Tucked in between the Canal das Pirâmides and the Canal de São Roque are the
neat, whitewashed houses of Aveiro’s fishermen. In the early morning the
focus of activity is the Mercado do Peixe , where the fish
from the night’s catch is auctioned.

Skirting the Canal Central, along Rua João de Mendonça, are Art Nouveau
mansions and some of the many pastelarias  selling Aveiro’s
speciality: ovos moles . Literally “soft eggs”, these are a
rich confection of sweetened egg yolk in candied casings shaped like fish or
barrels. As so often in Portugal, the original recipe is credited to nuns.
Ovos moles  are sold by weight or in little
barrels.

South of the Canal Central and the bustling Praça Humberto Delgado are the
principal historic buildings of Aveiro. The Misericórdia 
church in the Praça da República dates from the 16th century, its façade of
azulejos  framing a splendid Mannerist portal. In the
same square stands the stately 18th-century Paços do
Concelho , or town hall, with its distinctive Tuscan-style
pilasters.

Nearby, opposite the museum, is Aveiro’s modest 15th-century cathedral of São Domingos . The figures of the Three Graces over the
door on the Baroque façade were added in 1719.

A short walk south lies the Igreja das Carmelitas , its nave
and chancel decorated with paintings of the life of the Carmelite reformer,
St Teresa.

The former Mosteiro de Jesus is full of mementoes of Santa Joana, who died
here in 1490. The daughter of Afonso V, Joana retreated to the convent in
1472 and spent the rest of her life here. She was beatified in 1693 and her
ornamental Baroque marble tomb, completed 20 years later, is in the lower
choir. Simpler in style are the 18th-century paintings in the chapel,
showing scenes of her life. This was once the needlework room where Santa
Joana died. Among Portuguese primitive paintings is a superb 15th-century
full-face portrait of the princess in court dress.

Also part of the museum are the superb gilded chancel (1725–9), 15th-century
cloisters and refectory faced in Coimbra tiles. Between the refectory and
chapterhouse lies the Gothic tomb of an armoured knight, Dom João de
Albuquerque.