The city of Aveiro has been called "The Venice of Portugal" because of its navigable waterways - canals. Visitors love guided excursions on the "moliceiro" boats to view the city's major sights with ease.  This is similar to the gondola rides in Venice Italy.  And yet if you were to compare the canals or black and white striped gondoliers to Venice to Aveiro, you might be disappointed. Aveiro is rather small, and the waterways are much more open and don’t navigate through older buildings and centuries-old bridges.  But Aveiro’s history and the cityscape are charming in their own way. And a boat ride here is cheaper than in Venice!