Oficina do Doce (ovos moles workshop)

Ovos moles (literally “soft eggs”) are Aveiro’s best-known sweet: a thick, golden filling of egg yolk and sugar inside a thin wafer. The Oficina do Doce (“sweet workshop”) runs a 30-minute session where visitors hear how ovos moles are made, then fill and cut their own and taste them at the end.

The workshop starts with the story. Ovos moles de Aveiro have a protected geographical indication (IGP), meaning only sweets made in the Aveiro region to the traditional recipe can use the name. Oficina do Doce traces them back to Aveiro’s Catholic convents in the 16th century. Nuns made sweets with egg yolks, and ovos moles became the town’s signature.

Then children get to work. The filling is spooned into wafers decorated with sea designs, such as shells and fish, which reflect Aveiro’s life on the lagoon. Children help fill them and cut them out, then eat what they’ve made. It’s quick, sticky and satisfying, and the session is short enough that even a restless five-year-old will make it to the end.

Children pay from age four, and under-fours go in free, so a toddler can come along with an older sibling. For little ones aged four to seven, the draw is simple: they get to make sweets and eat them. The history will wash over some of them, but the hands-on part keeps them busy.

Children aged eight to twelve get more from the story: nuns, convents, why a seaside town makes sweets shaped like shells, and why a recipe can be legally protected. For teenagers, it’s a short, fun stop rather than a big outing, and it works best as part of a wider day in Aveiro.

Workshops run in Portuguese at 11:00 and 15:00 and in English at 11:30 and 15:30. That makes it one of the easier activities in Aveiro for families who don’t yet speak Portuguese, and a gentle way in for children who are learning.

When checked in September 2026, the workshop cost €5 for adults and €3.75 for children aged 4 to 12, with under-fours free. Book online through the Oficina do Doce website. For experiences and group questions, the phone line is +351 234 098 840 and the email is geral@oficinadodoce.com. Animals aren’t allowed in the workshop space.

Oficina do Doce sells combined experiences that make it easy to build a morning in Aveiro. When checked, the workshop plus a salt pans visit started at €12.50, the workshop plus a moliceiro ride (Aveiro’s painted, flat-bottomed canal boats) at €17.50, and all three together at €24.50. For the salt pans visit on its own, see our page on the Aveiro salt pans walk.

Oficina do Doce runs school programmes for children and young people that combine the ovos moles workshop with a moliceiro ride and a salt pans walk, with activities chosen to suit the age of the group. It also takes private bookings. A homeschool group can ask for a quote through the website’s information request form.

Oficina do Doce belongs to Fabridoce, an Aveiro confectionery company founded in 1989 that makes traditional convent sweets such as ovos moles, fios de ovos (sweet egg threads) and pão de ló (sponge cake). It has a shop at the workshop and sells online. The company says thousands of people come to its workshops every year.

This is a short indoor activity, so it works in any weather. The space is in Galeria Rossio, in the centre of Aveiro near the Rossio and the canals, so you can walk there from the rest of the old town. The official pages don’t give details of step-free access or baby changing, so ask when you book if you need them.

Ovos moles are very sweet and very eggy. Children who don’t like egg custard may enjoy making them more than eating them. If anyone in your family has an egg allergy, check with Oficina do Doce before booking.

After the workshop, compare your handiwork with the real thing at Confeitaria Peixinho, which has been making ovos moles since 1856. Then walk the salt pans with the marnoto on the Salinas Aveiro guided walk, or head to Ílhavo for the cod aquarium at the Museu Marítimo de Ílhavo.

How long is the ovos moles workshop?

30 minutes.

Is the ovos moles workshop in English?

Yes. English sessions run at 11:30 and 15:30, and Portuguese sessions at 11:00 and 15:00.

What age can children take part?

Children’s tickets are for ages 4 to 12, and under-fours go free. Older children pay the adult price.

Do children get to eat what they make?

Yes. The workshop ends with a tasting of the ovos moles you’ve filled and cut.

Do you need to book?

It’s best to. Tickets are sold online for specific session times.