Aveiro is situated 68 km to the south of Porto and 58 km north of Coimbra, straddling the "ria" Aveiro and the river Vouga a few kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, where you can easily reach by car (5 minutes) or by BUS (every hour). The city has a population of approximately 57,000 inhabitants, where 14,000 are students at University of Aveiro, one of the most important Portuguese Universities. Part of the city is bathed through canals, bridges, and painted boats called moliceiros, similar to the gondolas of Venice. For this reason, the city is called the "Portuguese Venice", although the comparison is obviously exaggerated. The real charm of Aveiro lies in its coast, with its fantastic sandy beaches has São Jacinto, Barra and Costa Nova. This local coast is well known as Silver Coast, due to the beautifull and clean beaches.