Visiting the colorful striped houses of Costa Nova, in Portugal

Costa Nova is a beautiful beachfront village in Portugal that is known for its striped houses. The houses are painted with stripes in bright colors, which makes them very unique and extremely photogenic. If you are looking for a good idea for a day trip from Porto or if you are spending the day in Aveiro, Costa Nova is a must-see destination. 

The striped houses of Costa Nova are one of the main attractions in the city. In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know to visit Costa Nova, including the history and many pictures of these colorful houses.

The story behind the colorful striped houses of Costa Nova

The striped houses of Costa Nova are known as “palheiros”, which in Portuguese means haystack, and refers to their looks.

Until the 19th century, Costa Nova used to be an uninhabited area full of sand dunes. Only after the construction of the dam called “Barra do Porto de Aveiro”, the local fishermen started using Costa Nova as their new access to the sea. 

Around the same time, the fishermen started building the first houses of Costa Nova, which were initially used only as storage for fishing nets and other materials. The houses were already striped (mostly with a mix of black and dark red stripes), but since they only served as deposits, the inside didn’t have any divisions or infrastructure. It was just an open space. If you want to see what the original “palheiros” used to look like, check out the only remaining one called Palheiro José Estêvão.

With time, the fishermen started bringing their families to spend the summer by the sea, and the storage houses started being turned into holiday houses. This is when the striped houses of Costa Nova started getting the look they have today, with colorful colors and a very summer holiday vibe. Until today, many houses are owned and used by local Portuguese families that come to spend the summer by the sea. Since Costa Nova became a popular tourist destination, many of the houses have been turned into accommodations or restaurants.

How to get to Costa Nova

Costa Nova is located very close to Aveiro, which is in turn only 1h away from Porto. Many people decide to visit Aveiro as a day trip from Porto and, if this is also your case, you can use the same day to visit Costa Nova as well.

Read also: A full guide for visiting Porto

Here are the transport options available to get to Costa Nova from Aveiro!

Going to Costa Nova by car

If you have rented a car for your trip through Portugal, you can easily drive to Costa Nova from Aveiro or from Porto. When arriving in Costa Nova through the main road, you will quickly see a few options of parking places.

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Going to Costa Nova by bus

The second option is to get a bus from Aveiro to Costa Nova. There is one local bus line that makes this connection, with stops in Aveiro main train station and at the center.

The ride to Costa Nova takes around 30 min because the bus makes quite some stops along the way, but you don’t need to worry because Costa Nova is the last stop. Each individual ticket cost us € 3,10 and we were able to purchase it directly from the bus driver, which was very helpful. If you decide to go by bus, just keep an eye on the schedule because sometimes it takes a full hour between buses. Check here the most recent timetable.

Going to Costa Nova by bike

If you will be staying in Aveiro for a day or two, chances are that your accommodation will offer complimentary access to bikes. If that’s your case, you can also bike your way to Costa Nova. The ride doesn’t take long and you have the benefit of not being tied to the bus schedule and can enjoy the views along the way.

How long do you need to visit Costa Nova?

Costa Nova is very small and you only need a few hours to check out the entire village. However, if you want to spend a day by the beach, you may want to save a bit more time in town to do that.

Most people combine the visit to Costa Nova and Aveiro on the same day. This is also what we did and we thought it was great. What I recommend is that you get an early transport to arrive in Aveiro still early, enjoy the city during the morning, then go to Costa Nova for a later lunch. After spending the afternoon in Costa Nova, you then return to Aveiro and then Porto.

What is the best time of the year to visit Costa Nova?

Even though you can visit Costa Nova all year round, summer is the best season to be there. It is a beach destination after all. I recommend visiting Costa Nova between the end of August and the middle of September, after the school vacations are done.

Every year, in the first week of August, the city hosts a famous event called “Festival de Marisco” (Shellfish Festival). If you will be visiting Portugal during this time, try to arrange your itinerary in order to be there for the event as it is quite a nice one.

Best things to do in Costa Nova

Even though the colorful striped houses are the biggest attraction of Costa Nova, they are not the only thing there is to do in town.

I recommend you start your tour by checking out the houses – start with the main road called Avenida José Estevão and then make your way towards the beach. We found that the prettiest houses were located on this main road.

Once you are done photographing the lovely striped houses, these are the other things to do in Costa Nova:

• Go to the fish market: The one building that stands out in the center of Costa Nova is the fish market, which opens from Tuesdays to Sundays. Since Costa Nova is a fishermen’s village, you can imagine that this is the right place if you want to buy extremely fresh and local seafood.
• Lighthouse: The lighthouse located on the beach called “Praia da Barra” is the tallest lighthouse in Portugal.
• The Costa Nova beach and the boardwalk: The 6 km boardwalk connects Costa Nova to Praia da Barra beach and provides scenic views with sand dunes along the way.
• Boat trips in the sea or the lagoon called Ria, which goes all the way to Aveiro.

Where to eat in Costa Nova?

It probably goes without saying that the local specialty when is seafood dishes.

Along the small center, you will easily find several restaurants specializing in seafood, with great prices compared to other larger Portuguese cities. We decided to eat in a restaurant called “O Cais” and we loved it! The food was amazing (we had a bowl of rice with shrimp) and the portions were extremely generous.

After a nice lunch, make sure to try the typical local desert called Tripa. You will find it being sold everywhere in Costa Nova.

Visiting Costa Nova: our personal experience

Now that you know everything you need to organize your own trip to Costa Nova and Aveiro, it is time to share a bit of our personal opinion.

Most of the tourists that go to Costa Nova, do so to visit the striped houses as they are the most unique thing in town. If that is the reason why you are also considering this trip, then I would say it is totally worth it. The fishermen’s colorful houses of Costa Nova are as photogenic in real life as the pictures show – even though not all of them are in great shape anymore.

However, if you are considering going to Costa Nova for the beach, I would say that Portugal has nicer beach destinations. The Algarve, for instance, has much more interesting beaches in comparison.

Read also: The best beaches of the Algarve region

All in all, we had an amazing day exploring Costa Nova and would definitely recommend it as a day trip from Porto. Check below our other guides from Portugal to help you plan your trip.

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