Some call it the “Portuguese Venice '' because of the river canal that quietly crosses the city and its famous “moliceiros” boats but Aveiro is much more than the miniature version of beautiful Venice in Italy.
What makes Aveiro so special and unique? Besides being one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal, with incredible historical Art Nouveau buildings composing the city center with views for the gorgeous water canals, it’s also becoming one of the most modern cities in the country.
Not to mention one of the most popular selling points for Aveiro: it's great walkability and bike-friendly! You can easily walk from one point to another or bike anywhere! Ready to explore Aveiro with Savvy Cat 😸?
LOCATION
Aveiro is located in the Northern coast in the Central Region of Portugal, better known among the expat community as the “Silver Coast”. Aveiro has an unique location near the Atlantic sea and the incredible Ria de Aveiro, the Aveiro Lagoon, that stands as one of Europe's last remaining untouched coastal marshland with a haven for numerous bird species and hosts one the biggest salt marshes in the country.
The district is also located right in between Porto and Coimbra with around 1h distance between them and you have great transportation connecting these three cities. If you fancy going to the beautiful Guarda, in the interior of Portugal, near Serra da Estrela, a quick less than 2h drive will get you there easily.
HISTORY
Because of Aveiro’s unique location and landscape (mentioned above), the area was an important economic link in the production of salt and commercial shipping, as it was a center of salt exploration by the Romans and trade center throughout the Middle Ages.
From a testament of Countess Mumadona Dias in 959, we have the first reference of the name “Aveiro” as the city’s name, in which she highlighted the ancient name for Aveiro, referring to the monastery's lands in Alauario et Salinas, literally, "a gathering place or preserve of birds and of great salt". From the 11th century onwards, Aveiro became popular with Portuguese royalty.
Photo Source: Daniel VILLAFRUELA
In 1515, Aveiro is conceded the first charter (which is a royal document in Portugal whose purpose was to establish a council), thus establishing the importance of its geographical location as an important center of salt market, fishing and maritime commercial development. By the beginning of the 15th century, there already existed a great wall around the historical center, intonating the significance of the community and growth of the population.
CURRENT LIVING
Aveiro is, alongside Braga, a city that is developing quickly and quite well.
The local government has been doing a particularly good job planning and developing the city, with great improvements underway, as well as new consistent construction that respects the local architecture and does not clash with the more traditional buildings.
In terms of city planning and living perspective, lots of new and wide roads have been built, plenty of green areas, biking lanes, walking tracks, among other things that have been setting Aveiro as a prime example of great city development in Portugal.
Aveiro has also been doing an excellent job in attracting young families and professionals into the city, with many companies choosing either Aveiro ou Braga to set “shop”. Like Braga, it’s been attracting exciting work opportunities, especially in the Tech and Engineering sector. One of the reasons for this is because of the University of Aveiro, that is one of the biggest and most renowned Universities, not only in Portugal but also in Europe.
The central area of Aveiro, which is the most popular area to live in, is the area right where the Ria passes by. Here, you have everything you might need nearby: from a fish market and a farmer’s market to a big open-air shopping mall.
It’s also very practical in terms of transportation, like we mentioned before, Aveiro is very well situated, sitting in between Porto and Coimbra. Public transportation by train and bus are constant, fast and of high quality. It’s also quite easy to catch the highways that connect pretty much all major cities in the country.
REAL ESTATE MARKET IN AVEIRO
In sum, Aveiro is pretty much under construction everywhere you look. This new construction hasn’t stopped the prices increasing non-stop, however. And they are going up very fast, as prices currently range from around 300k to 400k or up easily.
In fact, there are instances of extremely inflated real estate listings prices at 1 million euros, which is completely unthinkable for the area and the conditions offered.
At Savvy Cat Realty, we strongly advise you to be careful with such inflated prices and we strongly recommend you always to do a bit of market research to avoid getting scammed. That’s why we work closely with our clients in guiding them through the real estate market.
There are much more affordable options available in the surrounding areas of Aveiro. There you are able to find listings of around 200k or lower for older buildings and/or buildings that need some kind of renovation.
Keep in mind that, however, that the surrounding areas do not have as good as city planning or exciting new developments happening as the center, so please expect to find older and more deteriorated areas.
Despite the affordable prices in these surrounding areas, the tendency is for them to rise, due to its proximity to Aveiro. It is expected as the city continues to grow, so will the areas around it.
🔔Ana Caramujo has traveled to Aveiro and we have a wonderful video all about this beautiful city! Check it out below 👀😸
Hope this article was helpful, any questions you might have feel free to contact us! We are always available at contact@savvycatrealty.com if you need any assistance ;)