A short trip along Portugal’s coast

We went to Porto for a long weekend getaway and decided to do a mini driving holiday along its Atlantic coast. We landed in Lisbon and drove up to Porto, passing by Aveiro, Costa Nova, and Nazaré.

Porto

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal, but its population is only 248,000. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I had never made the connection between Porto and Port wine and only recently discovered that only wines produced in Porto can be called Port. For wine lovers, the Douro Valley wine-tasting experience is a must, and it can be done as a day trip from Porto.

Porto is also famous for its Azulejo (blue tiles). Whether it’s ordinary houses, grand cathedrals, the central train station, or small chapels, all are decorated with Azulejo tiles. Although Porto is the second-largest city, its downtown area is quite small, and you can explore it on foot in one to two days. If you have more time, you can use Porto as a base to take day trips to many nearby small towns.

Aveiro & Costa Nova

Aveiro is about an hour’s drive from Porto. It’s a charming town with beautiful architecture along the canal. Costa Nova is famous for its houses decorated with colourful striped tiles and is a 15-minute drive from Aveiro. Many people visit the two places together. You can also take the Moliceiro boat tour from Aveiro to Costa Nova. There are also many day trips departing from Porto to Aveiro and Costa Nova.

Costa Nova is a seaside town. When we first arrived in Costa Nova, we were curious why the beach was full of people on a sunny July day but almost no one was swimming in the sea. Later, after dipping our feet in the water, the reason became apparent. The water was rather cold despite being in the middle of summer!

Nazaré

Once a fishing village, Nazaré is now a pilgrimage site for big-wave surfers from around the world. Four of the top five big wave surfing records were set in Nazaré. The storms formed in the high seas in winter are amplified by the narrow offshore canyon near Nazaré, creating the perfect conditions for giant waves. The latest world surfing record was set by the German surfer Sebastian Steudtner in April 2024 at 28.57 meters. Standing on the lighthouse viewing platform at Praia do Norte in the summer, it’s hard to imagine a 28-meter wave crashing down. The lighthouse was worth a visit despite the €2 charge. Inside, there are displays of different surfboards used by well-known big-wave surfers who have braved the challenge at Nazaré.

I also experimented with some Fujifilm simulations with my X-E4 during the trip. If you are coming to Portugal soon, don’t forget to check out our Portugal travel experiences.