Unfortunately, because Águeda is rather far from the Algarve, where I am currently based, the chance to do so didn't arise until recently.

We visited Porto and decided to stop in Águeda on our way back home. I expected to find one long street decorated with umbrellas, but I was completely wrong. The decorations spread throughout the town centre, with each street featuring different colours, patterns and types of umbrellas. Some streets even have cute, oversized bees hanging between them.

The famous Umbrella Sky Project was created in Águeda in 2012 by the local creative agency Impactplan as part of the AgitÁgueda festival. The idea was inspired by the well-known image of Mary Poppins floating through the sky with her umbrella.

Watch the full video here 👇👇👇


In addition to bringing colour to the streets, the umbrellas provide welcome shade during the hot summer months. The project quickly became one of Águeda’s most recognisable attractions and has since been recreated in cities around the world.