Moliceiros - the best way to visit Aveiro

From seaweed collectors to top tourist attraction. From just a simple vessel, used for agricultural purposes to the symbol of the city of Aveiro. Moliceiros are boats that will surprise every visitor in Aveiro - with their shape and colorfulness. Let's take a ride on one of the many moliceiros.

Moliço is a kind of seaweed that once was collected in the Aveiro lagoon. This type of a seaweed was used for fertilization of the fields. Since this region based is based on agriculture this plant was very important and very handy, let's add healthy as well. Later, people stopped using it and the history turned the wheel and those little boats became something totally different.

Moliceiros became the landmark of Aveiro. Besides ovos moles and Ria de Aveiro it is the most important, the most recognizable and the most photographed detail from Aveiro. In the city itself, it's possible to find almost everything with a model, design or motive of moliceiro.

Those boats are 15m long and 2m wide. Each moliceiro has many colors on it and on the front side there's always painting of some saint, celebrity or funny and sometimes a bit lascivious motive from everyday life. Pilots are men who will tell you the story about Ria de Aveiro, you will hear about ovos moles, where to buy them, they might sing just like gondoliers in Venice.

When taking a ride in one moliceiro you will be able to see the Aveiro city center; you will pass under a dozen of bridges - among them the most important and the most famous one is definitely Carcavelos Bridge, or bridge dedicated to lovers or bridge important for the people who used to work on the salt fields.

You should not hesitate and you should take a ride in one moliceiro while in Aveiro. On various points in the city, you will be able to book your ride that will take 15-30 minutes. The experience is splendid and you can be a part of the history and see the history in front of you and all around you since this city keeps the memory on each event or a person important for the history of the city or the history of Portugal.