Aveiro's salt pans sit just beyond the canals and Art Nouveau facades, giving the city a working edge that is easy to miss. Guided visits explain the shallow ponds, tools, and seasonal labour behind flor de sal and traditional salt harvesting.
The landscape is also good for slow wandering, especially when the light catches the water and birds move through the lagoon. It is a useful corrective to the postcard version of Aveiro: less polished, more local, and tied to the ria that made the city possible.