Aveiro

Aveiro had a population of 80,880 in 2021 across 197.58 square kilometres, the second most populous city in the Centro region after Coimbra. With neighbouring Ílhavo it forms an agglomeration of some 120,000 people. The lagoon is the reason to come: canals run through the middle of the town, worked by the flat-bottomed moliceiro boats that once harvested seaweed and now carry visitors. Art nouveau frontages line the water, and the salt pans and long beaches of the Ria are a short ride away.