Gil Eannes

Former hospital ship for Grand Banks cod fishermen, now a floating museum and hostel

The Gil Eannes is permanently moored at the port of Viana do Castelo, a survivor of Portugal's remarkable bacalhau fishing industry. From 1955 to 1973 she served as the floating hospital for the Portuguese cod fleet on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland — a time when thousands of Portuguese fishermen crossed the Atlantic each year on the white-hulled dories to fish in the cold water off Canada.

The ship is now a museum and youth hostel. You can tour the operating rooms, wards, pharmacy, and crew quarters that kept the fishermen alive during months at sea. The story of the Grand Banks cod fleet — the dorymen who fished alone in small open boats lowered from the mother ships — is a compelling and now largely forgotten chapter of Atlantic history, and the Gil Eannes tells it well. The hostel rooms use the original crew cabins; sleeping aboard is an atmospheric option if you are on a budget.

things to do museum maritime historical site
A story
The Gil Eannes served as the floating hospital for Portugal's Grand Banks cod fleet from 1955 to 1973, following the fishermen across the North Atlantic each season. Portugal's dried cod industry — bacalhau — was so central to the national diet that the state maintained a hospital ship specifically to treat injured fishermen who spent months at sea. The ship is named after the 15th-century Portuguese explorer who was the first to sail past Cape Bojador, breaking a psychological barrier that had stopped European exploration of the African coast for decades.