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portugal: ovar

Ovar, Portugal

As a brief overnight stop between Alcobaça & Porto, I wish I’d had more time to explore Ovar. Situated at the northernmost tip of the Aveiro estuary, this city without tons of tourists was a welcome change… but between its beautiful tiles, great food & proximity to the ocean, I’m sure Ovar will be on the beaten path soon.

Ovar, Portugal, Tribunal Justicial, Januário Godinho de Almeida, Jorge Barradas

With a somewhat radial layout, Ovar is easy enough to explore on foot. A grand city hall presides over the Praça da República, but my favorite municipal building by far was the tribunal court just down the street. In spite of needing some TLC, this late-Português Suave masterpiece by Januário Godinho de Almeida is shaped like an L to form its own mini-plaza. The staircase & corner entrance look fantastic, but the highlight would be all those tile panels by Jorge Barradas. Wowza.

Ovar, Portugal

Lots of other great architecture in Ovar as well, with most covered in a fantastic array of tiles. So many designs & color variations!

Ovar, Portugal, azulejos, tiles

Although John & I visited in shoulder season, we still wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean & hopped in a taxi to windswept Praia de Furadouro. Watching the sunset was great, but there was a small problem… no taxis around to return to Ovar. What to do? We could have walked back, but those 5 km would have taken an hour & it was already close to dinnertime. I managed to find a service to call, & my Portuguese was good enough to convey where to pick us up. Those views were worth the worry.

Ovar, Portugal, beach, praia, Furadouro
You can hear how windy it was!

I’ll have to return to see museums, but at least we picked up a pão-de-ló cake to have later. I’d love to see more of the estuary as well. Até à próxima, Ovar!

3 thoughts on “portugal: ovar”

  1. Hi Robert,
    I haven’t been too much on Twitter these days but I’m glad to see that you have been travelling to Portugal again. Thanks for posting about your trip to Ovar, a place I have not visited, so it was nice to see your photos on the blog. May you and John continue to do lots more of travel in 2023.
    Um abraço from Toronto where snow still covers my garden!
    Emanuel

    1. You have been missed! Hope you guys are doing ok. I was fortunate to go to Portugal several times last year, especially after the pandemic. I didn’t think some places could get more touristy, but they did! Still one of my favorite places to go though. I have a Portuguese exam coming up in May, so wish me luck! Outro abraço!!

      1. Olá Roberto,
        Desejo-te muito sucesso no teu exame de português. Boa sorte. I know you will do well. If there’s an oral component to the exam, I have full confidence that your great smile will get you 100%!
        Abraços,
        Emanuel

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