AVEIRO CITY GUIDE - OVERVIEW
With a population of just over 70000, Aveiro is not your atypical host city for a major finals.
If, as most overseas fans, you arrive in the city via train from Oporto, the closest international airport, you will notice you are entering deep into what is essentially a rural country.
Aveiro is situated at the north end of the Beiras region - the quintessence of Portugal - around 40 miles south of Oporto.
The city is famous for its' plethora of canals and low bridges which zig-zag across the area and the old lagoon provides much of the city's industry with fisherman harvesting seaweed and catching eels.
As there is no direct bus service from Oporto, unless you hire a car most fans' first glimpse of Aveiro will be provided by the compact train station situated at one end of the city centre on the Largo da Estação.
The station is directly opposite the city's main throughfare, the Avenida Dr. Lourenço Peixenho.
Commerce carries on here in a traditional fashion on the whole with old signage surviving and loval establishments prevailing.
A brisk 15 minute walk along this main boulevard which bisects the city takes you to the hub of Aveiro.
As you face the large roundabout at the end of the Avenida Dr. Lourenço, you have the Forum Aveiro to your right, the Canal Central directly opposite and the old town to the left.
The brand new two-level Forum is sure to be a mecca for fans with familiar high-street brand shops such as Hugo Boss, Mango and Benetton, amongst 86 shops, a multi-screen cinema, fast food chains, restaurants, a supermarket, a games arcade and a big TV screen facility for the tournament.
The Canal Central is the starting point to enjoy the environ of Aveiro. There are free bicycles available near the tourist office on Rua João Mendonça, which like most things in the city is badly signposted and easily missed, while a cruise on the lagoon, known as the Ria, also emanates from here and here you can also find the Rossio, a spacious garden area, lined with palm-trees.
The old town is a district of narrow, sometimes steep streets that are almost medieval in feel. Locals sit around on doorsteps or talk in small squares and there is a collection of alleys with residential housing and unannounced shops.
