth-century façades feature floral tiles, curving ironwork, arched windows and a vanity you can spot from afar. Many line the Central Canal and the nearby streets.

The Art Nouveau Museum occupies one of the most famous buildings, the former Casa Major Pessoa, and explains the movement in the city. On the ground floor there is a tea room where you can rest among tiles and stained glass. You don't need to be an architecture buff to enjoy it: just look up.

On the other side of the centre, the cathedral and the Convent of Jesus show older Aveiro. In the convent, now the Aveiro Museum, lies the tomb of Saint Joanna the Princess, daughter of King Afonso V, one of the richest baroque works in the country.

The Ria de Aveiro is a vast lagoon of channels, islands and marshes where the sea and the rivers meet. For centuries it was the source of the city's wealth through fishing, moliço and above all salt. Salt pans still work near the centre, and there are visits explaining how salt is harvested by hand, at the pace of the sun and the wind.

The salt pans are also great for birdwatching. Flamingos, herons and stilts appear often, especially in spring and autumn. At sunset, the white salt piles and the pink-tinged water make the most beautiful photos of the day.

There are longer boat trips on the lagoon that leave the city towards Torreira, São Jacinto or the beaches. They are a good option if you want to see the real lagoon, away from the busier canals.

About 15 minutes away by car is Costa Nova, famous for its palheiros: former fishermen's houses, now holiday homes, painted in bright stripes. They face the lagoon on one side and the Atlantic beach on the other. It is probably the most photographed street in the region, and rightly so.

Right next door, Barra has the tallest lighthouse in Portugal and a wide, windy beach loved by surfers and families. The Atlantic is cold, as everywhere in the north, but the sand is huge and there is plenty of room.

On the way is Ílhavo, home of the cod fishermen, with its Maritime Museum and its aquarium of cod. Nearby, the Vista Alegre porcelain factory, founded in 1824, has a museum and shop. If you like beautiful tableware, leave space in your suitcase.

Aveiro's ovos moles are the city's sweet: egg yolk and sugar wrapped in wafer shaped like shells, fish or whelks, or sold in little painted wooden barrels. They have European protected status, which means they are only the real thing if made here. You will find them in every pastry shop, and you will buy them again.

On the savoury side, the lagoon rules. Eel stew and fried eels are traditional dishes, as are grilled fish and cod, which has a strong tradition here. There are also «tripas de Aveiro», which despite the name are a dessert: rolled crêpes filled with egg cream.

The Fish Market by the canal is good for seeing the morning's catch, and at night the area around it fills with terraces and bars. On hot days, a cold beer by the canal is the best way to end the day.