words Dolores O’Donoghue
Bright colours improve our mood, increase alertness and make us feel happier, calmer and more optimistic, and each year colour is celebrated around the globe in fascinating rituals and festivals. Most of these celebrations are steeped in tradition, but Águeda, about an hour’s drive from Porto, is home to a colourful annual event that was only first introduced in 2011. The nearby picturesque towns of Aveiro and Costa Nova are also famed for their colour and beauty.
Águeda
The Umbrella Sky Project, which runs from July to September, was initially created as an installation to bring colour to the streets of Águeda as part of the annual AgitÁgueda Art Festival, but both tourists and locals loved it so much that it has become an integral part of the festival each year.
This lovely medieval town, one of Portugal’s hidden gems, has many other attractions, such as the Railway Museum, which includes eight restored steam locomotives, a ticket hall from 1914 and the interior of a postal train from 1954. One of the historic trains that dates back to the early 20th century still operates in the region.
In Sangalhos, a twenty-minute drive south of Águeda, there is an extraordinary museum in the tunnels of the Aliança Wine Cellars. Exhibits include ethnographic art, minerals and fossils, and antique Portuguese tiles.
Aveiro
Half an hour west of Águeda is the quaint town of Aveiro, famed for its canals navigated by the brightly painted Moliceiro boats. These flat-bottomed boats, once used to collect algae and seaweed, are today used for sightseeing trips. The town is renowned for its remarkable Art Nouveau buildings, many of which are situated along the main channel.
Aveiro has a rich maritime heritage that includes delightful bridges and meandering streets that lead to the charming Old Quarter. The lively fish market in the centre of the town dates back to the late 18th century.
Costa Nova’s beach
Right on the Atlantic coast, just ten minutes from Aveiro, is the delightful village of Costa Nova, famed for its sandy beaches and funky seaside houses. Known as palheiros, these pretty little houses painted in bold stripes of red, blue, green and yellow were once fishermen’s huts used for storing their equipment.
A raised boardwalk connecting Costa Nova and Praia da Barra provides a scenic 6 km walking or jogging route and leads to the tallest lighthouse in Portugal, rising majestically over the sea.
This massive stretch of sandy coastline extends as far as the eye can see and is a popular destination for nautical sports such as sailing, surfing, kiteboarding and waterskiing
- ‘Águeda, Aveiro and Costa Nova’ is published in Anthology Volume 19. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
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