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Aveiro

aveiro

Aveiro is a medium-sized Portuguese town, the capital of the district with around 700.000 inhabitants and of the region very dynamic in terms of entrepreneurship. Due to its natural heritage, economic fabric, cultural offer, and urban experiences it provides, Aveiro is considered as one of the cities with a high quality of living in Portugal.
Being a “town of water”, Aveiro is widely recognized as “Venice of Portugal”. Ria enters the town through channels, creating a unique image of interconnection between the aquatic and urban areas. This exceptional symbiosis between the city and its Ria gives the landscape an environmental balance.
Our town is surrounded by salt pans, but with a reduced activity, which together with fishing and shipbuilding represents a significant part of the tradition of Aveiro.
Apart from its “moliceiros”, typical boats with colorfully painted bows, Aveiro is also famous for facades in Art Noveau style. Our town is also one of the founders of the National Network of Art Noveau Municipalities, which integrates Art Nouveau Network (with Barcelona and Riga).
The cuisine is versatile, but Aveiro is especially proud of its sweetest product – delicious “ovos moles” (“soft eggs”).

Location

The municipality of Aveiro has around 75.000 inhabitants and it is situated in the Central region of Portugal, 60 kilometers south of Porto. One of the key competitive factors is its accessibility by road and railway. Aveiro can be reached by the main highways of the country, namely the A1 (Lisbon – Porto) and the A25 (IP5 on the map), which is at the same time the major connection with Europe.
Access to the region is also possible  through the Port of Aveiro, the fundamental logistic platform of Portugal, which is currently in the process of expansion. Its connection by rail (under construction) will further facilitate the flow of goods.
As said before, in geostrategic terms, the county of Aveiro has the privileged location which allows a valorização de diferentes plataformas de cooperação complementares:
– On its West side, Aveiro confines with the Metropiliten area of Porto. It takes approximately 45 minutes to get to the airport Francisco Sa Carneiro and about 35 minutes to reach Coimbra;
-On its East side, Aveiro is located on one of the most important distribution channels between Portugal and Spain. It is also the nearest Atlantic port infrastructure to the territories of Castile and Leon, including Salamanca city.

Economy

Aveiro has a strong industrial tradition, due to the spirit of entrepreneurship of its people and the attractiveness of the territory. In fact, the municipality is in the centre of the major industrial area, very diverse in terms of sectors.
More recently, trade and tourism, as well as other specialized services have begun to gain significant importance, and to contribute to the local economic diversification.
Aveiro is also known as the “City of Innovations” as a result of the project development in the area of Information Society (Aveiro Digital) and the existence of its innovative University which has already given many recognized expertises in the area of Science, Environment, Telecommunications and IT. That makes it a privileged partner of numerous companies and different regional and national entities.
Our town is home to an important cluster of Information Technologies and Communication of major national companies and units of R&D (PT Inovação, Telecommunications Institute, ROOT – Research Institute of Forest and Paper, NEC, NOKIA – SIEMENS NETWORKS, etc.)
The collaboration in developing programs and projects established with various organizations makes Aveiro a great environment for institutional cooperation in the area of research and development of innovative products and solutions.
As a centre of developed industrial area, Aveiro is the city of commerce and services, but also of leisure and culture, offering cinema, theatre, music events, arts, sports and night life. Therefore, Aveiro is the modern and young town which offers to its inhabitants a lot of what big cities have, but yet without urban chaos and without reducing a life quality.
While the number of the residents is around 75.000 people, Aveiro receives daily more than 30.000 people to work or study. Thanks to its location in the coastline, the Municipality has recently registered a growth of the population. Some of the new inhabitants are students at the University, and their number now is around 13.000.
Created in 1973, the University is considered nowadays as one of the most dynamic and innovative universities of Portugal. It has become a prestigious institution, both on a national and international scale.
University’s Campus of Santiago is a good example of how architecture and functionality of space can enrich the riverside and contribute to the history, traditions and natural conditions.
This is also an evidence of how the University has been able to integrate and interact with the social environment, contributing to its architectural development and pointing out new ways to enhance the region’s resources.
The University of Aveiro has also become an respectable partner of many companies, both national and international, cooperating in various projects and programs. These collaborations have already contributed a lot to the development of science and technology.

Expositions Park of Aveiro

Expositions Park of Aveiro extends over a total area of 30,000 m2 and 10,000 m2 of covered area (two pavilions). It contains the following spaces:
–  Foyer Gallery for small exhibitions;
– Two pavilions with the sound system to broadcast messages;
– Auditorium equipped with modern technical means (sound and audiovisual) and dressing rooms;
– Main Hall;
– Conference rooms;
– Various meeting rooms;
– Parking with a capacity approximately for 2.000 cars;
– Parking for loading and unloading for 250 vehicles with a direct access to the pavilions and maneuver space;
– Toilets for disabled and baby change room;
– Secretariat and cloakroom;
– Square;
– Cash machines;
– Restaurant;