Cantabria & Asturias
Santander
Around Santander
Eastern Cantabria
Southern Cantabria
Western Cantabria
Oviedo
Gijon
East Coast
West Coast
Inland Western Asturias
Western Picos
Central Picos
Eastern Picos
Cantabria & Asturias
Why Go?
You can traverse either of these two regions from north to south in little more than an hour. But don't. The coastline is a sequence of sheer cliffs, beautiful beaches and small fishing ports. Behind it, gorgeously green river valleys dotted with stone-built villages rise to the 2000m-plus mountain wall of the Cordillera Cantábrica, which reaches majestic heights in the Picos de Europa. The beauty is endless and ever-changing. The damp climate makes sure you'll eat and drink well too: on offer are quality meat, local cheeses, and cider from Asturias' apple orchards, as well as the fruits of the sea. And travellers with a feel for history will be in their element: early humans painted some of the world's most magnificent prehistoric art at Altamira and elsewhere, and it was at Covadonga in Asturias that the seed of the Spanish nation first sprouted 1300 years ago.
When to Go
AMay, Jun & Sep Temperatures up, rainfall and prices down, crowds away – best time for almost everything.
AAug Descenso Internacional del Sella – kayak mania from Arriondas to Ribadesella.
ALate Aug Join thousands of tipplers at Gijón's Fiesta de la Sidra Natural (Natural Cider Festival).
Best Places to Eat
Best Places to Stay
Cave Art
The scattered caves of Cantabria and Asturias are home to some of the oldest and most superlative prehistoric art in the world, painted by early humankind between around 39,000 and 10,000 BC. Most of the images depict wild animals such as horses, deer, bison and mammoths, and in the best examples the fluidity of the drawing, the skilful employment of colour and relief, and the lifelike animal representations attain the level of artistic genius. Getting a close-up view of this work, created by hunter-gatherers living an arduous existence during the last Ice Age – probably as some form of homage or worship – is truly awe-inspiring.
The world-famous bison and other beasts of the Cueva de Altamira Click here have been on the World Heritage List since 1985, but there's plenty more. In 2008 a further 17 Palaeolithic art caves in northern Spain were added to the list, including Ribadesella's Cueva de Tito Bustillo and Cantabria's Cueva de Covalanas, whose intricately designed deer depictions are true artistic masterpieces. In 2012, a red symbol at Puente Viesgo's Cueva de El Castillo was named the oldest cave art in the world.
Itineraries
Five Days
Get friendly with Santander for a day, then make your way along the west coast of Cantabria, taking in medieval Santillana del Mar, the Cueva de Altamira, and Modernista Comillas. Wander the Picos de Europa for a day or two and wrap up with civilised Oviedo.
Ten Days
Follow the five-day itinerary and explore further into the Picos before heading west to Oviedo. Cycle the Senda del Oso and finish off with Gijón and Asturias' west coast towns.
Top Five Food Experiences
AEl bulevar de la sidra Teeming with dozens of overflowing cider bars, Oviedo's Calle de la Gascona is the epicentre of Asturias' cider scene.
ALa Conveniente One of Santander's finest bodegas, cavernous and packed out, with huge tablas (platters) of fantastic cheeses, meats and pâtés.
APicos de Europa blue cheeses Venture into the pungent world of queso Picón and queso de Cabrales, where every bite has its kick.
AMercado La Esperanza Santander's colourful food market bursts with mountains of fresh seafood, meat, cheese and fruit.
ASensational seafood Fresh from the Bay of Biscay, everywhere along the coast.
Bear Facts
Nearly all of Spain's estimated 240 surviving brown bears live in Asturias or Cantabria (Click here).
Best Beaches
APlaya del Silencio
APlaya de Torimbia
Best Picos de Europa Walks
ATeleférico de Fuente Dé to Collado de Horcados Rojos (Click here)
AGarganta del Cares (Click here)
ASotres-Vega de Urriello (Click here), via the Collado de Pandébano
ALago de la Ercina to Vega de Ario (Click here)
ASotres-Urdón (Click here), via the Desfiladero de la Hermida
Cantabria & Asturias Highlights
1 Marvel at the prehistoric artistic genius of Altamira, Puente Viesgo's Cueva de El Castillo and Ribadesella's Cueva de Tito Bustillo.
2 Walk the dramatic gorge of Garganta del Cares.
3 Sidle up for cider in Asturias' convivial sidrerías (cider bars; Click here).
4 Let medieval Santillana del Mar bewitch you with its charms.
5 Ride the scary Teleférico de Fuente Dé to the superb heights of the Picos de Europa.
6 Cycle the Senda del Oso and meet its bears.
7 Delight in the grace of Oviedo's pre-Romanesque buildings (Click here).
8 Bathe at spectacular, secluded Playa del Silencio or Playa de Torimbia.
Cantabria
It's no wonder both Romans and Visigoths had a hard time subduing the Cantabrian clans. The lushness of the vegetation belies the complexity of much of Cantabria's terrain, which is sliced up by deep, multibranched mountain valleys connected only by steep passes. For the modern traveller, Cantabria offers a little of everything. Some pretty beaches make summer seaside days quite possible (unreliable weather permitting), while the inland valleys, sprinkled with sleepy towns and villages, are a feast for the eyes, whether you choose to drive the country roads or walk the trails. The rugged ranges culminate in the abrupt mountain walls of the Picos de Europa in the west.
The capital, Santander, provides a slice of urban seaside life, with bustling bodegas and beaches. Santillana del Mar and Comillas entice with their medieval and Modernista trappings. The prehistoric art of the Cuevas de Altamira, El Castillo and Covalanas is some of the oldest and very best in the world.
The Romans finally carried the day against the proud Cantabrians and pacified the region by around 19 BC. The Visigoths only managed to secure the area shortly before they were themselves eclipsed by the Moors in AD 711, after which Cantabria quickly became part of the nascent Christian Kingdom of Asturias. In later centuries, Cantabria was long regarded simply as Castilla's gateway to the Bay of Biscay, before becoming a separate region under Spain's 1978 constitution. Cantabrians are known as montañeses because Castilians thought of them as hailing from the mountains of the Cordillera Cantábrica.
CANTABRIA WEBSITES
Awww.turismodecantabria.com Comprehensive official tourism site.
Awww.culturadecantabria.com Good source on caves, museums and cultural events.
Awww.clubcalidadcantabriainfinita.es Around 100 top-quality, characterful places to stay and eat.
Awww.turismoruralcantabria.com Nearly 200 country-home lodgings, many beautifully restored.
Santander
Pop 134,700
The belle-époque elegance of El Sardinero aside, modern Santander is not the most beautiful of cities. A huge fire raged through the centre back in 1941, leaving little that's old or quaint. But Cantabria's capital makes the most of its setting along the northern side of the handsome Bahía de Santander, and it's a lively place to spend a day or two, with good city beaches, bustling shopping streets, a heaving bar and restaurant scene, and a few cultural attractions. It's a popular summer holiday resort for Spaniards.
The parklands of the Península de la Magdalena mark the eastern end of the bay. North of the peninsula, Playa del Sardinero, the main beach, faces the open sea.
History
Founded by the Romans as Portus Victoriae (Victory Harbour) in 21 BC, Santander prospered as a trading and fishing port from the 12th century, and emerged as Cantabria's main city in the 18th century. Its heyday came in the early 20th century when King Alfonso XIII made a habit of spending summer here and turned Santander, especially the Sardinero area, into the fashionable seaside resort it is today.
Santander
1Sights
1Sights
Península de la MagdalenaPARK
(
GOOGLE MAP
; 
h8am-10pm)
These parklands are perfect for a stroll and popular with picnickers. Kids will enjoy the seals and penguins and the little train that choo-choos around the headland.
Palacio de la MagdalenaPALACE
(
GOOGLE MAP
; 
%942 20 30 84; www.centenariopalaciomagdalena.com; tours €3; htours 11am, noon & 5pm Mon-Fri, hourly 10am-1pm Sat & Sun, late Sep–mid-Jun)
The palace crowning the Península de la Magdalena was built between 1908 and 1912 as a gift from the city to the royal family, which used it every summer until 1930. It's an eclectically styled building which you can visit by 50-minute guided tours, except in summer when the palace hosts the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (www.uimp.es), a global get-together for specialists in all sorts of disciplines.
Museo Marítimo del CantábricoMUSEUM
(
GOOGLE MAP
; www.museosdecantabria.es; Calle de San Martín de Bajamar; adult/child €8/5; h10am-7.30pm, closed Mon)
If seafaring is your thing, visit the maritime museum 800m east of the Puerto Chico marina. The four floors cover all facets of Cantabria's relationship with the sea, and include an aquarium. With its fine ship models, the maritime history section is perhaps the most interesting. The 60-tonne whale skeleton is a star attraction.
Jardines & Paseo de PeredaPARK, PROMENADE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
The pretty Jardines de Pereda (Pereda's Gardens) are named after the Cantabrian writer José María de Pereda, whose seminal work, Escenas Montañesas, is illustrated in bronze and stone here.
The bayfront promenade fronting the Jardines de Pereda continues east to the Puerto Chico (Little Port) marina. Half the city seems to stroll here on summer evenings. Both Paseo de Pereda and Calle Castelar, opposite Puerto Chico, are dotted with lively cafes and lined with grand buildings characterised by their glassed-in balconies.
You can't miss the 1875 Banco Santander ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) building, with the arch in the middle, across the street from the Jardines de Pereda. The Santander is now one of the world's biggest banks, so the architectural grandiloquence is not entirely misplaced.
Centro BotínARTS CENTRE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.centrobotin.org)
Italian architect Renzo Piano is behind the distinctly contemporary concept of this ambitious arts and cultural centre – social hub, local learning centre and international art gallery all rolled into one – which is being constructed amid the Jardines de Pereda, overlooking the Bahía de Santander. At the time of writing, it was due to open in late 2014.
Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de CantabriaMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.museosdecantabria.es; Calle de Bailén; adult/child €5/2; h10.30am-2pm & 5-8pm Wed-Sun)
Reopened in 2013 after a six-year closure, the prehistory and archaeology museum showcases Cantabria's archaeological wealth, with explanatory matter in French, English and Spanish. The excellent multimedia displays range from early hominid remains to giant steles (stone disks) carved by the pre-Roman Cantabrians, Roman culture and the medieval Spanish kingdoms of Asturias and León. Free Sunday afternoon.
Catedral de la AsunciónCATHEDRAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza del Obispo José Eguino y Trecu; hupper church 10am-1pm & 4.30-7.30pm, Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo 8.30am-1pm & 5-8pm)
Santander's cathedral is composed of two Gothic churches, one above the other. The 14th-century upper church, off which is a 15th-century cloister, was extensively rebuilt after a 1941 fire. In the lower, 13th-century Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo, glass floors reveal excavated bits of Roman Santander. Displayed nearby are silver vessels containing the skulls of the early Christian martyrs San Emeterio and San Celedonio, Santander's patron saints.
PLAZAS
The streets of central Santander open out into several pretty plazas. The stately Plaza Porticada (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
), surrounded by 64 porticoes, was created after the disastrous fire of 1941. A short walk east are the more spacious Plaza de Pombo (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
) and lively Plaza de Cañadío (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
), which brims with bars and can get quite rowdy at night. To the west, Plaza La Esperanza (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
), behind the city hall, is home to the Mercado La Esperanza (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza la Esperanza; h8am-2pm Mon-Sat), a colourful, bustling market with masses of fish and seafood downstairs, and meat and cheese upstairs.
rBeaches
The glorious 1.25km sweep of the ocean-facing Playa del Sardinero sits 3km east of the city centre, but Santander has plenty of other stunning beaches, as well as a vibrant surf scene.
Playa del SardineroBEACH
( GOOGLE MAP )
Surfers emerge in force along Sardinero when the waves are right, mainly in autumn and winter, when they can reach 1.5m. Sardinero is backed by some of Santander's most expensive real estate, including emblematic early-20th-century creations such as the Gran Casino. Buses 1, 2 and 3 (€1.30) run east to Sardinero from Avenida de Calvo Sotelo beside the main post office.
Playa del PuntalBEACH
( GOOGLE MAP )
A finger of sand jutting out across the bay toward Santander, roughly opposite the Península de la Magdalena, El Puntal is idyllic on calm days (but beware the currents). Weather permitting, passenger ferries (€3.80 return) sail there about every 30 minutes from 10.30am to 7.30pm, May to October, from the Estación Marítima Los Reginas ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.losreginas.com; Paseo Marítimo).
Playa de SomoBEACH
( GOOGLE MAP )
Just beyond Playa del Puntal across the bay from Santander, Playa de Somo is another sandy beach with, usually, pretty good surf. A year-round ferry (one way/return €2.60/4.65, every 30 or 60 minutes from 9.30am to 7.30pm) runs to Somo from the Estación Marítima Los Reginas.
Escuela de Surf SardineroSURFING
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 27 03 01; www.escueladesurfsardinero.com; Balneario de la Primera Playa del Sardinero; per person 2hr group class incl board, wetsuit & transport €30, board/wetsuit rental per half-day €15/7; h10.30am-12.30pm & 4-6pm, closed afternoons Oct-May)
This well-organised surf school and shop, perfectly placed in the middle of Playa del Sardinero, offers classes in Spanish, English and French. Depending on conditions, sessions might run in Liencres, 10km west. You'll find several other surf outfits in Sardinero and across the bay in Somo.
zFestivals & Events
Baños de OlaSUMMER FESTIVAL
(h1st half of Jul)
Several days of events are held during the first half of July at Playa del Sardinero, commemorating the arrival of the first sea-bathing tourists there in the 19th century.
Semana GrandeSUMMER FESTIVAL
Santander's big summer fiesta, a week of fun around 25 July.
Festival Internacional de SantanderMUSIC
(www.festivalsantander.com; hAug)
In August, Santander's sweeping musical season covers everything from jazz to ballet.
4Sleeping
The city centre, where most of the action is, has options in all price ranges. There are also some good midrange and top-end digs over by Playa del Sardinero, though some close from about October to mid-May. Most rates dip sharply outside the high season (typically July and August).
Hostel BBBHOSTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 22 78 17; www.hostelsantander.com; 1st fl, Calle de Méndez Núñez 6; dm incl breakfast €23; 
W)
Cosy, colourful, super-clean dorms and a friendly, on-the-ball welcome make this hostel a top budget choice and a great spot to meet other travellers. It's handy for the train and bus stations, and the bright common area overlooks the bay.
Jardín SecretoBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 07 07 14; www.jardinsecretosantander.com; Calle de Cisneros 37; s/d €60/75; W)
Named for its tiny, tranquil back garden, this is a charming little six-room world of its own in a 200-year-old house near the city centre. It's run by an engaging brother-and-sister team, and comfortably designed by their mother in a stylish, contemporary blend of silvers and greys with exposed stone, brick and wood. The free morning coffee hits the spot.
Hotel Las BrisasBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 27 01 11; www.hotellasbrisas-santander.com; Calle La Braña 14; s/d incl breakfast €94/104; hclosed Jan; 
iW)
Almost as much gallery as hotel, century-old Las Brisas is a three-storey belle-époque Sardinero villa decked out with art and crafts. The 13 comfy characterful rooms feature coffee- and tea-makers and recently updated bathrooms with huge shower heads. Some enjoy beach views, as does the front terrace. For longer stays consider its nearby apartments.
Le Petit Boutique Hotel BOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 07 57 68; www.lepetithotelsantander.com; Avenida de los Castros 10; s/d incl breakfast €79/128; 
aW)
Seven smart, individually styled rooms make for attractive, if slightly snug, lodgings at this ultramodern, efficiently run new Sardinero arrival. Each room takes its inspiration from a different city around the world, with thematic touches like teak furniture or oriental wall art; all have warm, tasteful decor, comfy beds and spotless bathrooms with hairdryers.
Plaza Pombo B&BB&B
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 21 29 50; www.plazapombo.com; 3rd fl, Calle de Hernán Cortés 25; r incl breakfast with/without bathroom €80/62; W)
A long-established, central pensión (small private hotel), run by keen new owners. The eight high-ceilinged rooms are light and airy, with good beds, and some boast balconies overlooking Plaza de Pombo.
Hotel BahíaHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %902 570627; www.hotelbahiasantander.com; Avenida de Alfonso XIII 6; s €167, d €177-197; 
paiW)
Central Santander's top hotel, opposite the UK ferry port, offers large, very comfortable rooms with thick carpets and solid wood furnishings. Many have sea views. The hotel sports an elegant restaurant and cafe.
WHAT'S COOKING IN CANTABRIA & ASTURIAS?
The most traditional Cantabrian and Asturian food is simple peasant fare, fuelled by the surrounding mountains and sea. Green mountain pastures yield not only good meats but a whole array of tasty cheeses, while fresh seafood abounds in the Bay of Biscay. Meat-eaters will be in their element, although vegetarians might struggle.
Cocido montañés Inland Cantabria's dish par excellence: a filling stew of white beans, cabbage, potato, chorizo, black pudding and sometimes port. The Hotel del Oso in Cosgaya has been pleasing the public with its excellent cocido montañés and its local variation, cocido lebaniego, for over 30 years.
Fabada asturiana No dish better represents Asturias' taste for simplicity than the humble fabada, a hearty bean dish jazzed up with meat and sausage. For a taste of this classic favourite head to El Molín de la Pedrera in Cangas de Onís or El Corral del Indianu in Arriondas.
Ultra-tangy blue cheeses from the Picos de Europa King of Asturian cheeses is the powerful – but surprisingly moreish – bluey-green queso de Cabrales, made with untreated cow's-milk cheese and matured in mountain caves. In Cantabria, seek out the super-pungent queso picón (from a mix of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk) made in Tresviso and Bejes. To best sample local cheeses, order a tabla de quesos (platter of cheeses) at an elegant city eatery, like La Corrada del Obispo in Oviedo or Santander's Asubio Gastrobar.
Seafood There is a wealth of fresh seafood in Cantabria and Asturias, while inland rivers provide trout, salmon and eels. You can go with good old, top-quality traditional fish preparations or explore a world of 'new concept' seafood at the Real Balneario de Salinas, near Avilés.
Cachopo Asturias' cachopo (breaded veal stuffed with ham, cheese and vegetables) is a carnivore's dream, with vegetables to boot! Dig in at Restaurante Cares, in Arenas de Cabrales.
5Eating
Central Santander throngs with great food options. You can push in for scrumptious snacks in a tapas bar, dig into hearty local food in a no-nonsense bodega or head upmarket in any number of restaurants. And do sample the beloved local Regma ice cream, sold in immense scoops around town.
oLa ConvenienteTAPAS, TABLAS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Gómez Oreña 9; raciones & tablas €6-20; h7pm-midnight Mon-Sat)
This cavernous bodega has high stone walls, wooden pillars and more wine bottles than you may ever have seen in one place. Squeeze into the tramlike enclosure at the front, line up for the cave-like dining room or just snack at the bar. The food offerings are straightforward – tablas (platters) of cheese, embutidos (sausages), ham, pâtés – and servings are generous.
oAsubio GastrobarCONTEMPORARY CANTABRIAN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.asubiogastrobar.com; Calle de Daoíz y Velarde 23; pinchos €2-4, mains €14-20; hnoon-4pm & 8pm-midnight)
Creatively prepared, prize-winning pinchos (snacks) infused with Cantabrian flavours and colourfully chalked up on a blackboard are the order of the day here. Try baked octopus with potato mousse or a local pasiego cheese bake, along with one of the 50 wines on display, and finish off with a tangy pizarra de quesucos regionales (platter of local cheeses).
El MachichacoSEAFOOD, BREAKFAST
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.elmachi.es; Calle de Calderón de la Barca 9; mains €12-25; h8am-midnight)
A welcoming, good-value seafood spot convenient to all transport terminals and the city centre. Go for tapas such as the Santander speciality rabas (deep-fried squid or potato strips) or heartier choices such as baked fish of the day with crunchy potatoes. It's also good for breakfast – even bacon and eggs!
CañadíoCONTEMPORARY CANTABRIAN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 31 41 49; www.restaurantecanadio.com; Calle de Gómez Oreña 15; mains €19-26; h11am-midnight Mon-Sat)
A tastefully contemporary place with art on the red walls, comfy booths and timber floors, Cañadío offers top-notch creative cooking with local inspiration. Hake is prepared every which way. Or you can join the crowds in the front bar for ultra-tempting tapas.
Bar Del PuertoSEAFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 21 30 01; www.bardelpuerto.com; Calle de Hernán Cortés 63; mains €18-45; h1.30-4pm & 8.30pm-midnight, closed Sun dinner & Mon Oct-Jun)
With its grand windows looking out towards the Puerto Chico waterfront, the upstairs restaurant here is a perfect spot for top-class seafood. It offers a huge selection: you might try curious northern Spain specialities like centollos (spider crabs) and percebes (goose barnacles), and fish of the day is never a bad choice. The €46 lunch and dinner menu makes some of your decisions.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Plaza de Cañadío and Calles de Daoíz y Velarde and Hernán Cortés are home to plenty of popular bares de copas (drinks bars), where you can chill over beer, cocktails, spirits and wine, inside or out, until the early hours. The neighbourhood of Calle de Santa Lucía, Calle del Sol and, in particular, Calle del Río de la Pila teems with a more bohemian bevy of bars, and crowds spill out onto the streets until at least 3am or 4am.
RocamboleCLUB
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.salarocambole.com; Calle de Hernán Cortés 35; h10.30pm-6am)
Party on until dawn at this long-standing, dimly lit bar-cum-nightclub, where DJs spin everything from rock to reggae.
MalaspinaMUSIC BAR
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Pasaje de Jesús Revaque Garea; h11.30pm-4.30am Thu-Sat)
Named after an Italian explorer, jam-packed Malaspina has a semi-nautical theme, and attracts a more mature crowd. It's just off Calle de Santa Lucía.
8Information
Oficina de Turismo MunicipalTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 20 30 00; www.ayto-santander.es; Jardines de Pereda; h9am-9pm)
A summer branch operates at El Sardinero.
Oficina de Turismo de CantabriaTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 31 07 08, 901 111112; www.turismodecantabria.com; Calle de Hernán Cortés 4; h9am-9pm)
Inside the Mercado del Este.
8Getting There & Around
Air
The airport is 5km south of town at Parayas. Buses run to/from Santander bus station (€2.20) every 30 minutes, 6.30am to 11pm daily.
Airlines and destinations:
Iberia (www.iberia.com) Madrid
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) London (Stansted), Dublin, Edinburgh, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels (Charleroi), Frankfurt (Hahn), Málaga, Paris (Beauvais-Tillé), Rome (Ciampino), Seville and Valencia
Vueling (www.vueling.com) Barcelona
Boat
Brittany Ferries (www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) runs three weekly car ferries (including one no-frills service) from Portsmouth, UK (24 to 28 hours), and one from Plymouth, UK (20 hours). Fares vary enormously. A standard return trip for two adults and a car, with two-berth interior cabins, booked in February, might cost UK£1000 for July/August travel or UK£550 for October, from either UK port. Taking the no-frills Portsmouth ferry, a similar deal (with reclining seats) costs approximately £500 for July and £350 for October.
LD Lines (ldlines.com) operates one weekly car ferry from Poole, UK (25 hours). A return cabin trip for two adults and a car, booked in February, could cost between UK£500 and UK£700 for July and about UK£400 for October.
Buses from Santander
Transporte de Cantabria (www.transportedecantabria.es) is a useful schedule source. ALSA (www.alsa.es) is the major company operating from the bus station (
GOOGLE MAP
; %942 21 19 95; Calle Navas de Tolosa).
Buses run to the following destinations:
ABilbao (€6.60 to €15, 1¼-two hours, at least 22 daily)
AMadrid (€31 to €43, 5¼-six hours, at least six daily)
AOviedo (€13 to €27, 2¼-3¼ hours, at least eight daily)
ASan Sebastián (€13 to €29, 2½-3¾ hours, at least eight daily)
Train
There are two train stations, beside each other on Calle de Rodríguez: FEVE (%985 98 23 81; www.renfe.com/viajeros/feve; Calle de Rodríguez) serves destinations along Spain's north coast, while Renfe (www.renfe.com; Calle de Rodríguez) serves destinations to the south.
ABilbao (€8.60, 2¾ hours, three FEVE trains daily)
AMadrid (€52, 4½ hours, two or three long-distance Renfe trains daily) Via Palencia and Valladolid.
AOviedo (€16, 4½ hours, two FEVE trains daily) Via San Vicente de la Barquera, Llanes, Ribadesella and Arriondas.
AValladolid (€23, 3½ hours, three daily regional Renfe trains)
Around Santander
Cuevas de Monte Castillo
The valley town of Puente Viesgo, 25km south of Santander, lies at the foot of the conical Monte Castillo. About 2km up this hill are the Cuevas de Monte Castillo, a series of caves frequented by humans since 150,000 years ago. Four or more daily buses run to Puente Viesgo from Santander (€2.25, 40 minutes).
Cuevas de El Castillo y Las MonedasCAVE
(%942 59 84 25; cuevas.culturadecantabria.com; per cave adult/child €3/1.50; h9.30am-2.30pm & 3.30-7.30pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr & closed Tue mid-Sep–mid-Jun)
Two of the four World Heritage–listed Cuevas de Monte Castillo – El Castillo and Las Monedas – are open for 45-minute guided visits. Booking ahead is highly advisable, especially for the more spectacular El Castillo, which contains the oldest cave art in the world. Here, you penetrate 500m into the cave where the art is almost as breathtaking as Altamira's – and unlike at Altamira, this is the genuine article rather than a replica.
The 275 paintings and engravings of deer, bison, horses, goats, aurochs, mammoths, handprints and mysterious symbols found within El Castillo date from 39,000 to 11,000 BC. Las Monedas has less art (black animal outlines, from around 10,000 BC) but contains an astounding labyrinth of stalactites and stalagmites.
Parque de Cabárceno
An open-air zoo, Parque de la Naturaleza Cabárceno (%942 56 37 36; www.parquedecabarceno.com; adult/child €25/15; h9.30am-6pm; p), 17km south of Santander, is a curious but successful experiment, a free-range home on the site of former open-cut mines for everything from rhinos to wallabies and gorillas to dromedaries. You need a car and about three hours to tour its 14km of roadways. From Santander, take the N623 towards Burgos and exit onto the CA144 towards Guarnizo; you'll soon see signs to the park, which is another 5km away.
Langre
The wild beaches of Langre are backed by cliffs topped with green fields, and often have surfable waves. Most people head for Langre Grande, although adjacent Langre Pequeña is more protected. It's about a 25km drive from Santander: round the bay to Somo, then east on the CA141 for a couple of kilometres, then turn left to Langre.
Eastern Cantabria
The 95km stretch of coast between Santander and Bilbao offers citizens of both cities several seaside escapes. While the towns are less attractive than those on Cantabria's western coast, some of the beaches are top-drawer.
Santoña
Pop 11,100
The fishing port of Santoña is famed for its anchovies, which are bottled or tinned here with olive oil to preserve them. Santoña is dominated by two fortresses, the Fuerte de San Martín and, further east, the abandoned Fuerte de San Carlos. You can take a pleasant walk around both, or take the shuttle ferry (€1.70; March to November) across the estuary to the western end of Laredo beach. Or head off for a hike in the Parque Cultural Monte Buciero, which occupies the hill-cum-headland rising northeast of the town. The helpful tourist office (%942 66 00 66; www.turismosantona.com; Calle Santander 5; h10am-2pm & 5-8pm Jun-Sep, 10am-5pm Mon-Fri & 10am-2pm Sat & Sun Oct-May) offers free, one-day bicycle loans in July and August. Otherwise, go north along the C141 to Playa Berria, a magnificent sweep of sand and surf on the open sea, linked to Santoña by frequent buses (€1.45). Here, Hotel Juan de la Cosa (%942 66 12 38; www.hoteljuandelacosa.com; Playa de Berria 14; s €65-95, d €65-125; hclosed Nov-Mar; paiW
s) may be in an unsympathetic-looking building, but about two-thirds of its spacious, blue-hued rooms have beach views, and it has a good seafood restaurant too.
Thirteen buses run Monday to Saturday (seven on Sunday) to Santoña from Santander (€4.20, one hour). From June to September there's also a two-hourly passenger ferry to central Laredo (€6).
Laredo
Pop 11,200
Laredo's long, sandy beach, across the bay from Santoña, is backed by ugly 20th-century blocks. But at the east end of town the cobbled streets of the old Puebla Vieja slope down from the impressive 13th-century Iglesia de Santa María, with the remains of the 16th-century Fuerte del Rastrillar fortress on La Atalaya hill above. The Puebla Vieja has a lively food and drinks scene: for tasty creative tapas such as lubina con mojo de cilantro y tallarines de calamares (sea bass with a coriander sauce and squid noodles), head to Somera (Rua Mayor 17-19; tapas €1.80-4; h12.30-3.30pm & 8-11.30pm, closed Nov & Mon Sep-Jun).
Plenty of buses from Santander (€4.15, 40 minutes) call in here.
Playas de Oriñón & Sonabia
The broad sandy strip of Playa de Oriñón, just off the autovía (toll-free highway) 14km east of Laredo, is set deep behind protective headlands, making the water calm and comparatively warm. The settlement here consists of drab holiday flats and caravan parks. Continue 1.7km past Oriñón to the smaller but wilder Playa de Sonabia, set in a rock-lined inlet beneath high crags. An up-and-down 10km walking trail links Oriñón with Laredo via Playa de Sonabia and the even more isolated Playa de San Julián.
Castro Urdiales
Pop 25,500
The haughty Gothic jumble that is the Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción (h10am-1pm & 4-6pm Mon-Sat) stands out above the harbour and the tangle of narrow lanes that make up the medieval centre of Castro Urdiales. The church shares its little headland with the ruins of the town's old defensive bastion, now supporting a lighthouse.
Of Castro's two beaches, the northern Playa de Ostende is the more attractive.
4Sleeping & Eating
Traditional fare, such as sopa de pescado (fish soup) and pudín de cabracho (scorpion-fish pâté), abounds in mesones (old-style eateries) and tabernas (taverns) along Calle de la Mar and Calle de Ardigales, and on Plaza del Ayuntamiento in front of the fishing boats.
Ardigales 11HOTEL
(%942 78 16 16; www.pensionardigales11.com; Calle de Ardigales 11; s/d €56/78; W)
Behind a solid stone exterior in the old town centre hides this somewhat futuristic hotel, with 11 slick modern rooms decked out in blacks and whites.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%942 87 15 12; www.turismocastrourdiales.net; Parque Amestoy; h9am-9pm Jul-Aug, 9.30am-1.30pm & 4-7pm Sep-Jun)
On the seafront.
8Getting There & Away
ALSA (www.alsa.es; Calle de Leonardo Rucabado 42) runs at least nine buses daily to Santander (€6.20, one hour). Buses to Bilbao (€2.72, 45 minutes) go every half-hour until 10pm, making various stops including at La Barrera flower shop at Calle La Ronda 52, half a block from the seafront.
WORTH A TRIP
EXPLORING CANTABRIA'S EASTERN VALLEYS
Rich in unspoiled rural splendour, the little-visited valleys of eastern Cantabria are ripe for exploration. The following route could be taken after a visit to the Cuevas de Monte Castillo. Do check weather conditions before setting off.
From El Soto, just off the N623 shortly south of Puente Viesgo, take the CA270 and CA262 southeast towards Vega de Pas, the 'capital' of the Valles Pasiegos (the Pas, Pisueña and Miera valleys; www.vallespasiegos.org), one of Cantabria's most traditional rural areas. The views from the Puerto de la Braguía pass are stunning. From Vega de Pas continue southeast on the CA631 into Castilla y León, before turning north again near Las Nieves to follow the BU571 up over the Puerto de la Sía pass towards Arredondo in Cantabria's southeastern Alto Asón district (www.citason.com). The road is full of switchbacks, has a couple of mountain passes and takes you past the 50m waterfall that constitutes the Nacimiento (Source) del Río Asón.
Alto Asón claims more than half of the 9000 known caves in Cantabria, and from Arredondo you can go east to Ramales de la Victoria, a valley town with two outstanding visitable caves. The Cueva de Cullalvera (%942 59 84 25; cuevas.culturadecantabria.com; adult/child €3/1.50; h9.30am-2.30pm & 3.30-7.30pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr & closed Tue-Thu mid-Oct–mid-Apr) is an impressively vast cavity with some signs of prehistoric art. The Cueva de Covalanas (%942 59 84 25; cuevas.culturadecantabria.com; adult/child €3/1.50; h9.30am-2.30pm & 3.30-7.30pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr & closed Tue-Thu mid-Oct–mid-Apr), 3km up the N629 south from Ramales, then 650m up a footpath, is World Heritage–listed for its numerous excellent animal paintings from around 18,000 BC, done in an unusual dot-painting technique. Guided visits to either cave last 45 minutes and it's best to book ahead.
In a lovely, tranquil spot beside the Río Gándara in Regules, 10km southwest of Ramales, stands La Casa del Puente (%942 63 90 20; www.lacasadelpuente.com; r €90-145; pW
c), a beautifully restored casa de indianos (mansion built by a returned emigrant from Latin America or the Caribbean). Rooms follow a funky-coloured, modern-rustic style, with exposed stonework, floral finishes and, for some, private jacuzzis. You can enjoy good Cantabrian cooking in the glassed-in restaurant, and helpful, efficient owner Emilio is a fountain of local knowledge.
South of Ramales the N629 climbs to the panoramic Alto de los Tornos lookout at 920m, before continuing towards Burgos in Castilla y León.
Southern Cantabria
Fine panoramas of high peaks and deep river valleys flanked by verdant patchwork quilts await the traveller penetrating the Cantabrian interior. Every imaginable shade of green seems to have been employed to set this stage, strewn with warm stone villages and held together by a network of narrow country roads.
Reinosa
Pop 11,200 / Elev 851m
Southern Cantabria's main town is an unexceptional place, but its tourist office (%942 75 52 15; Avenida del Puente de Carlos III 23; h9.30am-2.30pm & 4.30-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm Sat, closed afternoons Oct-Jun) can inform you about plenty of curiosities nearby. These include the Colegiata de San Pedro in Cervatos, 5km south, one of Cantabria's finest Romanesque churches, with rare erotic carvings on its corbels; the Yacimiento Arqueológico de Camesa Rebolledo (%942 59 84 25; centros.culturadecantabria.com; adult/child €3/1.50; h9.30am-2.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm, closed afternoons Mon-Fri Nov-Mar), the fascinating triple-epoch excavation site of a Roman villa buried beneath a Visigothic necropolis and a medieval graveyard just outside Mataporquera, 20km south; and the remains of Cantabria's most significant Roman town, Julióbriga (%942 59 84 25; centros.culturadecantabria.com; adult/child €3/1.50; h9.30am-2.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 9.30am-2.30pm Wed-Sun Nov-Mar; p), at Retortillo, 5km east. The guided visit at Julióbriga includes the Museo Domus, a full-scale recreation of a Roman house.
Reinosa has a half-dozen sleeping options. Set in a charmingly restored, century-old Modernista building, Villa Rosa (%942 75 47 47; www.villarosa.com; Calle de los Héroes de la Guardia Civil 4; r incl breakfast €70; iW) looks more like something you'd expect in central Europe and most of its 12 very comfy rooms have an inviting period feel. It's handily close to the train and bus stations.
Nine Renfe cercanías (suburban trains; €5.05, 1¾ hours) and at least six buses (€6.30, 1¼ hours) head from Santander to Reinosa daily. A few daily trains and buses head south to Palencia, Valladolid, Salamanca and Madrid.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
TOURING THE EBRO'S ROCK-CUT CHURCHES
Spain's most voluminous river, the Ebro, rises at Fontibre about 6km west of Reinosa, fills the Embalse del Ebro reservoir to the east, and then meanders south and east into Castilla y León. Its course is strung with some fascinating and picturesque stops. You can follow it on the GR99 long-distance footpath or on minor roads out of Reinosa.
Head first east along the CA730 (visiting Roman Julióbriga en route if you like) to Arroyo, where you turn south and follow signs to the Monasterio de Montesclaros, which has a fine site overlooking the Ebro valley and a history going back to at least the 12th century. From here follow the CA741 down to Arroyal de los Carabeos, then head south on the CA272 to a roundabout where it meets the CA273. Nine kilometres west on the CA273 is the remarkable Iglesia Rupestre de Santa María de Valverde. This beautiful, multi-arched church, hewn from the living rock, is the most impressive of several iglesias rupestres (rock-cut churches) in this area, dating from probably the 7th to 10th centuries, the early days of Christianity in the region. Santa María church itself is often locked outside July and August, but you can arrange visits in advance through the tourist office (%942 77 61 46; www.valderredible.es; Avenida Cantabria; h10am-2pm & 5-8pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun) in Polientes, the area's biggest village. Next to the church, the Centro de Interpretación del Rupestre (%605 828380; adult/child €1/free; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Sat & Sun Mar–mid-Jun, 10am-3.30pm Sat & Sun mid-Sep–Mar) tells the story of the area's curious rock-church phenomenon through photos, maps, video and multimedia – well worth a visit even if you don't understand Spanish – and can provide plenty of useful information. From here head back east and continue to Polientes, which has a bank, petrol station (self-service with credit cards only) and four places to stay, of which the pick is Posada El Cuartelillo Viejo (%942 77 61 51; www.elcuartelilloviejo.com; Carretera General 31; r incl breakfast €50-64; hclosed Dec-Mar).
East of Polientes you'll find the best of the area's other rock-cut churches. The church at Arroyuelos is a two-level affair: ask for keys at the nearest whitewashed house. Across the Ebro from Arroyuelos, San Martín de Elines is well worth a detour for its lovely Romanesque church (key available at the priest's house). The small but wonderfully sited El Tobazo cave-church is part of a small group of caves towards the top of the Ebro gorge east of Arroyuelos. To find it, cross the bridge into Villaescusa del Ebro, turn immediately left and follow the track for 900m to a grassy clearing on the right. From here you have a 700m uphill walk, starting from the far corner of the clearing. A beautiful waterfall (appearing as a moss-covered, cave-pocked cliff after prolonged dry weather) comes into view about halfway up, with the cave-church just above it to the right.
From Villaescusa the CA275 continues along the Ebro gorge to picturesque Orbaneja del Castillo in Castilla y León.
Western Cantabria
Santillana del Mar
Pop 1020
They say this is the town of the three lies, since it is not santi (holy), llana (flat) or del mar (by the sea)! This medieval jewel is in such a perfect state of preservation, with its bright cobbled streets and tanned stone and brick buildings huddling in a muddle of centuries of history, that it seems too good to be true. Surely it's a film set! Well, no. People still live here, passing their precious houses down from generation to generation.
Strict town planning rules were first introduced back in 1575, and today they include the stipulation that only residents or guests in hotels with garages may bring vehicles into the old heart of town. Other hotel guests may drive to unload luggage and must then return to the car park at the town entrance.
Santillana is a gem in its own right, but also makes an obvious base for visiting nearby Altamira.
1Sights
Colegiata de Santa JulianaCHURCH
(admission €3; h10am-1.30pm & 4-7.30pm, closed Mon Oct-Jun)
A stroll along Santillana's cobbled main street, past solemn nobles' houses from the 15th to 18th centuries, leads you to this lovely 12th-century Romanesque ex-monastery. The big drawcard is the cloister, a formidable storehouse of Romanesque handiwork, with the capitals of its columns carved into a huge variety of figures. The monastery originally grew up around the relics of Santa Juliana, a 3rd-century Christian martyr from Turkey (and the real source of the name Santillana), whose sepulchre stands in the centre of the church.
Museo de TorturaMUSEUM
(Calle del Escultor Jesús Otero 1; adult/student/child €3.60/2.40/free; h10am-9pm)
This exhibition displays more than 70 grim instruments of torture and capital punishment used by the Inquisition and elsewhere in Europe. You might want to leave the kids outside even though their entry is free!
4Sleeping
There are dozens of places to stay, many of them in atmospheric historic buildings converted for your comfort and pleasure. They are scattered about the old part of town, around Campo del Revolgo south of the main road, and along the roads towards Altamira, Comillas and Santander. Rates at most places drop outside August. Many close for varying periods in winter.
Posada de la AbadíaGUESTHOUSE
(%942 84 03 04; www.posadadelabadia.com; Calle de Revolgo 26; s/d incl breakfast €50/59; pW)
A small family-run place in a traditional Cantabrian-style house, 200m south of the main road. It's clean and friendly, with a decent breakfast, and the 10 pretty, if not exactly inspired, rooms all have a bathtub.
Casa del OrganistaHOTEL
(%942 84 03 52; www.casadelorganista.com; Calle de Los Hornos 4; s/d €77/93; hclosed Jan; piW)
The 14 rooms at this elegant 18th-century house, once home to the organist of the Colegiata de Santa Juliana, are particularly attractive, with plush rugs, antique furniture and plenty of exposed oak beams and stonework. Some have balconies looking across fields towards the colegiata. The welcome is warm and helpful, and an excellent breakfast costs €5.85. There are three or four similarly styled places up the street.
La Casona de RevolgoHOTEL
(%942 81 82 77; www.lacasonaderevolgo.com; Campo del Revolgo 3; s/d €80/120; hclosed Sun-Thu Dec–mid-Mar; paW)
There's a majestic, old-fashioned air about this place, but in fact it's a fairly contemporary creation, built from the burnt-down ruins of a 17th-century coaching inn 100m south of the main road. All 14 rooms are large and richly decorated, with heavy wood beams and plenty of pillows. The friendly owners also run the cheaper but still charming Posada Santa Juliana (%648 26 24 20; www.santillanadelmar.com; Calle Carrera 19; r €54; hFri & Sat only Nov-Mar).
Casa del MarquésHISTORIC HOTEL
(%942 81 88 88; www.hotelcasadelmarques.com; Calle del Cantón 24; r €187-226; hearly Mar-early Dec; paiW)
Feel like the lord or lady of the manor in this 15th-century Gothic mansion, once home to the Marqués de Santillana. Exposed timber beams, thick stone walls and cool terracotta floors contribute to the atmosphere of the 14 all-different rooms. The owners are proud of their banister, 700 years old and made from a single tree.
5Eating
Santillana has many humdrum eateries catering to the passing tourist trade, and you should be able to get a full meal for around €25. A few options stand out from the crowd, however.
Restaurante Gran DuqueCANTABRIAN
(www.granduque.com; Calle del Escultor Jesús Otero 7; mains €15-19; h1-4pm & 8-11pm, closed Sun dinner & Mon lunch mid-Sep–mid-Jun, closed mid-Jan–mid-Feb)
The food is high-quality local fare and what sets it apart is the setting, a grand stone house with noble trappings and nice decorative touches such as exposed brick and beams. There is a reasonable balance of surf or turf options including mariscadas (seafood feasts) for two at €50 to €90 and a decent €19 menú del día, available for lunch and dinner.
Los BlasonesCANTABRIAN
(Plaza La Gándara; mains €16-24; h1-3.30pm & 8-10.30pm, closed dinner & Fri Nov-Feb)
Set in a warm yellow dining room lined with chestnut wood, Los Blasones has been proudly dishing up the usual Cantabrian selection since 1970. Hearty offerings from the open-plan kitchen include cocido montañés (white bean, potato, chorizo and black pudding stew) and fresh fish of the day, as well as a €14 menú del día.
8Information
Oficina Regional de TurismoTOURIST INFORMATION
(%942 81 88 12; Calle del Escultor Jesús Otero; h9am-9pm)
8Getting There & Away
Autobuses La Cantábrica (%942 72 08 22; www.lacantabrica.net) runs three or more daily buses from Santander to Santillana (€2.55, 40 minutes), and on to Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera. They stop by Campo del Revolgo.
Altamira
Spain's finest prehistoric art, the wonderful paintings of bison, horses and other animals in the Cueva de Altamira, 2km southwest of Santillana del Mar, was discovered in 1879 by Cantabrian historian and scientist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola and his eight-year-old daughter María Justina. By 2002 Altamira had attracted so many visitors that the cave was closed to prevent deterioration of the art, but a replica cave in the museum here now enables everyone to appreciate the inspired, 13,000- to 35,000-year-old paintings. In 2014 the Altamira authorities began trialling an experimental program whereby on one day each week five visitors to the museum will be randomly selected to visit the real Altamira cave on the same day. People entering the museum on the selected days will be offered an application form if interested. This is the first time that the general public has been allowed into the original cave since 2002.
oMuseo de AltamiraMUSEUM
(museodealtamira.mcu.es; adult/EU senior or student/child €3/1.50/free, Sun & from 2pm Sat free; h9.30am-8pm Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun & holidays; p)
The museum's highlight is the Neocueva, a dazzling, full-sized re-creation of the real cave’s most interesting chamber, the Sala de Polícromos (Polychrome Hall). Other excellent displays, in English and Spanish, cover prehistoric humanity and cave art around the world, from Altamira to Australia. The museum is incredibly popular (around 240,000 visitors a year), so it's best to reserve tickets in advance, especially for Easter week, July, August and September.
You can book tickets at any branch of Banco Santander in Spain or online via the Altamira website – although, oddly enough, the final stages for online payment are available in Spanish only. Advance tickets cost €3 for everybody (children, students and seniors included), and are not available for Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Same-day tickets are sold only at the museum ticket office. With all tickets you are assigned an exact time for entering the Neocueva. During busy periods this might involve a wait of several hours if you have not reserved in advance.
Those without vehicles must walk or take a taxi to Altamira from Santillana del Mar.
Comillas
Pop 1900
Sixteen kilometres west from Santillana through verdant countryside, Comillas has a lovely golden beach and a tiny fishing port, but there is more: a pleasant, cobbled old centre, and hilltops crowned by some of the most original buildings in Cantabria. For the latter, Comillas is indebted to the first Marqués de Comillas, who was born here as plain Antonio López, made a fortune in Cuba as a tobacco planter, shipowner, banker and slave trader, and then returned to commission leading Catalan Modernista architects to jazz up his home town in the late 19th century. This in turn prompted the construction of other quirky mansions here.
1Sights
Capricho de GaudíARCHITECTURE
(www.elcaprichodegaudi.com; Barrio de Sobrellano; adult/child €5/2.50; h10.30am-9pm, to 5.30pm Nov-Feb)
Antoni Gaudí left few reminders of his genius beyond Catalonia, but of those that he did, the 1885 Gaudí Caprice in Comillas is easily the most flamboyant. The brick building, one of Gaudí's earliest works and originally a summer playpad for the Marqués de Comillas' sister-in-law's brother, is liberally striped on the outside with ceramic bands of alternating sunflowers and green leaves. Its interior is comparatively restrained but still has quirky touches like artesonado ceilings (patterns of timber beams inset with decorative panels).
It's worth watching the video in the greenhouse/conservatory before you go round the interior.
Palacio de SobrellanoMANSION
(%942 72 03 39; adult/child €3/1.50; h9.40am-2.30pm & 3.30-7.20pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr mid-Oct–mid-Apr)
In hillside parklands stands the Marqués de Comillas' wonderful neo-Gothic Palacio de Sobrellano. With this building, Modernista architect Joan Martorell truly managed to out-Gothic real Gothic. Martorell also designed the marquis' ornate family tomb, the Capilla Panteón de Sobrellano (adult/child €3/1.50; h9.40am-2.30pm & 3.30-7.20pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr mid-Oct–mid-Apr), next door. Visits to both buildings are by 20-minute guided tour in Spanish; entry to the grounds is free.
Town CentreSQUARE, CHURCH
Comillas' compact medieval centre is built around several cobbled plazas, with a vernacular architecture of solid sandstone houses with wooden balconies or glassed-in galleries. The main church, the Iglesia de San Cristóbal, was constructed in the 17th century from the townspeople's own pockets after they took offence at the Duque de Infantado's retinue refusing to share a pew with common folk in the old church.
Seminario MayorARCHITECTURE
(Calle de Manuel Noriega; adult/child €3.50/free, car €2; h10am-1pm & 5-8pm, closed afternoons Oct-May; p)
Modernista architects Joan Martorell and Lluís Domènech i Montaner both had a hand in this large, elaborate, former seminary, with Domènech i Montaner contributing its medieval flavour. It's now an international Spanish-language-and-culture study centre, the Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Español (www.fundacioncomillas.es). Visits inside the building are guided in Spanish; from June to September a daily 6pm tour runs in English. You can visit the grounds for free (unless you take a car in).
4Sleeping
Hotel Marina de CampíosBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%942 72 27 54; www.marinadecampios.com; Calle del General Piélagos 14; s/d €105/120; hJun-Sep; aiW)
This 19th-century house, a few steps from the central plaza, Corro de Campíos, has been revamped into a classy contemporary hotel with 19 boldly styled rooms, most sporting curtained beds. There's a lovely inner patio, with a piano bar opening onto it.
Hostal EsmeraldaHOSTAL
(%942 72 00 97; www.hostalesmeralda.com; Calle de Antonio López 7; s/d €60/80; W)
A short distance east of the town centre, Esmeralda is a handsomely restored 1874 stone building with large, old-fashioned but comfy rooms, good beds, dashes of colourful decor and plenty of character. It's well run by the fourth generation of the family that built it. Rates dive outside August.
5Eating
Plenty of restaurants and cafes around the central squares provide straightforward seafood and meat raciones (large tapas servings; €6 to €15), menús (€10 to €12) and platos combinados (seafood/meat/omelette with chips and vegies; €7 to €9).
Restaurante GureaCANTABRIAN, BASQUE
(Calle Ignacio Fernández de Castro 11; mains €8-12; h1-4pm & 8-11pm, closed Tue)
This elegant restaurant, hidden in a small street a few blocks from the town centre, dishes up Basque and Cantabrian fare, and can throw together an excellent salad. The €50 menu for two, available for lunch or dinner, is a good bet.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%942 72 25 91; www.comillas.es; Plaza de Joaquín del Piélago; h9am-9pm Jun-Sep, 9am-2pm & 4-6pm Mon-Sat & 9am-2pm Sun Oct-May)
8Getting There & Away
Comillas is served by the same buses (€3.90, one hour from Santander) as Santillana del Mar (Click here). The main stop is on Calle del Marqués de Comillas, close to the town centre.
San Vicente de la Barquera & Around
Pop (San Vicente) 3300
The last town on the Cantabrian coast before you enter Asturias, San Vicente de la Barquera sits handsomely on a point of land between two long inlets, backed by dramatic Picos de Europa mountainscapes. The eastern inlet, the estuary of the Río Escudo, is spanned by the long, low-slung, 15th-century Puente de la Maza. San Vicente was one of the Cuatro Villas de la Costa, a federation of four dominant medieval ports that was converted into the province of Cantabria in 1779 (along with Santander, Laredo and Castro Urdiales). The long beaches east of town make San Vicente quite a busy summer spot.
1Sights
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los ÁngelesCHURCH
(admission €1.50; h10am-2pm & 3-9pm Jul–mid-Sep, 10am-1pm & 4-6pm mid-Sep–Jun)
The outstanding monument in the old part of town is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, commissioned by Alfonso VIII in 1210. Although Gothic, it sports a pair of impressive Romanesque doorways. Inside, the eerily lifelike statue of 16th-century Inquisitor Antonio del Corro (reclining on one elbow, reading) is deemed one of the best pieces of Renaissance funerary art in Spain.
Castillo del ReyCASTLE
(adult/child €1.40/0.70; h10.30am-1.30pm & 5-9pm, closed Mon mid-Sep–Jun)
This 13th-century medieval castle, one of Cantabria's best preserved, tops the old part of town.
Playa El Rosal & Playa de MerónBEACH
Along the coast east of town, these two beaches are basically one broad, 4km-long golden strand. Merón gets some surf and you should heed the warning flags: red means don't swim; yellow means take care.
El SoplaoCAVE
(%902 820282; www.elsoplao.es; adult/senior, student & child €12/9.50; h10am-7pm Jul & Aug, 10am-2pm & 3-6pm Sep-Jun, closed Mon Oct-Jun; p)
This extensive cave system full of stalactites and stalagmites, and a lead and zinc mine before 1979, makes for a popular outing inland from San Vicente de la Barquera. The one-hour visit goes 400m into the cave in a mine train then continues on foot. Booking ahead is highly recommended. A separate adventure tour travelling 3km in (€32, 2½ hours) opens up an extraordinary subterranean world. It's about 30km southwest of San Vicente: turn east off the CA181 at Rábago and climb 7km.
4Sleeping & Eating
Hotel LuzónHOTEL
(%942 71 00 50; www.hotelluzon.net; Avenida Miramar 1; s/d €45/70; hclosed Jan; W)
The centrally positioned Luzón is a stately looking, century-old town house still possessing an air of older times, with its high ceilings, long corridors and quiet drawing rooms. Rooms are plain and simple but mostly spacious. Ask for a front room with broad views over town and water.
Hotel Azul de GalimarHOTEL
(%942 71 50 20; www.hotelazuldegalimar.es; Camino Alto Santiago 11; s/d €90/107; hclosed Dec-Feb; pW)
This modern hotel, with a small lawned garden, is set in an excellent high position on the east side of town and has just 16 airy, attractive rooms in shades of pastel. Many have balconies or terraces overlooking the Escudo estuary. It's signposted from the Puente de la Maza.
Boga-BogaSEAFOOD
(www.restaurantebogaboga.es; Plaza José Antonio 9; mains €16.50-22; h1-4pm & 8-11pm, closed Mon dinner & Tue Oct-Jun)
Despite its less than stunning exterior, this popular seafood spot has a warm, maritime feel, its walls decked out with Spanish warship insignia. The Boga-Boga hake comes cooked in a clay pot with oil and garlic, or you might try the speciality marmita de bogavante (seafood stew with European lobster). Several other seafood-dominated restaurants line Avenida del Generalísimo, leading off Plaza de José Antonio.
8Getting There & Away
San Vicente's bus station (Avenida Miramar), near the Puente de la Maza, is served by at least six daily buses to Santander (€5, 1¼ hours, some via Comillas and Santillana del Mar), five to Oviedo (€9.02, two hours, some via Llanes, Ribadesella and Arriondas) and two to Potes (€3.70, 1¼ hours).
Two FEVE trains stop en route between Santander and Oviedo at La Acebosa, 3km south of town.
Asturias
'Ser español es un orgullo', the saying goes, 'ser asturiano es un título'. 'If being Spanish is a matter of pride, to be Asturian is a title', or so some of the locals would have you think. Asturias, they claim, is the real Spain; the rest is simply tierra de reconquista (reconquered land). Like neighbouring Galicia, Asturias was Celtic territory before the Romans arrived (and is bagpipe territory today!). It's also the sole patch of Spain never completely conquered by the Muslims. A Visigothic chieftain, Pelayo, warded them off in the Battle of Covadonga in AD 722, laying the foundations of the Kingdom of Asturias from which modern Spain grew.
Asturias has many similarities with neighbouring Cantabria and its scenic beauty is, if anything, even greater. The coast is wilder and more dramatic, and strung with even more beaches (over 200), always with rolling green countryside behind. Inland, the mountains are higher, the valleys deeper (though equally green) and the villages a tad more rustic. Much of the Picos de Europa are on Asturian territory. For the architecture buff, Asturias is the land of the pre-Romanesque – modest but unique survivors from early medieval times. The region's cultured capital, Oviedo, is both historic and coolly contemporary. Asturias also has its gritty industrial side. The Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés triangle is the heart of industrial Asturias and, despite its slow decline, the mining industry still operates, especially in the southwest.
The Reconquista's southward progress left Asturias increasingly a backwater. As a concession, Juan I of Castilla y León made Asturias a principado (principality) in 1388, and to this day the heir to the Spanish throne holds the title Príncipe de Asturias (Prince of Asturias). Awards handed out by the prince to personalities of distinction in Oviedo's Teatro Campoamor every October are Spain's equivalent of the Nobel prizes.
ASTURIAS WEBSITES
Awww.turismoasturias.es Excellent, comprehensive site of Asturias' regional tourism office.
Awww.casasdealdea.com Over 200 casas rurales (village or farmstead accommodations) across Asturias.
Awww.casonasasturianas.com Fifty top country-house hotels.
Oviedo
Pop 210,000 / Elev 232m
The compact but characterful and historic casco antiguo (Old Town) of Asturias' civilised capital is agreeably offset by elegant parks and busy, modern shopping streets to its west and north. Out on the periphery, the hum and heave of factories is a strong reminder that Oviedo is a major producer of textiles, weapons and food.
History
When Asturian king Alfonso II El Casto (the Chaste; AD 791–842) defeated a Muslim detachment that had practically razed the settlement of Oviedo, he was sufficiently impressed by the site to move his court there from Pravia. Oviedo remained the Asturian kingdom's capital until 910, when León replaced it and the kingdom became the Kingdom of León. Oviedo's university was founded in 1608, and industry took off in the 19th century. The 1934 miners' revolt and a nasty siege at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War destroyed much of the Old Town, but now restored it's a fascinating place to explore.
Oviedo
1Top Sights
1Sights
4Sleeping
6Drinking & Nightlife
3Entertainment
7Shopping
PLAZAS & STATUES
A key pleasure of Oviedo is exploring the Old Town's nooks and crannies. Plaza de Alfonso II (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
), in front of the cathedral, and neighbouring Plaza de Porlier (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
) are fronted by elegant 17th- and 18th-century mansions. Plaza de la Constitución (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
) occupies a barely perceptible rise close to the heart of old Oviedo, capped at one end by the Iglesia de San Isidoro (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
), and lined by the 17th-century ayuntamiento (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
) (town hall). Past the colourful Mercado El Fontán (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3.30pm Sat) food market, arcaded Plaza Fontán (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
) is equipped with a couple of sidrerías (cider bars) and has passages leading in under pretty houses from surrounding streets.
Other cute squares include Plaza de Trascorrales ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) and Plaza del Paraguas. The latter got its name from its inverted-umbrella design, which once accommodated an open-air market. Today it sports a big concrete umbrella to protect people from the elements.
Wandering around central Oviedo, you'll run into an array of striking modern open-air sculptures, such as Eduardo Úrculo's Culis Monumentalibus ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Pelayo), which is a pair of legs topped by a pair of large buttocks, and a statue of Woody Allen ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ). Allen expressed a particular affection for Oviedo when filming here for his 2008 flick Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
1Sights
oCatedral de San SalvadorCATHEDRAL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
The cathedral's origins and main interest lie in the Cámara Santa, a pre-Romanesque chapel built by Alfonso II to house holy relics. The chapel now contains several key symbols of medieval Spanish Christianity and is a small part of a much bigger complex that was built piecemeal over many years, chiefly in Gothic and baroque styles between the 13th and 18th centuries.
In the northwest corner of the Capilla del Rey Casto, a baroque chapel entered from the cathedral's north transept, the Panteón Real is believed to hold the tombs of most of the Asturian monarchs, including Alfonso II himself.
You enter the Cámara Santa (admission €3, incl museum & cloister €5, free Thu afternoon; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Nov-Feb), cloister and museum from the southern transept. Inside the Cámara Santa you'll find a collection of important sacred medieval artefacts, including two jewel-encrusted gold crosses: Alfonso II presented the central Cruz de los Ángeles (Cross of the Angels) to the cathedral in 808, and it's still Oviedo's city emblem. A century later Alfonso III donated the Cruz de la Victoria (Cross of Victory), which in turn became the sign of Asturias. The Cámara Santa also contains the Santo Sudario, a cloth said to have covered Christ's face. These items are viewed from the Sala Apostolar, whose remarkable Romanesque sculptures of the 12 apostles are in the style of Maestro Mateo, creator of Santiago de Compostela's Pórtico de la Gloria. Turning to leave, you'll see three heads sculpted from a single block of stone above the doorway. This strikingly simple work depicts, from left to right, the Virgin Mary, Christ and St John on Calvary. Their bodies were originally painted on the wall below.
The cloister is pure 14th-century Gothic, rare enough in Asturias. The pre-Romanesque Torre Vieja (Old Tower), from the late 9th century, rises above its northwestern corner (best viewed from the street Tránsito de Santa Bárbara).
The Cámara Santa and museum were closed for restoration work at the time of research. The cathedral's ticketing and admission arrangements may change once works are complete.
Museo Arqueológico de AsturiasMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.museoarqueologicodeasturias.com; Calle de San Vicente 3; h9.30am-8pm Wed-Fri, 9.30am-2pm & 5-8pm Sat, 9.30am-3pm Sun)
F
Partly within a restored 16th-century monastery, Asturias' archaeology museum makes the most of the region's archaeological riches through video as well as informative displays of artefacts. Subject matter ranges from prehistoric cave art to castro (pre-Roman fortified village) culture, Roman times and the medieval Kingdom of Asturias. Explanatory details are in Spanish, but staff will lend you a guide booklet in English or French.
Museo de Bellas Artes de AsturiasMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.museobbaa.com; Calle de Santa Ana 1; h10.30am-2pm & 4.30-8.30pm Tue-Sat, 10.30am-2.30pm Sun)F
The Fine Arts Museum, housed in two of Oviedo's finest urban palaces, has a large and rewarding collection, including paintings by Spanish and European greats such as Goya, Zurbarán, Picasso, Titian and Brueghel the Elder, and plenty by Asturians, such as Evaristo Valle.
Universidad de OviedoHISTORIC BUILDING
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.uniovi.es; Calle de San Francisco 3; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm Sat & Aug)
This elegant 17th-century building, set around two superposed cloisters, was originally home to the University of Oviedo's schools of Arts, Theology and Law. Nowadays it's an administrative house, but well worth a wander. In the centre sits the majestic statue of Fernando de Valdés Salas, the university's founder, while the cloister's columns still bear bullet holes from the civil war.
DON'T MISS
PRE-ROMANESQUE OVIEDO
Largely cut off from the rest of Christian Europe by the Muslim invasion, the tough and tiny kingdom that emerged in 8th-century Asturias gave rise to a unique style of art and architecture known as pre-Romanesque.
The 15 buildings, mostly churches (and collectively a World Heritage site), that survive from the two centuries of the Asturian kingdom take some inspiration from Roman, Visigothic and possibly Carolingian French buildings, but have no real siblings. They are typified by straight-line profiles, semicircular Roman-style arches, and a triple-naved plan for the churches. In many cases the bases and capitals of columns, with their Corinthian or floral motifs, were simply cannibalised from earlier structures. The use of lattice windows as a design effect owes something to developments in Muslim Spain.
Some of the best of the genre are found in and near Oviedo, including the cathedral's Cámara Santa. The Iglesia de San Julián de los Prados (Iglesia de Santullano;
GOOGLE MAP
; adult/child €1.20/0.60, Mon free; h10am-12.30pm Mon, 10am-12.30pm & 4-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 9.30am-noon & 3.30-5pm Sat, closed afternoons Oct-Apr), 1km northeast of the town centre, just above the highway to Gijón, is the largest remaining pre-Romanesque church, and one of the oldest, built in the early 9th century under Alfonso II. It is flanked by two porches – another Asturian touch – and the inside is covered with frescoes. On the slopes of Monte Naranco, 3km northwest of central Oviedo, the tall, narrow Palacio de Santa María del Naranco (adult/child incl Iglesia de San Miguel de Lillo €3/2, free Mon; h9.30am-1pm & 3.30-7pm Tue-Sat, 9.30am-1pm Sun & Mon, shorter hr Oct-Mar) and the Iglesia de San Miguel de Lillo (h9.30am-1pm & 3.30-7pm Tue-Sat, 9.30am-1pm Sun & Mon, shorter hr Oct-Mar) were built by Ramiro I (842–50), and mark an advance in Asturian art. An outstanding decorative feature of the beautifully proportioned Santa María (which may have been a royal hunting lodge) is the sogueado, the sculptural motif imitating rope used in its columns. Some of the medallions are copies of ancient Iranian motifs, known here through Roman contact. Of the original San Miguel, only about one-third remains – the rest collapsed centuries ago – but what's left has a singularly pleasing form. Also here, the Centro de Interpretación del Prerrománico (%902 306600; h10am-1.30pm & 3.30-6pm or later, closed Mon & Tue Sep-Jun, closed Jan) has informative displays in English, Spanish and French. Take bus 10 (€1.05), hourly from 9am to 9pm, northwest from the Uría Norte stop at the north end of Calle de Uría near the train station.
Visits to San Julián, Santa María and San Miguel are guided (in Spanish) except on Monday.
zFestivals & Events
Oviedo's biggest fiesta is that of San Mateo, celebrated in the third week of September and climaxing around 21 September.
4Sleeping
There's only a handful of places actually in the Old Town, but plenty of others are scattered around its periphery.
Hostal ArcosHOSTAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 21 47 73; www.hostal-arcos.com; Calle de Magdalena 3; s €35-40, d €48-55; W)
One of the few lodgings actually in the Old Town is this modern brick building with a friendly welcome and 10 simple, clean rooms, all quite cheery and colourful. Note that there's no lift.
Hotel City Express CovadongaHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 20 32 32; hotelcityexpresscovadonga.es; Calle de Covadonga 7; s/d €40/45)
Basic but well-kept rooms, mostly in sky-blues and yellows, in a central location.
Hotel FruelaHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 20 81 20; www.hotelfruela.com; Calle de Fruela 3; r €75-79; paW)
With a pleasing contemporary style and a touch of original art, plus professional yet friendly service, the 28-room Fruela achieves a cosy, almost intimate feel and is easily the top midrange option in central Oviedo. Rooms are bright and welcoming, with plenty of easily accessible plugs. Breakfast, tapas and other meals are available in its cafe-restaurant.
Munia Princesa Hotel & Spa BOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %984 28 55 80; www.hotelprincesamunia.com; Calle de Fruela 6; r €85-109; pW)
On the fringe of the Old Town, the sparkling Munia is all contemporary design and feminine chic, with funky fire features and an on-site spa. Service is warm and efficient and the 23 sleek, modern rooms, in whites and creams, offer big, comfy beds and rain-effect showers.
Barceló Oviedo CervantesHOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 25 50 00; www.barcelo.com; Calle de Cervantes 13; r €99-129; paiW)
Comprising a revamped century-old mansion and two modern smoked-glass wings, the Barceló is just a couple of blocks northwest of the central Campo de San Francisco. Impeccably contemporary style runs right through it, from the shiny lobby bar with its club-like decor to the 72 spacious, luxurious rooms and their glass-partitioned bathrooms.
Hotel de la ReconquistaHISTORIC HOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 24 11 00; www.hoteldelareconquista.com; Calle de Gil de Jaz 16; r €125-155; paiW)
The city's fanciest lodgings, two blocks northwest of the Campo de San Francisco, started life as an 18th-century hospice. Rooms, set around two patios, in all shapes and sizes, strike just the right note between tradition and comfort, with timber furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows. Spanish royalty and other luminaries hang out here during the annual Príncipe de Asturias prizes jamboree.
5Eating
It's customary to serve good food at reasonable prices in Oviedo's sidrerías (cider bars). For the experience, head to Calle de la Gascona – el bulevar de la sidra (the boulevard of cider) – which is lined with boisterous sidrerías, most serving raciones from €8 to €18. La ruta de los vinos (the wine route), on Calles Manuel Pedregal and Campoamor near the train station, is a good bet for tapas. Elsewhere, Oviedo boasts some of northern Spain's most sophisticated eateries.
NaguarTAPAS, FUSION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; naguar.es; Avenida de Galicia 14; raciones €10-19; h11am-midnight)
Under the watch of acclaimed Asturian chef Pedro Martino, Naguar oozes cool. It's an incredibly popular spot for top-notch creative, contemporary tapas, often with an Asian touch, such as teriyaki sesame chicken with seaweed. Head past the open-plan kitchen to the dining area or just pull up a stool in the orange-lit bar with everyone else.
It's 200m west of the Campo de San Francisco.
Tierra AsturSIDRERíA, ASTURIAN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 20 25 02; www.tierra-astur.com; Calle de la Gascona 1; mains €9-24; h9am-2am)
A particularly atmospheric sidrería-restaurant, Tierra Astur is famed for its grilled meats and prize-winning cider. People queue for tables, or give up and settle for tapas at the bar. Some just buy local products in the shop area to the right and go home. The €9.80 menú del día, available for lunch Monday to Friday, is excellent value.
La Puerta NuevaSPANISH
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 22 52 27; www.lapuertanueva.com; Calle de Leopoldo Alas 2; mains €14-26; h1.30-4pm & 9pm-midnight Fri & Sat)
Despite its limited opening times, this is a gourmet experience worth seeking out. The weekly market-based menu mixes northern Spanish with Mediterranean cuisine in a welcoming atmosphere; the €35 set menu (with wine) is probably your best option.
Sidrería El FartuquínASTURIAN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.restauranteelfartuquin.es; Calle del Carpio 19; mains €12-22; h1-4pm & 7.30pm-midnight, closed Sun)
The Fartuquín's busy little dining room offers an excellent range of Asturian meat, fish and seafood, and its good-value €14 set menu, including wine, is available for dinner as well as lunch Monday to Friday. Locals pack into the front bar for tapas in the evenings.
oLa Corrada del ObispoASTURIAN
(
MAP
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; %985 22 00 48; www.lacorradadelobispo.com; Calle de la Canóniga 18; mains €19-24; h1-4pm & 8pm-midnight, closed Sun & dinner Mon Dec-Feb)
Modern decor combines with the open stone walls of this 18th-century house to provide a welcoming setting for quality local meat and fish in inventive, expertly executed preparations, like sea bass in a buttery citrus sauce. You might be able to snag a romantic petal-strewn table in the outer gallery. Woody Allen shot some scenes for Vicky Cristina Barcelona here.
6Drinking & Entertainment
For sidrerías head to Calle de la Gascona. The Old Town's narrow pedestrian streets are thronged with people having a great time inside and outside dozens of bars on weekends. The main axis is Calle de Mon, with wall-to-wall bars, and its extension Calle Oscura, as well as adjacent Calle del Carpio and Plaza del Sol. During the week, these bars generally stay open until 1am and can be quiet. On Friday and Saturday they're packed out until about 3am.
SalsipuedesCLUB
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.salsipuedes.es; Calle de Ildefonso Martínez 7; h1-6am Thu, 1-7.30am Fri & Sat; W)
If you fancy partying on around 3am, hit this three-floor drinks and dance spot inside an Old Town house, where the spin is a mix of house, '80s and mainstream hits.
Ca BeleñoLIVE MUSIC
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.facebook.com/cabeleno; Calle de Martínez Vigil 4; h5pm-3.30am)
This small pub is a well-established venue for Celtic music, whether of Asturian, Galician or Irish extraction. Live jams usually get going around 11pm on Thursday.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
THE ART OF CIDER DRINKING
Ancient documents show that Asturians were glugging cider as far back as the 8th century!
Cider is served escanciada, that is, poured from a bottle held high overhead into a glass held low, which gives it some fizz. Don't worry, you don't have to do this yourself – in fact, bar staff probably won't even let you try. They will show off their own skills by not even looking at the glass or bottle as they pour, in all likelihood chatting to somebody else over their shoulder at the same time. A shot of cider, about one-fifth of a glass, is known as a culete or culín and should be immediately knocked back in one (leaving a tiny bit in the glass) before the fizz dissipates.
Asturias churns out 80% of Spanish cider: anything up to 30 million litres a year, depending on the apple harvest. Apples are reaped in autumn and crushed to a pulp (about three-quarters of which winds up as apple juice). The cider is fermented in pipes (barrels) kept in llagares (the places where the cider is made) over winter. It takes about 800kg of apples to fill a 450L pipa, which makes 600 bottles. Traditionally, the pipes were transported to chigres (cider taverns) and drinkers would be served direct from the pipa. The chigre is dying out, though, and most cider now comes in bottles in sidrerías (cider bars).
Every Asturian town has plenty of sidrerías and the epicentre of the scene is Oviedo's el bulevar de la sidra (Click here), lined with a dozen jam-packed sidrerías.
The main cider-producing region is east of Oviedo: find out more at Comarca de la Sidra (www.lacomarcadelasidra.com).
8Information
Oficina de Turismo de AsturiasTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %984 49 37 85; www.turismoasturias.es; Plaza de la Constitución 4; h9.30am-7pm, closed Sun mid-Sep–mid-Jun)
Oficina de Turismo El EscorialínTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 22 75 86; www.turismoasturias.es; Calle del Marqués de Santa Cruz 1; h9.30am-3.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun)
At the Campo de San Francisco.
8Getting There & Around
Air
The Aeropuerto de Asturias (%902 404704) is at Santiago del Monte, 47km northwest of Oviedo and 40km west of Gijón. Buses run hourly from Oviedo's bus station (€8, 40 minutes) from 6am to 8pm, plus 10pm, returning hourly from 7am to 9.20pm, plus 11.20pm.
Airlines and destinations:
Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) Destinations in Germany, via Madrid and Palma de Mallorca
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) London (Stansted) and Geneva
Iberia (www.iberia.com) Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia
Volotea (www.volotea.com) Málaga and Valencia
Vueling Airlines (www.vueling.com) Barcelona, Paris, Málaga and Seville
Bus
From the bus station (
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 96 96 96; www.estaciondeautobusesdeoviedo.com; Avenida de Pepe Cosmen), 700m north of the central Campo de San Francisco, direct services head up the motorway to Gijón (€2.45, 30 minutes) every 10 or 15 minutes from 6.30am to 10.30pm.
Buses run to the following destinations:
ACangas de Onís (€6.95, 1½ hours, at least seven daily)
AMadrid (€34 to €56, 5¼ to 6½ hours, at least 15 daily)
ARibadesella (€8, 1¼ to 1¾ hours, at least six daily)
ASantander (€3 to €27, 2¼ to 3¼ hours, at least seven daily)
ASantiago de Compostela (€30 to €42, 4¾ to 6¾ hours, at least four daily)
Train
One train station (
GOOGLE MAP
; Avenida de Santander; W) serves both train companies: Renfe (www.renfe.com), for destinations to the south; and FEVE (%985 98 23 81; www.renfe.com/viajeros/feve) (on the upper level), for destinations along Spain's north coast.
ACudillero (€3.25, 1¼ hours, three direct FEVE trains daily)
AGijón (€3.35, 33 minutes, up to three hourly Renfe cercanías until 10.45pm)
ALeón (€9.80 to €21, two hours, five or more Renfe trains daily)
ALlanes (€8.35, 2½ hours, two to four FEVE trains daily) via Arriondas (€5.05, 1½ hours) and Ribadesella (€6.55, two hours), with two continuing to Santander (€16, 4¾ hours)
ALuarca (€7.25, 2¼ hours, two FEVE trains daily), continuing into Galicia as far as Ferrol
AMadrid (€52, five hours, four Renfe trains daily)
WORTH A TRIP
PARQUE NATURAL DE REDES
Drivers looking for a treat should head southeast from Oviedo, along the AS117 up the Nalón valley towards the 1490m Puerto de la Tarna pass on the Castilla y León border. The latter part of the route is a paradise of green, crossing the Parque Natural de Redes, with plenty of walking routes, a range of accommodation, and a Centro de Interpretación (%985 60 80 22; www.parquenaturalderedes.es; h9am-2pm & 4-7pm, closed Mon & Sun afternoon Oct-May; p) at Campo de Caso.
Gijón
Pop 261,000
Bigger, grittier and gutsier than Oviedo, Gijón (khi-hon) produces iron, steel and chemicals, and is the main loading terminal for Asturian coal. But Gijón has emerged like a phoenix from its industrial roots, having given itself a thorough facelift with pedestrianised streets, parks, seafront walks, cultural attractions and a lively food and drinks scene. It's a surprisingly engaging city, and a party and beach hot spot too, with endless summer entertainment. It's no quaint Asturian fishing port, but Gijón sure knows how to live.
The ancient core of Gijón is concentrated on the headland known as Cimadevilla. The harmonious, porticoed Plaza Mayor ( GOOGLE MAP ) marks the southern end of the promontory. To the west stretches the Puerto Deportivo (marina) and the broad Playa de Poniente ( GOOGLE MAP ), while to the south is the more modern, 19th- to 20th-century city centre bounded on its east side by the Playa de San Lorenzo ( GOOGLE MAP ).
1Sights
Parque del Cerro Santa CatalinaPARK
( GOOGLE MAP )
At the top of Cimadevilla, this grassy parkland includes Gijón's Elogio del Horizonte ( GOOGLE MAP ), a brutal concrete sculpture by Basque artist Eduardo Chillida that has become a symbol of the city.
Plaza de JovellanosSQUARE
( GOOGLE MAP )
Wrapped around the landward side of Cimadevilla is an enticing web of narrow lanes and small squares. Plaza de Jovellanos is dominated by the home of Gijón's most celebrated scion, the 18th-century Enlightenment politician Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. It is now the Museo Casa Natal de Jovellanos (
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 18 51 52; museos.gijon.es; Plaza de Jovellanos ; h10am-2pm & 5-7.30pm Tue-Sun). A section of Gijón's Roman walls (
GOOGLE MAP
) and towers has been reconstructed stretching west from the plaza.
Museo del Ferrocarril de AsturiasMUSEUM
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 18 17 77; museos.gijon.es; Plaza de la Estación del Norte; adult/senior & student/child €2.50/1.40/free, Sun free; h10am-7pm Tue-Sun)
Gijón's excellent railway museum explores the important role of trains in Asturian history, with 50 locomotives and carriages, and plenty of railway paraphernalia. It's housed in the 19th-century Renfe train station, 1km west of Cimadevilla.
AcuarioAQUARIUM
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %958 18 52 20; acuario.gijon.es; adult/senior & student/child €14/10/7; h10am-7pm or later)
On Playa de Poniente, 1.5km west from Cimadevilla, this singular aquarium houses 4000 specimens, from otters to sharks and penguins, in 12 separate underwater environments, including tropical oceans and an Asturian river.
zFestivals & Events
Throughout summer Gijón finds some excuse for a fiesta almost every week, all accompanied by varied musical programs and plenty of partying.
Semana GrandeSUMMER FESTIVAL
(hearly–mid-Aug)
Held in August, this is the biggest of all Gijón fiestas.
Fiesta de la Sidra NaturalDRINK
(hlate Aug)
Gijón's Natural Cider Festival, held in late August, includes an annual attempt on the world record number of people simultaneously pouring cider (8601 in 2013).
4Sleeping
Finding a room in August can be a challenge, so try to book ahead. Prices tumble outside summer, but overall Gijón's hotels aren't particularly great value for money.
Hotel PasajeHOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 34 49 15; www.hotelpasaje.es; Calle del Marqués de San Esteban 3; s/d €50/85; W)
A pleasant, friendly, family-owned hotel with good, clean, bright rooms, many enjoying sea views. It's conveniently and centrally located facing the Puerto Deportivo and staff are a wonderful source of local information.
Hotel AsturiasHOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 35 06 00; www.hotelasturiasgijon.es; Plaza Mayor 11; s €77, d €110-132, incl breakfast; aW)
The Asturias' rooms are plain but spacious and quite comfy, and some have sea glimpses and glassed-in galleries. The location is ultra-central, overlooking Cimadevilla's main square.
Hotel CentralHOTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 09 86 51; www.hotelcentrogijon.es; Plaza del Humedal 4; s/d €55/70; W)
The welcoming, family-run Central, opened in 2013, may feel a little dated here and there, but it's certainly one of Gijón's most characterful hotels, tucked away in its own fluffy-cushioned world 900m south of Cimadevilla near the bus station. There are just nine smallish but homey rooms, in a minimalist boutique style with soft white and cream decor.
5Eating
The most atmospheric area is Cimadevilla, though the newer city centre also offers plenty of choice.
La GalanaSIDRERíA, ASTURIAN
(
GOOGLE MAP
; www.restauranteasturianolagalana.es; Plaza Mayor 10; mains & raciones €15-24; h1.30-4pm & 8pm-midnight; 
v)
The front bar is a boisterous sidrería where you can snack on tapas (€9 to €15) accompanied by torrents of cider. Up a few steps at the back is a spacious, colourful dining room. Fish, such as pixín (anglerfish) with clams or wild sea bass, is the strong suit. It also does excellent vegetarian adaptations of dishes on request, including beautifully prepared salads.
Restaurante CiudadelaASTURIAN
(
GOOGLE MAP
; ciudadela@grupogravia.com; Calle de Capua 7; mains & raciones €15-25; h1.30-4pm & 9pm-midnight, closed Sun dinner & Mon)
Like many Gijón eateries, the Ciudadela has a front bar for nibbling tapas backed by a dining room, in this case combined with a unique cave-like basement that attempts to recreate a Castilian bodega of yesteryear. The carefully concocted dishes range over the best of Asturian offerings, from daily pucheros (casseroles/stews) to excellent seafood and meat, and even a low-calorie selection.
It's half a block back from the western end of Playa de San Lorenzo.
Tierra AsturSIDRERíA, ASTURIAN
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 327 448; www.tierra-astur.com; Playa de Poniente; mains €15-25; h11am-2am)
Brave the ugly apartment-block exterior and jump in line at this buzzing sidrería-restaurant, a favourite among locals and tourists alike where slurping cider is practically compulsory. The focus is on sizzling meats and grilled seafood, but platters of cheese, sausage or ham are a good bet too. There's a great-value €9.80 weekday lunch menú. Book ahead for seats inside a cider barrel.
Casa GerardoASTURIAN
(%985 88 77 97; www.restaurantecasagerardo.com; Carretera AS19, Prendes; mains €19-27; h1-3.45pm Tue-Sun & 9-10.45pm Fri & Sat)
About 12km west of Gijón, this stone-fronted, neo-rustic house has been serving top-quality local cooking since 1882. Five generations of the Morán family have refined their art to the point of snagging a Michelin star. The fish and shellfish are delectable, but to best sample the Morán blend of tradition and innovation go for one of the set menus (€55 to €88).
6Drinking & Entertainment
In theory, normal bars shut down around 1.30am Sunday to Thursday and 3.30am on Friday and Saturday, while those licensed to have bands and DJs (many fall into this category) can stay open another two hours. But Gijón takes everything with a pinch of salt and night-time antics tend to go on well into the next morning.
The sidrerías in Cimadevilla and around town are a fun way to start the night (and inject some food), and further up in Cimadevilla a young, studenty scene flourishes around Plaza Corrada. South of Cimadevilla, lively bars abound along la ruta de los vinos, centred around Calles del Buen Suceso and Santa Rosa. The Naútico area near Playa de San Lorenzo and the busy Fomento area running parallel to Playa de Poniente host a whole assortment of locales, from funky little cocktail hang-outs to live-music venues and all-night dance clubs.
Café DamBAR
(
GOOGLE MAP
; www.facebook.com/cafedamgijon; Calle de San Agustín 14; h5.30pm-1am Sun-Thu, 5.30pm-5.30am Fri & Sat; W)
Amsterdam-inspired Café Dam is a gallery, chill bar and a great den for varied live music, which kicks off in the basement bar around 9pm on Friday and Saturday; from midnight DJs take over with electronica, funk and reggae beats.
La Bodeguita del MedioMUSIC BAR
(
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Rodríguez San Pedro 43; h8pm-4am, to 6.30am Fri & Sat)
A popular, friendly little salsa bar near the marina, with a more mature crowd than Cimadevilla's bars.
8Information
Gijón TurismoTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %985 34 17 71; www.gijon.info; Espigón Central de Fomento; h10am-9pm, reduced hr Nov-Apr)
The main tourist offfice, on a pier of the Puerto Deportivo, is very helpful; a summer information booth opens at Playa de San Lorenzo.
8Getting There & Around
Boat
LD Lines (ldlines.com) runs three weekly car ferries from Saint-Nazaire in northwest France (15 hours), one from Poole, UK (25 hours), and one from Rosslare in Ireland (39 to 48 hours, via Saint-Nazaire). Fares vary: a July return trip for two adults plus car could cost anywhere between UK£550 and UK£750 from Poole, and from about UK£900 from Rosslare. Ferries dock at Puerto de El Musel, 5km west of Gijón centre.
Bus
Buses fan out across Asturias and beyond from the ALSA bus station (
GOOGLE MAP
; %902 422242; www.alsa.es; Calle de Magnus Blikstad), including the following:
AAsturias airport (€8, 45 minutes, hourly 6am to 8pm, plus 10pm)
AOviedo (€2.45, 30 minutes, every 10 to 20 minutes from 6.30am to 10.30pm)
ASantander (€14 to €30, 2¾ to 3¾ hours, nine or more daily)
Train
All Renfe (%902 320320; www.renfe.com) and FEVE (%985 98 23 81; www.renfe.com/viajeros/feve) trains use the temporary Estación Sanz Crespo (
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Sanz Crespo), 1km west of the city centre, while work on underground lines proceeds. Destinations include the following:
ACudillero (€3.25, 1¾ hours, five to 12 direct FEVE cercanías daily)
AOviedo (€3.35, 33 minutes, up to three Renfe cercanías hourly)
Renfe also has several daily trains to León and Madrid. Change at Pravia or Oviedo for most other FEVE destinations.
City bus 16 (€1.25) links the station with the city centre.
East Coast
Mostly Spanish holidaymakers seek out a summer spot on the beaches and coves along the coast east of Gijón, backed by the Picos de Europa, which rise only 15km inland.
Villaviciosa & Around
Pop (Villaviciosa) 6400
Villaviciosa rivals Nava as Asturias' cider capital. Apart from the Romanesque Iglesia de Santa María, its pretty little town centre is mostly a child of the 18th century.
1Sights & Activities
Iglesia de San Salvador de ValdediósCHURCH
(%670 242372; adult/child €1.50/1.25; h11am-1.30pm & 4.30-7pm Tue-Sun, closed afternoons Oct-Mar)
The area surrounding Villaviciosa is sprinkled with ancient churches. Don’t miss this triple-naved pre-Romanesque church, built in AD 893 as part of a palace complex for Alfonso III. It's 9km southwest of Villaviciosa, off the AS267 to Pola de Siero.
Playa de RodilesBEACH
The beautiful, broad golden sands of 1km-long Playa de Rodiles front the sea at the mouth of the Ría de Villaviciosa, 11km north of Villaviciosa. Surfers might catch a wave here in late summer.
Museo del Jurásico de AsturiasMUSEUM
(MUJA; www.museojurasicoasturias.com; Rasa de San Telmo; adult/senior & child €7.10/4.60, free Wed; h10.30am-8pm, shorter hours & closed Mon & Tue Sep-Jun, closed Jan; p)
Located in Colunga, 18km east of Villaviciosa, Asturias' popular Jurassic museum takes you through 4.5 billion years of prehistory with dinosaur footprints, fossils and bones (which are plentiful along this part of the Asturian coast) and 20 giant dinosaur replicas. The pair of mating tyrannosaurus is over 12m high.
El GaiteroBREWERY TOUR
(%985 89 01 00; www.gaitero.com; La Espuncia; h10am-1.20pm & 4-6.20pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1.20pm Sat mid-May–mid-Sep, 10am-12.30pm & 4-6.30pm Thu-Sun mid-Sep–mid-Jun)F
For the full cider experience, tour the El Gaitero cider-brewing bodegas, 2km from the centre of Villaviciosa on the N632; visits include a free tasting session. The museum (June to mid-September only) costs an extra €1.50.
4Sleeping & Eating
Villaviciosa has plenty of sidrerías, a few restaurants, and a dozen hotels and pensiones (small private hotels).
oLa Casona de AmandiCOUNTRY HOUSE
(%985 89 01 30; www.lacasonadeamandi.com; Calle de San Juan 6, Amandi; s/d incl breakfast €90/100; hclosed Jan-Mar; pWc)
The most attractive lodgings in the Villaviciosa area are at this exquisite, British-run, 19th-century farmhouse in Amandi, 1.5km south of Villaviciosa. Rooms, all of which ooze their own character and vary in size, contain antique beds and hand-painted furnishings, and floors are original chestnut. Dinner is on offer throughout July and August, served outside in the tranquil lawned gardens.
8Getting There & Away
ALSA (www.alsa.es) provides eight or more buses daily to Oviedo (€4.25, 35 minutes to one hour) and Ribadesella (€3.85, 35 minutes to one hour), and 13 or more to Gijón (€2.95, 30 minutes to 1¼ hours).
Ribadesella
Pop 2900
Unless you've booked ahead, it's best to stay away from Ribadesella on the first weekend of August, when the place goes mad for the Descenso Internacional del Sella , a kayaking festival. Otherwise, Ribadesella is a low-key fishing town and resort. Its two halves, split by the Río Sella's estuary, are joined by the long, low Sella bridge. The western half (where most hotels are) has a good, expansive beach, Playa de Santa Marina, while the older part of town and fishing harbour are on the eastern side.
1Sights
oCueva de Tito BustilloCAVE
(%985 86 12 55, reservations 902 306600; www.centrotitobustillo.com; incl Centro de Arte Rupestre adult/senior, student & child €7.20/5.20, Wed free; h10.15am-5pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct; p)
To see some of Spain's best cave art, including superb horse paintings probably done around 13,000 to 12,000 BC, visit this World Heritage–listed cave, a short distance south of the western end of the Sella bridge. Daily visitor numbers are limited so online or telephone reservations are essential. Even if you miss the cave itself, the Centro de Arte Rupestre Tito Bustillo (adult/senior, student & child €5.20/3.10, free Wed; h10am-7pm Wed-Sun Jul-mid-Sep, 10am-2.30pm & 4-6pm or 7pm Wed-Sun mid-Sep-Jun, closed Jan), 200m along the road, is well worth a visit for its displays, video and replicas.
The one-hour visit (guided in Spanish) to the Cueva de Tito Bustillo includes some slippery stretches, and children under seven years are not admitted. Visits to La Cuevona, a separate, impressively large cave (though without art), are free with the Centro de Arte Rupestre ticket: up to 15 groups of 20 are taken in each day when the Centro is open. Enquire upon arrival at the Centro.
4Sleeping
Rates everywhere decline dramatically outside the August peak season.
Hotel CovadongaHOTEL
(%985 86 01 10; www.hotelcovadongaribadesella.com; Calle de Manuel Caso de la Villa 6; r €65-75; hclosed Nov-Apr; W)
About 100m back from the port in the old part of town, the Covadonga is a step back in time, full of character and generally booked out in August.
Villa RosarioHISTORIC HOTEL
(%985 86 00 90; www.hotelvillarosario.com; Calle de Dionisio Ruisánchez 6; r incl breakfast €185-270; paiW)
This luxurious hotel, fronting Playa de Santa Marina, is a classic century-old casa de indianos (house built by a returned colonist), eclectically styled with rich-coloured carpets, cherry wood and marble, although rooms are contemporary with a nod to minimalism. Go for a room in the original palacete.
5Eating
The lively waterfront sidrerías on the eastern side of the river are a good bet for seafood.
Casa GasparASTURIAN
(Calle de López Muñiz 6; dishes €9-18; h1-4.30pm & 8pm-midnight, closed Jan-Mar)
For a break from seafood you could go for grilled meats, sartenes (frying pans) of eggs, chorizo and bacon, or other raciones, and cider in copious quantities, at busy little Casa Gaspar, in the heart of the Old Town.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%985 86 00 38; www.ribadesella.es; Paseo Princesa Letizia; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm, shorter hr & closed Mon Sep-Jun)
At the eastern end of the Sella bridge.
8Getting There & Away
FEVE trains run at least three times daily to Llanes, Arriondas and Oviedo, and twice to Santander. The bus station (Avenida del Palacio Valdés) is 300m south of the Sella bridge, east of the river.
Buses go from Ribadesella to the following destinations:
AGijón (€6.80, 1½ hours, at least six daily)
ALlanes (€2.75, 35 minutes, at least seven daily)
AOviedo (€8, 1 to 1¾ hours, at least five daily)
ASantander (€8, 1½ to 2½ hours, at least two daily)
Ribadesella to Llanes
More than 20 sandy beaches and pretty coves await discovery between Ribadesella and Llanes. About 12km west of Llanes, Playa de San Antolín is a vast, unprotected beach where surfers might pick up the odd wave.
Playa de Torimbia, a beautiful golden crescent bounded by rocky headlands and a bowl of green hills, is truly spectacular. It's also a particularly popular nudist beach. Turn off the AS263 at Posada to reach Niembro (2km), from where it's a further 2km to the beach – follow Playa signs through Niembro's narrow streets. You have to walk the last kilometre or so, which keeps the crowds down too. Playa de Toranda, only 500m from Niembro and backed by fields and a forested headland, is also pretty striking.
Llanes
Pop 5200
Inhabited since ancient times, Llanes was for a long time an independent-minded town and whaling port with its own charter awarded by Alfonso IX of León in 1206. Today, with a small medieval core and bustling harbour, it's one of northern Spain's more popular holiday destinations – a handy base for the Asturias coast, with the Picos de Europa close at hand.
1Sights & Activities
Strewn alongside the far end of the pier like a set of children's blocks are the Cubes of Memory, painter Agustín Ibarrola's playful public artwork using the port's breakwater as his canvas. La Basílica, the town's main, mostly Gothic church, begun in 1240, is worth a quick inspection if you find it open. Of the three town beaches, Playa de Toró to the east, its limpid waters dotted with jutting pillars of rock, is easily the prettiest.
The tourist office (%985 40 01 64; www.llanes.com; Calle de Posada Herrera; h10am-2pm & 5-9pm, shorter hr & closed Sun afternoon mid-Sep–mid-Jun) can tell you about plenty of good walking routes in the area, including the E9 coastal path, which passes through here on its journey from Russia to Portugal, and the Camino de Santiago del Norte heading towards Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
4Sleeping & Eating
Llanes and its surrounding area have plenty of accommodation, but do book ahead for June to mid-September.
oLa Posada de BabelHOTEL
(%985 40 25 25; www.laposadadebabel.com; s/d €100/124; hclosed mid-Dec–Mar; pW)
S
In La Pereda, 4km south of Llanes, this unique spot combines striking modern architecture and design with lovely, large lawns and a relaxed yet civilised vibe, all inspired by its owners' extended travels in Asia. The 12 rooms are installed in four contrasting buildings, including one in a typical Asturian hórreo (grain store) on stone stilts. The kitchen emphasises market-fresh and organic food.
Hotel Arpa de HierbaHOTEL
(%985 40 34 56; www.arpadehierba.com; s/d incl breakfast 103/122; hclosed mid-Dec–Feb; pW)
The immaculate, six-year-old Arpa is a homey, welcoming world of pastels and florals, set amid peaceful gardens in La Pereda, 4km south of Llanes. Delightfully stylish cosiness runs through the eight individually furnished rooms, which have lovely beds, tiled floors and, in some cases, mountain views.
Pensión La GuíaPENSIóN
(%985 40 25 77; www.pensionlaguia.com; Plaza de Parres Sobrino 1; s/d €60/65; W)
This good-value, spick-and-span spot, in a 300-year-old house, is a charming web of dark timber beams and terracotta floors. Rooms are plain but welcoming, with glassed-in balconies overlooking a central plaza.
Restaurante Siete PuertasSEAFOOD
(Calle de Manuel Cué 7; mains €18-30, menús €22-30; h1-4pm & 8pm-midnight, closed Mon-Thu & Sun dinner Nov-Mar)
Plenty of lively marisquerías (seafood eateries) and sidrerías line Calles Mayor and Manuel Cué, so tucking into sea critters and washing them down with cascades of cider is no problem. The Siete Puertas is a cut above the average, with neat white tablecloths, efficient service and well-prepared local dishes. Fish and home-made desserts are its fortes.
8Getting There & Away
Four daily ALSA (www.alsa.es) buses head to Gijón (€8.65, 1¾ to two hours), six to Santander (€5.91, 1¼ to two hours) and at least 11 to Oviedo (€11, 1¼ to 2¼ hours). Three or four FEVE trains arrive daily from Oviedo, Arriondas and Ribadesella, two of them continuing to Santander.
East of Llanes
The 350m-long Playa La Ballota is a particularly attractive beach a few kilometres east of Llanes, hemmed in by green cliffs and signposted down a dirt track from the Cué–Andrín road.
From Puertas de Vidiago, 6km east of Llanes on the N634, signs past the church lead you 2km to Los Bufones de Arenillas, a dozen geyser-style jets of seawater, which are pumped up through holes in the earth by the pressure of seawater. When heavy seas are running, some jets can spurt 20m high and are quite a spectacle (and it's dangerous to get too close). With calm seas, you'll just hear the eerie sound of air and water whooshing through the tunnels below.
Playa de la Franca, further towards Cantabria, is another nice beach, with a summer campground. Two kilometres from Pimiango (past a spectacular coastal lookout), the World Heritage–listed Cueva del Pindal (%608 175284; adult/senior & child €3.10/1.60; h10am-5pm Wed-Sun) contains 31 Palaeolithic paintings and engravings of animals, including rare depictions of a mammoth and a fish. It's not in the same league as the Altamira or Tito Bustillo caves, but it was the first cave with prehistoric art to be discovered in Asturias; with its setting among wooded sea-cliffs and with a 16th-century chapel, ruined Romanesque monastery and interpretation centre nearby, it's an appealing visit. Booking ahead by phone is strongly recommended; a maximum of six groups of 20 can enter each day and chidren under seven are not admitted.
West Coast
The cliffs of Cabo Peñas, 20km northwest of Gijón, mark the start of the western half of Asturias' coast as well as its most northerly and highest (almost 100m) points.
Avilés
Pop 77,300
You might visit this old estuary port and steel-making town to attend one of the innovative, independent Spanish and global music, theatre, cinema or art events at the Centro Cultural Internacional Oscar Niemeyer (Centro Niemeyer; %984 835 031; www.niemeyercenter.org; h10am-10pm Sun-Thu, 10am-midnight Fri & Sat). The Niemeyer arts centre, founded in 2011, was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (the creator of Brasília) as a gift to Asturias and as a cultural nexus between the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. While you're here, the Old Town's attractive colonnaded streets and central Plaza de España, fronted by two elegant 17th-century buildings, make for a lovely stroll.
Serious food lovers should head to Salinas, a coastal suburb, and the Real Balneario de Salinas (%985 51 86 13; www.realbalneario.com; Avenida de Juan Sitges 3; mains €28-34; h1-4pm & 8pm-midnight, closed Sun dinner, Mon & early Jan-early Feb). Opened as a bathing centre right on the beach by King Alfonso XIII in 1916, it's a top seafood restaurant today, where you can choose from a range of traditional or creative 'new concept' fish preparations, as well as some very tempting desserts.
ALSA (www.alsa.es) buses run frequently from Avilés to Oviedo (€2.50, 30 to 60 minutes) and Gijón (€2.40, 30 minutes). FEVE trains head to both cities too.
Cudillero
Pop 1490
Cudillero is the most picturesque fishing village on the Asturian coast, and it knows it. The houses, painted in varying pastel shades, cascade down to a tiny port on a narrow inlet. Despite its touristy feel, Cudillero is cute and reasonably relaxed, even in mid-August when almost every room in town is taken.
The main activity in town is watching the fishing boats come in (between 5pm and 8pm) and unload their catch, then sampling fish, molluscs and urchins at the sidrerías. You can also head out along well-made paths to several lookouts, including La Garita La Atalaya perched high above the harbour.
The coast around here is an appealing sequence of cliffs and beaches. The nearest beach is the fine, sandy Playa de Aguilar, a 3km drive or walk east.
Playa del Silencio is one of Spain's most beautiful beaches: a long sandy cove backed by a natural rock amphitheatre. It's 15km west of Cudillero: head to Castañeras on the N632 and follow the signs through the village. The last 500m down to the beach is on foot.
4Sleeping & Eating
Accommodation in Cudillero itself is limited, especially during the low season, when many places shut down. The cheaper digs are back up the main street, away from the port. Plenty of hotels, casas de aldea (village houses), pensiones and apartments are scattered around the countryside within a few kilometres. There's no shortage of eateries down towards the port. A meal with drinks is likely to cost you €25 to €35 in most places.
La Casona de PíoHOTEL
(%985 59 15 12; www.lacasonadepio.com; Calle del Ríofrío; s/d €73/92; hclosed 10 Jan-10 Feb; W)
Tucked away just behind the port is this charming hotel in a 200-year-old stone building, featuring 11 very comfortable rooms with a rustic touch and hydromassage baths. It serves a terrific €7 breakfast.
Hotel Casa PrendesHOTEL
(%985 59 15 00; www.hotelcasaprendes.com; Calle San José 4; r €83; W)
A nicely maintained hotel near the harbour with nine comfy, stone-walled rooms and a small private cafe. Rates drop dramatically outside August. The owners also rent apartments nearby.
El FaroSEAFOOD
(Calle del Ríofrío; mains €12-21; h10am-4.30pm & 7-11pm)
An attractive eatery hidden one street back from the port. Stone, timber and cool cream decor create a welcoming atmosphere in which to dig into fish of the day, a parrillada de marisco (mixed grilled shellfish) or an arroz caldoso (seafood and rice stew).
8Getting There & Away
From the bus station, at the top of the hill 800m from the port, three or more daily buses go to Gijón (€5.55, 1¼ hours) and Avilés (€3.15, 45 minutes), where you can connect for Oviedo. The FEVE train station is 1km further inland: trains to Gijón (€3.25, 1¾ to two hours) run about hourly until 6pm (fewer on weekends); for Oviedo (€3.25, 1¼ hours) you usually change at Pravia.
Luarca
Pop 5180
Marginally less picturesque than Cudillero, Luarca has a similar setting in a deep valley running down to a larger harbour full of fishing boats. It's a base for some good nearby beaches.
1Sights & Activities
Atalaya LookoutLOOKOUT
Find your way up to the town's Atalaya lookout, with its small church, surprisingly elaborate cemetery and dramatic coastal vistas. Luarca's mariners' guild met for centuries at the nearby Mesa de Mareantes, where the town's history is now told in colourful tiles.
Playa de CuevaBEACH
Sandy, 600m-long Playa de Cueva, 7km east of Luarca on the old coast road (N634), is one of the best beaches in the district, with cliffs, caves, a river and occasional decent surf.
Cabo BustoCAPE
Twelve kilometres east of Luarca, Cabo Busto will give you some sense of the Asturian coast's wildness as waves crash onto the jagged, rocky cliffs.
Playa de BarayoBEACH
West of Luarca, Playa de Barayo is part of a protected natural reserve, with a good sandy beach in a pretty bay at the mouth of a river winding through wetlands and dunes. Turn off the N634 11km from central Luarca onto the NV2 towards Puerto de Vega, then after 800m turn right towards Vigo (1.5km) and follow signs. From the car park, the beach is accessible by a well-marked 30-minute nature hike.
4Sleeping & Eating
At least seven hotels and hostales are on or just off the central Plaza de Alfonso X, including three cheapies in Calle Crucero. Seafood eateries dot the waterfront.
Hotel 3 CabosHOTEL
(%985 92 42 52; hotelrural3cabos.com; Carretera de El Vallín, Km 4; s €90, d €105-125, incl breakfast; hclosed Jan & Nov; piWc)
A beautiful contemporary conversion of a 120-year-old farmhouse, 3 Cabos enjoys fabulous panoramas from its elevated inland site, and provides six well-designed, well-equipped rooms with stone walls, original timber beams, wide, comfy beds and good-sized bathrooms. There's a lovely panoramic bar-restaurant for breakfast and dinner (mains €16 to €22, focused on fresh local fish and meat), and a grassy garden with play area.
You can borrow bikes for free. Take the El Vallín turnoff from the N634 about 4km southwest of central Luarca and go 4.5km – it's well signed.
Hotel La ColmenaHOTEL
(%985 64 02 78; www.lacolmena.com; Calle de Uría 2; s/d €45/65; W)
Rooms are a tad more comfortable than the dour exterior facing Plaza de Alfonso X suggests. It has some nice touches, like the dark parquet floors, high ceilings and tall windows, though the showers are a bit of a squeeze.
Restaurante SportSEAFOOD
(Calle de Rivero 9; mains €20-30; h11am-5pm & 8pm-midnight, closed early Jan-early Feb)S
This seafood restaurant, facing the river a few steps back from the harbour, has been pleasing customers with its daily-changing menu of local fish and shellfish since the early 1950s. Choose from the tasty tapas menu (€6 to €8) or slurp a half-dozen oysters (€9) as a starter. Anything 'del pincho' has been caught with a rod and line.
The rollo de bonito al estilo de Luarca (delicious patties of northern tuna mixed with vegetables, drowned in fresh tomato sauce) is a traditional local dish. Percebes, a northwest Spain delicacy, are sold at €6 per 100g when available.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%985 64 00 83; www.turismoluarca.com; Plaza Alfonso X; h10.30am-1.45pm & 4-7.15pm)
8Getting There & Away
At least four daily ALSA buses run east to Oviedo (€9.85, 1¼ to two hours) and west to Ribadeo (€6.90, 1½ hours) in Galicia. The FEVE train station is 800m south of the town centre. Two trains run daily east to Cudillero and Oviedo, and west to Ribadeo and as far as Ferrol (Galicia).
Coaña
The small town of Coaña lies about 4km inland of the port of Navia, west of Luarca. A couple of kilometres beyond is the Castro de Coaña (%985 97 84 01; adult/senior & child €3.10/1.60, Wed free; h10.30am-5.30pm Wed-Sun, to 3.30pm Oct-Mar), one of northern Spain's best-preserved Celtic settlements and well worth visiting.
Inland Western Asturias
There's some gorgeous country in southwest Asturias. Even just driving through on alternative routes into Castilla y León can be rewarding, such as the AS228 via the 1587m Puerto Ventana, the AS227 via the beautiful 1486m Puerto de Somiedo or the AS213 via the 1525m Puerto de Leitariegos.
Senda del Oso
The Senda del Oso (Path of the Bear) is a 20km cycling and walking track along the course of a former mine railway between the villages of Tuñón and Entrago, southwest of Oviedo. With easy gradients, it runs through increasingly spectacular valley scenery into deep, narrow canyons, with several bridges and tunnels. It also offers the high probability of seeing Cantabrian brown bears in a large enclosure, and it's a fun outing with (or without) the kids. A more recently opened branch track southeast to Santa Marina in the Valle de Quirós has increased the total rideable track to 31km. There are many casas rurales and village hotels in the area, and a good source of further information (including on numerous walking trails) is www.caminrealdelamesa.es.
You can rent mountain or city bikes for €9 to €12 per day at several places along the route, typically open daily in July and August, and on Saturday and Sunday in April, May, June, September and October:
- Centro BTT Valle del Oso (%659 209383, 985 76 11 77; www.vallesdeloso.es; c) At Tuñón.
- Deporventura (%985 24 52 67, 666 557630; www.deporventura.es; c) At the Área Recreativa Buyera, beside the AS228 road about 5km south of Tuñón. Open year-round; by reservation only on weekdays from October to June.
- La Cabaña del Oso Goloso (%985 76 10 29; osogoloso.blogspot.com.es; c) At Proaza, 2km south of the Área Recreativa Buyera.
- TeverAstur (%985 76 46 23; www.sendadelosoaventura.com; c) At Entrago.
It's highly advisable to reserve bikes one or two days ahead. All of the outfits we've listed offer assorted options such as baby seats, trailers for small children, electric bikes or Segways. Some also offer activities like caving, canyoning and guided mountain-bike trips elsewhere in the area. One option with TeverAstur is a one-way ride from Entrago to Tuñón, with a drive back to Entrago afterwards, so that you only do the route in the downhill direction (Entrago is 380m higher than Tuñón).
1Sights
oCercado OseroNATURE PARK
SF
About 5.5km south of Tuñón (or a 1.1km walk from the Área Recreativa Buyera), the Senda del Oso reaches the Cercado Osero, a 40,000-sq-metre hillside compound home to three female Cantabrian brown bears, Paca, Tola and Molinera. The two older bears, Paca and Tola, were orphaned as cubs by a hunter in 1989. Since 2008 they have spent much of their time in a second enclosure just below the path at the same spot.
A fourth (male) bear, Furaco, was brought in from Cantabria's Parque de la Naturaleza Cabárceno with hopes of breeding with Paca and Tola, and may still be found in the same enclosure when you read this. Hopes that baby bears might ensue were abandoned in 2011, but Paca, Tola and Furaco were joined in December 2013 by one-year-old Molinera, who failed to integrate back into the wild after being treated for various life-threatening injuries and is now generally kept out of sight. There is talk of returning the three female bears to the original upper compound, where Paca and Tola used to be fed around noon and 4.30pm daily (outside their December-to-February hibernation) at a spot beside the path.
Casa del OsoINTERPRETATION CENTRE
(%985 96 30 60; www.osodeasturias.es; h10am-2pm & 4-6pm)F
The Casa del Oso, in Proaza, is the headquarters of the Fundación Oso de Asturias, which runs the Paca-Tola bear conservation project, and has exhibits on Spanish brown bears.
Parque de la PrehistoriaINTERPRETATION CENTRE
(%902 306600; www.parquedelaprehistoria.es; Hwy AS228; adult/senior & child €6/3.50; h10am-2.30pm & 4-8pm Jul & Aug, 10am-2.30pm & 4-6pm Wed-Sun Sep-Jun, closed Jan, closed Wed Feb & Dec; p)
Four kilometres south of Entrago, the Parque de la Prehistoria is well worth a visit for its excellent introduction to Spanish and European cave art. It includes replicas of Asturias' World Heritage–listed Tito Bustillo and Candamo caves and France's Niaux cave (visitable by guided tour in Spanish), and has a good museum-gallery that explains much of the what, when, who, how and why of Europe's Palaeolithic cave-art phenomenon.
8Getting There & Away
Pullmans Llaneza (%985 46 58 78) runs three or four daily buses from Oviedo bus station to Tuñón, Proaza and Entrago (45 minutes), terminating at San Martín, 1km beyond Entrago and 3km before the Parque de la Prehistoria.
THERE'S A BEAR IN THERE
The wild mountain area of southwest Asturias and northwestern Castilla y León, including Parque Natural de Somiedo (Click here), is the main stronghold of Spain's biggest animal, the brown bear (oso pardo). Bear numbers in the Cordillera Cantábrica have climbed to over 200 from as low as 70 in the mid-1990s, including a smaller population of about 30 in a separate easterly area straddling southeast Asturias, southwest Cantabria and northern Castilla y León. Killing bears has been illegal in Spain since 1973 but only since the 1990s have concerted plans for bear recovery been carried out. The year 2012 saw a record 62 new cubs in the Cordillera Cantábrica, 56 of them in the western area. Experts are further heartened by the fact that there has been at least one recent case of interbreeding between the western and eastern groups.
This lumbering beast can reach 250kg and live 25 to 30 years, and has traditionally been disliked by farmers even though it is almost entirely vegetarian. Public support has played a big part in its recent recovery in the Cordillera Cantábrica, which owes a lot to the celebrated bears of Asturias' Senda del Oso (Click here). Experts warn that the bear is not yet completely out of the woods – illegal snares set for wild boar and poisoned bait put out for wolves continue to pose serious threats, as do forest fires, new roads and ski stations, which reduce the bears' habitat and mobility, while poaching has claimed the lives of at least two bears in the last few years.
You can see bears in semi-liberty at the Cercado Osero on the Senda del Oso. For a chance of finding bears in the wild, the Fundación Oso Pardo (%985 76 34 06; www.fundacionosopardo.org) organises bear-themed hikes (half-/full day adult €11/19, child €3/6) in the Parque Natural de Somiedo, which has around 80 bears. The walks are not specifically aimed at spotting bears, though you might get lucky. The Fundación's Centro de Interpretación 'Somiedo y El Oso' (%985 76 34 06; adult/senior & child €2/1; h11am-2pm & 5-9pm Jun-Sep), in Pola de Somiedo, is a good place to bone up on bear facts.
Parque Natural de Somiedo
If you fancy exploring beautiful mountain country that few foreigners reach, head for this 292-sq-km Unesco-listed biosphere reserve on the northern flank of the Cordillera Cantábrica. Composed chiefly of five valleys descending from the cordillera's 2000m-plus heights, the park combines thick woodlands, rocky mountains and high pastures dotted with brañas (groups of now largely abandoned cabanas de teito – thatched herders' shelters). It's also a key stronghold of Spain's bear population. (Click here)
Each valley has a number of marked walking trails, which you can find out about at the park's Centro de Recepción (%985 76 37 58; www.parquenaturalsomiedo.es; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm, to 6pm & closed Sun afternoon & Mon Oct–mid-Jun) in plain Pola de Somiedo. Pola also has a bank, an ATM and a supermarket.
One of the best (and most popular) walking areas is the Valle de Lago, whose upper reaches contain glacial lakes and high summer pastures. You must leave vehicles in Valle de Lago village, a wonderful 8km drive southeast of Pola de Somiedo that winds and climbs to about 1300m. Other good walks include the route from La Peral to Villar de Vildas route in the upper Pigüeña valley (13km, approximately five hours, one-way), which passes one of the largest and best-preserved brañas, La Pornacal, and the ascent of El Cornón (2194m), the park's highest peak (14km, approximately nine hours, return).
4Sleeping & Eating
Pola de Somiedo has around 12 places to stay and there are several more in Valle de Lago village.
Palacio de Florez EstradaHISTORIC HOTEL
(%616 170018; www.hotelflorezestrada.com; s/d incl breakfast €80/€110, apt €80; hclosed Nov-Mar; pWs)
A gorgeous olde-worlde riverside mansion in lovely gardens just off the road to Valle de Lago, on the east side of Pola de Somiedo. The four two-person apartments, on the same pretty site, are open year-round.
Hotel Castillo del AlbaHOTEL
(%985 76 39 96; www.hotelcastillodelalba.es; Calle de Florez Estrada; s/d incl breakfast €55/70; hclosed late Jan-early Mar; Wc)
Two emblematic bear statues welcome guests at the door of this friendly Pola de Somiedo hotel, which features 15 bright, contemporary-style rooms. If you're travelling with children, ask for one of the rooms with a sofa bed that neatly converts into a pair of bunks. There's also a decent restaurant serving local dishes (mains €10 to €20).
Braña La CodeCABIN
(%985 76 37 76, 661 431209; www.campinglagosdesomiedo.com; cabins for 1 or 2 €88, each extra person €15; pc)
This quirky spot in Valle de Lago village offers accommodation in cabanas de teito, built with traditional materials but with more comfort than the real thing (including bathrooms and kitchenettes)! Adjoining is the agreeably rustic Camping Lagos de Somiedo (%985 76 37 76; www.campinglagosdesomiedo.com; sites per 2 people, car & tent €23; hEaster-Sep; p). The two share a bar-restaurant serving simple meals.
8Getting There & Away
An ALSA bus departs Oviedo bus station for Pola de Somiedo (€8.60, two hours) at 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am on weekends, returning from Pola at 6.30am (5.30pm on weekends).
From the Senda del Oso area, with your own wheels, you can approach Somiedo by the spectacular AS265 west from San Martín to La Riera, via the Puerto de San Lorenzo pass (1347m, often snowed under in winter). At the pass the road crosses the Camín Real de la Mesa, an ancient track linking Astorga (Castilla y León) with the Asturian coast, that is now a long-distance footpath, the GR101.
Picos de Europa
These jagged, deeply fissured mountains straddling southeast Asturias, southwest Cantabria and northern Castilla y León amount to some of the finest walking country, and some of the most spectacular country of any kind, in Spain. The Picos comprise three limestone massifs: the eastern Macizo Ándara, with a summit of 2444m; the western Macizo El Cornión, rising to 2596m; and the particularly rocky Macizo Central or Macizo Los Urrieles, reaching 2648m. The 647-sq-km Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa covers all three massifs.
Virtually deserted in winter, the area bursts with visitors in August, when it's always best to book ahead, whether you are heading for a hotel or a mountain refuge. July is not far behind. June and September are quieter and just as likely to be sunny as August.
PICOS WEBSITES
Awww.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales The official national parks site.
Awww.picosdeeuropa.com
Awww.liebanaypicosdeeuropa.com For the eastern Picos.
8Information
The national park has three main information centres:
Centro de Información Casa Dago (%985 84 86 14; Avenida de Covadonga 43, Cangas de Onís; h8am-2.30pm & 4-6pm Jul–mid-Sep, 8am-2.30pm Mon-Fri mid-Sep–Jun & Sun Oct-Jun)
Centro de Visitantes Sotama (%942 73 81 09; h9am-6pm ) On the N621 in Tama, 2km north of Potes, with interesting exhibitions on Picos geology, rivers and wildlife.
Oficina de Información Posada de Valdeón (%987 74 05 49; El Ferial, Posada de Valdeón; h9am-2pm Mon-Fri)
Other information points open at strategic places around the national park from 1 July to 15 September and during other major national holidays. Local tourist offices provide information too.
Cangas de Onís and Potes are the best places to buy outdoor equipment. Wild camping is not permitted within the national park except for overnight bivouacking above 1600m.
Maps
The best maps of the Picos, sold in shops in Cangas de Onís, Potes and elsewhere for €4 to €5 each, are Adrados Ediciones' Picos de Europa (1:80,000), Picos de Europa Macizos Central y Oriental (1:25,000) and Picos de Europa Macizo Occidental (1:25,000).
WARNING
Picos weather is notoriously changeable, and mist, rain, cold and snow are common problems. When the summer sun shines, you need protection from that too. Higher up, few trails are marked and water sources are rare. Paying insufficient attention to these details has cost several lives over the years.
8Getting There & Around
The main access towns for the Picos are Cangas de Onís in the northwest, Arenas de Cabrales in the central north, Potes in the southeast and Posada de Valdeón in the south. Paved roads lead from Cangas southeast up to Covadonga and the Lagos de Covadonga; from Arenas south up to Poncebos then east up to Sotres and Tresviso; from Potes west to Fuente Dé, and from Posada de Valdeón north to Caín. This last is extremely narrow in parts.
Only a few bus services (mostly summer only) will get you into the hills from the access towns. An alternative to buses is taxis.
Bus & Train
Details of the following services change from time to time, but their broad outlines are fairly reliable.
ACangas de Onís to Arenas de Cabrales Two to four buses daily run between Cangas and Arenas (€2.95, 35 minutes).
ACangas de Onís to Covadonga and Lagos de Covadonga Three or more ALSA buses daily run from Cangas to Covadonga (€1.50, 15 minutes). To avoid traffic chaos from late July to early September and during some other major holidays, private vehicles cannot drive up from Covadonga to the Lagos de Covadonga from about 8.30am to 8pm. During these times a shuttle-bus service (day ticket adult/child €8/3.50) operates to Covadonga and the lakes from four car parks (per vehicle €2) in Cangas de Onís (beside the bus station) and along the road between there and Covadonga. Private vehicles can drive up to the lakes before 8.30am or after 8pm and, once up, can drive down any time.
ACangas de Onís to Garganta del Cares From mid-July to early September, ALSA buses depart Cangas de Onís at 8am and 10am for Caín (2¼ hours, €7.90), starting back from Caín to Cangas at 1pm and 4pm; and depart Cangas for Poncebos (€4.45, 45 minutes) at 3.15pm and 6.15pm, starting back from Poncebos to Cangas at 4.15pm and 7.15pm. This enables you to take a bus from Cangas to Caín, walk the Garganta del Cares north from Caín to Poncebos, and get a bus back from there to Cangas, all in one day.
AOviedo to Arriondas and Cangas de Onís From Oviedo, ALSA runs at least seven buses daily to Arriondas (€6.20, one to 1¼ hours) and Cangas de Onís (€6.95, 1½ hours). Arriondas is also on the FEVE railway between Oviedo, Ribadesella, Llanes and Santander.
ARibadesella and Llanes to Arriondas and Arenas de Cabrales Arriondas is linked with the two coastal towns by four or more buses (€1.80, 25 minutes from Ribadesella; €4.50, one hour from Llanes) and three or four FEVE trains daily. Two buses daily, Monday to Friday only, link Arenas with Llanes (€3.40, one hour, or €6.40, two hours).
ASantander to Eastern Picos From Santander, Autobuses Palomera (%942 88 06 11; www.autobusespalomera.com) travels via San Vicente de la Barquera and Panes to Potes (€8.05, 2½ hours), and returns, two or three times daily. From July to September there is service once or twice daily between Potes and Fuente Dé (30 minutes, €1.70).
Taxi
As well as regular taxis that stick to the better roads, such as Taxitur (%689 143881; www.taxitur.com) in Cangas, there are 4WD taxi services that can manage some of the mountain tracks. Several of these offer 4WD day trips in the Picos for typically €50 per person. A regular taxi costs €30 from Cangas de Onís to the Lagos de Covadonga, about €20 from Arenas de Cabrales to Sotres, and about €25 from Potes to Fuente Dé.
Western Picos
Arriondas
Pop 2500 / Elev 85m
The ordinary little town of Arriondas is the starting point for highly popular and fun kayak trips down the pretty Río Sella to various end points between Toraño and Llovio (7km to 16km). A dozen agencies in town will rent you a kayak, paddle, life jacket and waterproof container, show you how to paddle and bring you back to Arriondas at the end. This stretch of the Sella has a few entertaining minor rapids, but it isn't a serious white-water affair, and anyone from about eight years old can enjoy the outing. The standard charge, including a picnic lunch, is €25 per person. Starting time is normally from 11am to 1pm. Bring a change of clothes. Agencies in Cangas de Onís and nearby coastal towns offer much the same deal, including transport to Arriondas and return.
Arriondas is mayhem on the first weekend in August when tens of thousands of people converge for the Descenso Internacional del Sella, an international kayaking event that sees around 1500 serious kayakers starting off downriver to Ribadesella at noon on the Saturday, followed by many more fun paddlers later on.
4Sleeping & Eating
oPosada del ValleHOTEL
(%985 84 11 57; www.posadadelvalle.com; r €64-79; hApr-Oct; pW)S
This remarkable place, run by an English family and set in a beautiful valley 3km north of Arriondas, just past Collía village, is not only a charming rural retreat and a wonderful walking base, but also a multifaceted sustainable-living experience. About 35% of food served comes fresh from the hotel's own organic farm (managed partly for wildflower conservation), and there's always a vegetarian option.
Design and decor emphasise local art and artistry, and the 12 rooms all have valley views. Self-guided walking information is provided for the Picos de Europa and Asturias coast as well as the local area. Also on offer are various courses and workshops, including organic vegetarian cooking, Spanish conversation, felt-making and retreats focused on sustainable living.
El Corral del IndianuCONTEMPORARY ASTURIAN
(%985 84 10 72; www.elcorraldelindianu.com; Avenida de Europa 14; mains €26-33; h1.30-3.30pm & 9-11pm, closed Wed & Sun dinner, Thu)
Putting a gourmet spin on traditional Asturian cooking, this is the most original place for a feed. If you don't fancy the highly creative (and extensive) €77 tasting menu, you might go for a hearty Asturian fabada (bean, meat and sausage stew) or tortos de maíz (maize cakes) and guacamole, followed by baked monkfish in oyster-and-octopus sauce.
Inside, the decor is startling, with bare stone and contemporary art, and there's a lovely summer garden.
Cangas de Onís
Pop 4600 / Elev 84m
Good King Pelayo, after his victory at Covadonga, moved about 12km down the hill to settle the base of his nascent Asturian kingdom at Cangas in AD 722. Cangas' big moment in history lasted 70 years or so, until the capital was moved to Pravia. Its second boom time arrived in the late 20th century with the invasion of Picos de Europa tourists. In August, especially, the largely modern and rather unremarkable town is bursting with trekkers, campers and holidaymakers.
1Sights
Puente RomanoBRIDGE
Arching like a cat in fright, the so-called Roman Bridge that spans the Río Sella was actually built in the 13th century, but is no less beautiful for the mistaken identity. From it hangs a copy of the Cruz de la Victoria, the symbol of Asturias that resides in Oviedo's cathedral.
Capilla de Santa CruzCHAPEL
(Avenida Contranquil; admission €2; h11am-2pm & 5-7pm Thu-Tue, reduced hr mid-Sep–mid-Jun)
This tiny chapel was built in 1943 to replace its 8th-century predecessor (erected by Pelayo's son Favila), which was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The 1940s rebuilders discovered that the mound the chapel sits on was an artificial one containing a megalithic tomb 6000 years old, now visible beneath the chapel's floor. Visits are guided in Spanish, English or French.
2Activities
Many agencies, including Los Cauces (%985 94 73 18; www.loscauces.com; Avenida Covadonga 6) and the ubiquitous Cangas Aventura (%985 84 92 61; www.cangasaventura.com; Avenida de Covadonga 17), offer a whole range of activities, including canoeing down the Río Sella from Arriondas (€25 per person), horse riding (per one/two hours €18/30), canyoning (€40 for three hours) and caving (€25 for two hours).
4Sleeping
Cangas has loads of hotels and a few pensiones, many of which almost halve their high-season rates from about mid-September to June. There are plenty more places, including numerous casas rurales, in nearby villages such as Soto de Cangas, Mestas de Con and Benia de Onís, all along the road towards Arenas de Cabrales.
Hotel Los RoblesHOSTAL
(%985 94 70 52; www.losrobleshotel.com; Calle de San Pelayo 8; s €32-45, d €52-77, incl breakfast, apt for 4 €70-90; W)
Clean, simple rooms – some with balconies, mostly in shades of red and blue – and five decent apartments for up to four people, in a restored 19th-century building handily located in the town centre.
Hotel NochendiHOTEL
(%985 84 95 13; www.hotelnochendi.com; Calle de Constantino González 4; r €110; W)
Occupying one sparkling floor of a modern apartment block beside the Río Güeña, this is a lovely surprise and easy to feel at home in. The 12 spacious, spotless, bright, white rooms feature good beds, spot lighting and a touch of modern art, and most have river views.
Parador de Cangas de OnísHISTORIC HOTEL
(%985 84 94 02; www.parador.es; r €130-169; paW)
Cangas' parador (luxurious state-owned hotel) stands by the Río Sella in Villanueva, 3km northwest of Cangas towards Arriondas. The main building was originally a monastery, built between the 12th and 18th centuries on the site of early Asturian king Favila's palace. Rooms have a very comfortable, classical style, and some are former monks' cells, though suitably upgraded! Check the website for offers.
Even if you don't stay here, the parador makes for a fascinating (free) visit. The adjoining monastery church, the Iglesia de San Pedro, is embellished with very unusual medieval carvings depicting sins and the story of Favila's death.
5Eating
oEl Molín de la PedreraCONTEMPORARY ASTURIAN
(%985 84 91 09; www.elmolin.com; Calle del Río Güeña 2; dishes €10-23; h1.30-4pm & 9-11pm, closed Tue & Sun dinner & Wed Oct-May, closed mid-Dec–early Feb)
This stone-and-brick-walled, family-run eatery wins with both its traditional Asturian dishes like fabada (bean, meat and sausage stew) or tortos de maíz (maize cakes), and more creative efforts like the Cabrales cheese and hazelnut filo parcels starter, or the delicious homemade desserts. The meat dishes are generally excellent, and welcoming service and good wines complete a top dining experience.
Los ArcosASTURIAN
(%985 84 92 77; www.restaurantelosarcos.es; Jardines del Ayuntamiento 3; raciones & mains €7-20; h7am-midnight)
Half elegant restaurant, half bustling sidrería, slow-food-focused Los Arcos pulls a lot of its punters in with its excellent-value €12 menú, available for lunch and dinner. It also offers a good range of raciones of local meats, seafood and cheeses, as well as a few gourmet items and plenty of gluten-free choices.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%985 84 80 05; www.cangasdeonis.com; Avenida de Covadonga 1; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm)
Covadonga
Pop 70 / Elev 260m
The importance of Covadonga, 12km southeast of Cangas de Onís, lies in what it represents rather than what it is. Somewhere hereabouts, in approximately AD 722, the Muslims received their first defeat in Spain, at the hands of the Visigothic nobleman Pelayo – an event considered to mark the beginning of the 800-year Reconquista.
The place is an object of pilgrimage, for in a cave here, the Santa Cueva, the Virgin supposedly appeared to Pelayo's warriors before the battle. On weekends and in summer long queues of the faithful and curious line up to enter the cave, now with a chapel installed. The two tombs in the cave claim to be those of Pelayo himself, his daughter Hermesinda and her husband Alfonso I. The Fuente de Siete Caños spring, by the pool below the cave, supposedly ensures marriage within one year to women who drink from it.
Landslides destroyed much of Covadonga in the 19th century and the main church, the Basílica de Covadonga, is a neo-Romanesque affair built between 1877 and 1901. Nearby is the extensive Museo de Covadonga (%985 84 60 96; adult/senior & child €2.50/1.50; h10.30am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Wed-Mon), devoted to Covadonga history and gifts from the faithful.
Lagos de Covadonga
Don't let summer crowds deter you from continuing 10km uphill past Covadonga to these two beautiful little lakes. Most of the trippers don't get past patting a few cows' noses near the lakes, so walking here is as nice as anywhere else in the Picos. At peak visitor periods, private vehicles may only drive up to the lakes before 8.30am or after 8pm, but can drive back down at any time. A shuttle bus runs from Cangas de Onís (Click here).
Lago de Enol is the first lake you reach, with the main car park just past it. It's linked to Lago de la Ercina, 1km away, not only by the paved road but also by a footpath via the Centro de Visitantes Pedro Pidal (h10am-6pm mid-Jul–mid-Sep), which has displays on Picos flora and fauna. There are rustic restaurants near both lakes, closed in winter.
When mist descends, the lakes, surrounded by the green pastures and bald rock that characterise this part of the Picos, take on an eerie appearance.
2Activities
A marked circuit walk, the Ruta de los Lagos (PRPNPE2; 5.7km, about 2½ hours), takes in the two lakes, the visitors centre and an old mine, the Minas de Buferrera. About 400m south of Lago de Enol, the route passes the Refugio Vega de Enol (%622 203897, 985 94 28 28; www.elrefugiovegadeenol.com; dm €12; hyr-round), whose 10 bunks are the nearest accommodation to the lakes. It has hot showers, serves basic meals (€7 to €15), and is reachable by vehicle.
Two other relatively easy trails will take you a bit further afield. The PRPNPE4 leads 7.6km southeast from Lago de la Ercina, with an ascent of 600m, to the Vega de Ario, where the Refugio Vega de Ario (Refugio Marqués de Villaviciosa; %656 843095, 984 09 20 00; www.refugiovegadeario.es; dm €12; hJun-Oct; W) has bunks for 34 people, plus meal service. The reward for about three hours' effort in getting there is magnificent views across the Garganta del Cares to the Picos' Macizo Central.
The PRPNPE5 takes you roughly south from Lago de Enol to the 68-place Refugio de Vegarredonda (%985 92 29 52, 626 343366; www.vegarredonda.com; dm €12; hMar-Nov), with meal service, and on to the Mirador de Ordiales, a lookout point over a 1km sheer drop into the Valle de Angón. It's a 10km (about a 3½-hour) walk each way – relatively easy along a mule track as far as the refugio, then a little more challenging on up to the mirador. Track conditions permitting, drivers can save about 40 minutes by driving as far as the Pandecarmen car park, 2km from Lago de Enol.
South from Cangas de Onís
The N625 south from Cangas de Onís follows the Río Sella upstream through one of the most extraordinary defiles in Europe. The road through the Desfiladero de los Beyos gorge is a remarkable feat of engineering. Towards the southern end of the defile, you cross from Asturias into Castilla y León.
SPOTTING PICOS WILDLIFE
Although a few wolves survive in the Picos and the odd brown bear might wander through, you stand a much better chance of spotting the rebeco (chamois), some 6000 of which skip around the rocks and steep slopes. Deer, badgers, wild boar, squirrels and martens, in various quantities, inhabit wooded areas.
Eagles, hawks and other raptors soar in the Picos' skies. Keep your eyes peeled for the majestic águila real (golden eagle) and the huge scavenging buitre leonado (griffon vulture). Choughs, with their unmistakable caws, accompany walkers at high altitudes.
Central Picos
A star attraction of the Picos' central massif is the gorge that divides it from the western Macizo El Cornión. The popular Garganta del Cares (Cares Gorge) trail can be busy in summer, but the walk is always an exciting experience. This part of the Picos also has plenty of less heavily tramped paths and climbing challenges. Arenas de Cabrales is a popular base with a lot of accommodation, but Poncebos, Sotres, Bulnes and Caín also have sleeping options.
Arenas de Cabrales
Pop 830 / Elev 135m
Arenas lies at the confluence of the bubbling Ríos Cares and Casaño, 30km east of Cangas de Onís. The busy main road is lined with hotels, restaurants and bars, and just off it lies a little tangle of quiet squares and back lanes. You can learn all about and sample the fine smelly Cabrales cheese at Arenas' Cueva-Exposición Cabrales (%985 84 67 02; www.fundacioncabrales.com; adult/child €4.50/3; h10.15am-1.15pm & 4.15-7.15pm, reduced hr Oct-Mar), a cheese-cave museum 500m from the centre on the Poncebos road, with 45-minute guided visits in Spanish.
Buses stop in front of the tourist office (%985 84 64 84; www.cabralesturismo.com; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sun Easter & Jun-Sep), in the middle of town opposite the junction of the Poncebos road.
4Sleeping & Eating
The large number of places to stay and eat here keeps prices healthily competitive.
La Portiella del LlosuCASA RURAL
(%646 866780; www.llosu.es; r incl breakfast €60; W)
Set against magnificent valley and Picos panoramas in tiny, peaceful Pandiello, 10km northwest of Arenas, this is a delightfully rustic restoration of a 16th-century home. The five warm-coloured rooms have lovely bathrooms and come furnished with family heirlooms and other antiques, such as hand-painted cupboards, all spruced up by the hospitable owners. It's 2km from the Pandiello turnoff just east of Ortiguero.
Hotel Rural El TorrejónHOTEL
(%985 84 64 28; www.hotelruraleltorrejon.com; s/d incl breakfast €30/57; hclosed mid-Dec–mid-Jan; pW)
This friendly, family-run country house welcomes the weary traveller with tastefully decorated rooms in a rural style and some original colour schemes. It’s good value and the setting is idyllic, in a pretty garden beside the Río Casaño, just outside the village centre.
Hotel Rural El ArdinalHOTEL
(%985 84 64 34; www.ardinal.com; Barriu del Riu; r incl breakfast €60; hclosed Dec & Jan; pW)
In a lovely tranquil spot with good views, the cosy little Ardinal offers eight smallish rooms with a cottagey feel (plenty of wood, wrought iron and flowery prints) and a warm sitting-room-cum-bar with a fireplace. It's on the north edge of Arenas, 400m up a lane opposite the central Restaurante Cares.
Restaurante CaresASTURIAN
(%985 84 66 28; mains €14-22, menús €15; h8am-midnight, closed Mon Oct-Jun, closed Jan-Mar)
Beside the Poncebos junction on the main road, this is one of the best-value restaurants for miles around. It does great-value menús for both lunch and dinner, as well as platos combinados and à la carte fish and meat dishes. Dig into a hearty cachopo (veal steak stuffed with ham and cheese) and finish with delicias de limón (between lemon mousse and yoghurt).
Garganta del Cares
Ten kilometres of well-maintained path (the PRPNPE3) high above the Río Cares between Poncebos and Caín constitute, perhaps unfortunately, the most popular mountain walk in Spain; in August the experience can feel like Saturday morning on London's Oxford St. But the walk is still a spectacular and at times vertiginous excursion along the gorge separating the Picos' western and central massifs. If you're feeling fit (or need to get back to your car), it's quite possible to walk the whole 10km and return in one (somewhat tiring) day's outing; it takes six to seven hours plus stops. A number of agencies in Picos towns will transport you to either end of the walk and pick you up at the other end, usually for around €115 for up to four people.
Poncebos
Poncebos, a tiny straggle of buildings at the northern end of the Cares gorge, is set amid already spectacular scenery. A side road uphill from here leads 1.5km to the hamlet of Camarmeña, where there's a lookout with views to El Naranjo de Bulnes in the Macizo Central.
Poncebos' 11-room Hotel Garganta del Cares (%985 84 64 63; www.hotelgargantadelcares.com; Calle de Poncebos; s/d incl breakfast €38/62; hclosed Dec & Jan; pW) offers the closest beds and meals (menú del día €10) to the Garganta del Cares trail. Rooms are simple, clean and comfy, with twin beds.
Garganta del Cares Walk
By doing the walk from north to south, you save the best till last. Follow the 'Ruta de Cares' sign pointing uphill about 700m along the road from the top end of Poncebos. The beginning involves a steady climb in the wide and mostly bare early stages of the gorge. After about 3km you'll reach some abandoned houses. A little further and you're over the highest point of the walk.
As you approach the regional boundary with Castilla y León, the gorge becomes narrower and its walls thick with vegetation, creating greater contrast with the alpine heights above. The last stages of the walk are possibly the prettiest, and as you descend nearer the valley floor, you pass through a series of low, wet tunnels to emerge at the end of the gorge among the meadows of Caín.
Caín
If you're coming from the south, the trailhead of the Cares walk is at the hamlet of Caín, where the narrow (and picturesque) road from Posada de Valdeón comes to an end. There's a handful of simple places to stay – Hostal La Ruta (%987 74 27 02; s/d incl breakfast €37/50; pW), with clean, reasonably sized rooms, is closest to the gorge and one of the best – plus two small supermarkets and several restaurants offering very similar lunch menus for €11. More lodgings are in the villages south of Caín, including Cordiñanes and the rather drab Posada de Valdeón.
Bulnes
Pop 22 / Elev 647m
The hamlet of Bulnes, inaccessible by road, sits high up a side valley off the Cares Gorge, south of Poncebos. You can get there by a quite strenuous 5km uphill walk (about two hours) or aboard the Funicular de Bulnes (%985 84 68 00; 1-way/return adult €17/22, child €4.20/6.50; h10am-8pm Easter & mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 10am-12.30pm & 2-6pm rest of yr), a tunnel railway that climbs steeply for 2km up inside the mountain from its lower station just below Poncebos. The funicular makes the seven-minute trip every half-hour in both directions. At the top of this thrill-inducing ride, tiny Bulnes sits in a pretty, secluded valley surrounded on all sides by towering rocky peaks.
Bulnes is divided into two parts, the upper Barrio del Castillo and the lower La Villa. All amenities are in La Villa, including an attractive six-room casa rural (rural home), La Casa del Chiflón (%985 84 59 43; www.casadelchiflon.com; s/d/tr incl breakfast €45/60/75; hclosed Oct-Easter; W), and Bar Bulnes (%985 84 59 34; raciones €5-11; h10am-8pm Easter & Jul-Sep, 10am-6pm rest of yr, closed Mon-Fri Jan & Feb), with good home cooking.
You can also approach Bulnes from the east by walking about 2.5km (one hour) down from the Collado de Pandébano.
Sotres
Pop 130 / Elev 1045m
A side road heads up 11km from Poncebos to Sotres, the highest village in the Picos and the starting point for a number of good walks.
2Activities
A popular walking route goes east to the village of Tresviso and on down to Urdón, on the Potes–Panes road. As far as Tresviso (10km) it's a paved road, but the final 7km is a dramatic walking trail, the Ruta de Tresviso (PRPNPE30), snaking 850m down to the Desfiladero de la Hermida gorge. Doing this in the upward direction, starting from Urdón, is at least as popular.
Many walkers head west from Sotres to the Collado de Pandébano, a 4km or one to 1½ hours' walk away on the far side of the Duje valley. At Pandébano the 2519m rock finger called El Naranjo de Bulnes (Pico Urriello) comes into view – an emblem of the Picos de Europa and a classic challenge for climbers. Few walkers can resist the temptation to get even closer to El Naranjo. From Pandébano it's 5km (about three hours), with 700m of ascent, up the PRPNPE21 trail to the Vega de Urriello, at the foot of the mountain. Here the 96-bunk Refugio Vega de Urriello (%984 09 09 81, 650 780381; www.refugiodeurriellu.com; dm €12; hmid-Mar–mid-Dec) is attended, with meal service, nine months of the year.
Otherwise, you can descend 2.5km (about one hour) west from Pandébano to Bulnes.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are half a dozen places to stay, most with their own restaurants.
Casa CiprianoHOTEL
(%985 94 50 24; www.casacipriano.com; s/d incl breakfast €35/50; hclosed mid-Dec–Jan; W)
Casa Cipriano is a long-time haunt of mountain aficionados. Aside from 16 plain but cheerful rooms, it offers a professional mountain-and-caving guide service and a simple restaurant.
Hotel SotresHOTEL
(%985 94 50 48; www.hotelsotres.com; s/d incl breakfast €51/77; hclosed early Jan-Feb; pW)
Hotel Sotres has 12 straightforward, good-sized rooms, all quite comfy and pleasant with big, decent beds, and a restaurant serving mostly meaty mountain fare.
Eastern Picos
The AS114 east from Cangas and Arenas meets the N621, running south from the coast, at the humdrum town of Panes. South of Panes, the N621 to Potes follows the Río Deva upstream through the impressive Desfiladero de la Hermida gorge. You cross into Cantabria at Urdón, 2km before the hamlet of La Hermida, which has a couple of hotels.
Lebeña
About 8.5km south of La Hermida, 600m east off the N621 and just outside the village of Lebeña, stands the fascinating little Iglesia de Santa María de Lebeña (admission €1.50; h10am-1.30pm & 4-7.30pm Tue-Sun; p), built in the 9th or 10th century. The horseshoe arches in the church are a telltale sign of its Mozarabic style – rarely seen this far north in Spain. The floral motifs on the columns are Visigothic, while below the main retablo (altarpiece) stands a Celtic stone engraving. They say the yew tree outside (finally reduced to a sad stump by a storm in 2007) was planted 1000 years ago.
Potes
Pop 1440 / Elev 291m
Overrun in peak periods, but with a little charm in the Old Town centre, Potes is a popular staging post on the southeastern edge of the Picos, with the Macizo Ándara rising close at hand. Potes is effectively the 'capital' of Liébana, a beautifully verdant and historic valley area lying between the Picos and the main spine of the Cordillera Cantábrica.
1Sights
The heart of town is a cluster of bridges, towers and quaint back streets restored in traditional slate, wood and red tile after considerable damage during the civil war. The Centro de Visitantes Sotama, in Tama, 2km north of Potes, has interesting displays on Picos de Europa wildlife and geology, as well as on Beato de Liébana and Romanesque architecture.
Monasterio de Santo Toribio de LiébanaMONASTERY
(santotoribiodeliebana.org; h10am-1pm & 4-7pm; p)F
Christian refugees, fleeing from Muslim-occupied Spain to Liébana in the 8th century, brought with them the Lígnum Crucis, purportedly the single biggest chunk of Christ’s cross and featuring the hole made by the nail that passed through Christ's left hand. The Santo Toribio monastery, 3km west of Potes, has housed this holy relic ever since. The monastery is also famous for being the home of medieval monk and theologian Beato de Liébana, celebrated around Europe for his Commentary on the Apocalypse.
Illuminated manuscripts of Beato's work were distributed throughout Europe and came to be known as Beatos. Around 25 survive today and the monastery's cloister is lined with replicas, but the original text was lost. The Lígnum Crucis is kept inside a crucifix of gold-plated silver in a lavish 18th-century baroque chapel off the monastery's austere Gothic church and is an extraordinary magnet for the faithful.
You can drive 500m past the monastery to the tiny Ermita de San Miguel, a chapel with great valley and Picos views.
Torre del InfantadoTOWER
(adult/child €3/1.50; h10am-2pm & 4-6pm, closed Mon Oct-May)
Beside the medieval San Cayetano bridge, the squat Torre del Infantado, with an amazingly modern interior inside its 15th-century shell, now houses an intriguing exhibition on the life and works of local historical figure, theologian and monk Beato de Liébana.
POTES FIREWATER
The potent liquor orujo, made from grape pressings, is drunk throughout northern Spain and is something of a Potes speciality. People here like to drink it as an after-dinner aperitif as part of a herbal tea called té de roca or té de puerto. Plenty of shops around town sell orujo, including varieties flavoured with honey, fruits and herbs, and many will offer you tastings if you're thinking of buying. Potes' jolly Fiesta del Orujo (www.fiestadelorujo.es) kicks off on the second weekend in November, and involves practically every bar in town setting up a stall selling orujo shots for a few cents, the proceeds of which go to charity.
4Sleeping & Eating
Potes' dozen or so sleeping options are mostly straightforward, simple places.
Casa CayoHOSTAL
(%942 73 01 50; www.casacayo.com; Calle Cántabra 6; s/d €35/50; hclosed late Dec–mid-Mar; W)
Easily the best value in Potes, with friendly service and attractive, comfy, timber-beamed rooms. Ask for room 206, 207 or 305 to look down on the burbling river below. You can eat well in the restaurant (mains €8 to €18), which has particularly good meat like solomillo (sirloin) with blue Tresviso cheese or the local speciality lechazo asado (roast young lamb or kid).
Hostería La AntiguaHOSTAL
(%942 73 00 37; hosterialaantigua@hotmail.com; Calle Cántabra 9; s/d €30/50; hclosed Jan & Feb; aW)
In the heart of town, this helpful, English-and-French-speaking, family-run hostal (budget hotel) offers 13 small, basic but well-kept rooms in cosy yellows and creams. Room 202 has a cute little terrace, and from top floor rooms you'll get Picos views. Enquire at the shop below.
Asador LlorenteCANTABRIAN
(Calle de San Roque; mains €8-18; h1-4pm & 8.30-11.30pm, closed Tue Sep-Jul)
For super-generous helpings of high-quality, fresh local food, head upstairs to this warm, wood-beamed loft-like space. Carnivores are in for a treat: try the Liébana speciality cocido lebaniego (a filling stew of chickpeas, potato, greens, chorizo, black pudding, bacon and beef) or tuck into a half-kilogram chuletón (giant beef chop). The lovely, crisp salads are good too.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%942 73 07 87; Plaza de la Independencia; h10am-2pm & 4-6pm)
In the deconsecrated 14th-century, rustic Gothic Iglesia de San Vicente.
WORTH A TRIP
POTES TO POSADA DE VALDEóN
Drivers will be well rewarded by a trip around the southern approaches to the Picos, and there are a couple of great places to stay off the N621 as it winds through verdant Liébana not far south of Potes. They can provide info on local walks and make good bases for the eastern and southern Picos.
A turnoff 5km from Potes leads 4.5km up a winding road to the pretty hamlet of Tudes, where you'll find the superb, English-owned La Casa de las Chimeneas (%942 73 63 00; www.lacasadelaschimeneas.es; 2-bedroom apt per week late Jul-Aug €1085, rest of yr per night €80-140; pWsc), an old farmstead converted into eight very comfy, well equipped and characterful apartments. Each apartment follows its own theme, detailed by beautifully intricate hand-painted wall and ceiling murals. Most are on two or three levels and several have balconies. Enjoy the curved infinity pool, fabulous views, and drinks and light meals in the equally original Taberna del Inglés (dishes €5-15; h11am-11pm, closed Mon-Thu Nov-Apr) across the street.
Posada de Cucayo (%942 73 62 46; www.laposadadecucayo.com; s €46, d €57-66, incl breakfast; hclosed mid-Jan– mid-Feb; pWc) sits at an altitude of more than 900m in little Cucayo village, at the top of a lovely 12km drive up from the crossroads hamlet of La Vega de Liébana, 9km south of Potes. Around you are scarred mountain peaks and green fields below. Eleven of the 12 spacious, tasteful and colourful rooms at this marvellous little family-run hotel enjoy sweeping views. The family's next-door farm provides a lot of the meat, eggs or vegetables you'll eat in their good-value restaurant (mains €5 to €10) and you can help milk the cows if you want a true taste of rural bliss!
From La Vega de Liébana, the N621 southwest rises to the Puerto de San Glorio pass (1609m), where you enter Castilla y León. In clear weather the 2km detour to the panoramic Mirador de Llesba is very worthwhile. The N621 drops down quickly on the Castilian side of the frontier. From Portilla de la Reina, follow signposts towards the Picos de Europa and take the narrow and pretty LE2703 northwest across the Puerto de Pandetrave (1562m) to Santa Marina de Valdeón and Posada de Valdeón, where you are at the southern gateway to the Picos.
Potes to Fuente Dé
The CA185 from Potes to Fuente Dé is a beautiful 23km trip, and is dotted with several attractive rural hotels, hostales and campgrounds.
Hostal RemoñaHOSTAL
(%942 73 66 96; www.turismoruralremona.es; s/d €33/55, apt for 2/4 €60/100; hclosed Wed Oct-May; piW)
The family-run Remoña in Espinama, 3.5km southeast of Fuente Dé, is a homey little place with a very on-the-ball welcome and cosy rooms. Next door are seven fully equipped apartments for two to eight people. The hostal also runs walking excursions into the Picos and the restaurant (mains €10-16; h1-4pm & 8.30-10.30pm, closed Wed Oct-May) serves home-cooked local dishes made with beef from the owners' farm.
oHotel del OsoHOTEL
(%942 73 30 18; www.hoteldeloso.com; s/d €68/85; hclosed Jan–mid-Feb; pWs)
In Cosgaya, 13km southwest of Potes, Hotel del Oso comprises majestic twin stone houses facing each other across the Río Deva and the road. Spacious rooms with timber floors and finishings are very inviting; the restaurant (mains €13 to €22, menú €20) is one of the area's best, with top-quality meat and desserts, and there's a lovely big outdoor pool.
Posada San PelayoCOUNTRY HOUSE
(%942 73 32 10; www.posadasanpelayo.com; s/d €61/83; pWs)
In San Pelayo, 5km west of Potes, this is a beautiful, welcoming, family-run casa rural, of recent construction but in traditional country style. The spacious rooms come in cheerful colours, many with big timber terraces, and there are ample common areas and a lovely garden and pool with great mountain views. For €6.60 you'll enjoy a very good breakfast.
Fuente Dé & the Teleférico
At 1078m, Fuente Dé lies at the foot of the stark southern wall of the Macizo Central. In four minutes the dramatic Teleférico de Fuente Dé (%942 73 66 10; www.cantur.com; adult/child return €16/6; h9am-8pm Easter & Jul–mid-Sep, 10am-6pm rest of yr, closed 2nd half Jan) cable car whisks people 753m up to the top of that wall, from where walkers and climbers can make their way deeper into the central massif.
Be warned that during the high season (especially August) you can wait an hour or more for a place in the cable car, going up or down.
1Sights & Activities
It's an easy 3.5km, one-hour walk from the top of the teleférico to the Hotel Áliva, where you can get refreshments. From the hotel two 4WD tracks descend into the valley that separates the central massif from its eastern cousin. One heads north to Sotres via Vegas de Sotres (about 9km or two hours' walking). The other winds 7km south down to Espinama on the CA185 (about 2½ hours' walking); the PRPNPE24 footpath branches off this about halfway down to return to Fuente Dé (11km, about 3¼ hours, from the hotel).
Other possibilities for the suitably prepared include making your way across the massif to El Naranjo de Bulnes or climbing Peña Vieja (2613m). These require proper equipment and experience – Peña Vieja has claimed more lives than any other mountain in the Picos. Less exacting is the PRPNPE23, a route of about 5km northwest from the Teleférico de Fuente Dé, passing below Peña Vieja to the Collado de Horcados Rojos pass, which opens up spectacular panoramas including El Naranjo de Bulnes, with an ascent of 500m. It takes about four hours there and back.
In Fuente Dé, the Casa del Oso (%942 23 49 00; www.fundacionosopardo.org; adult/child €3/1; h11am-8pm Apr-Nov, closed Mon & Tue Apr & May ) is run by the Fundación Oso Pardo and has interactive exhibits and documentaries on Cantabrian brown bears.
4Sleeping & Eating
Hotel RebecoHOTEL
(%942 73 66 01; www.hotelrebeco.com; s/d €55/71; hclosed Jan; pWc)
Many of the 30 rooms in this handsome stone lodge at Fuente Dé have mountain views, and 11 include loft levels suitable for kids. It has a good, reasonably priced restaurant (mains €11 to €20) and you can't help but admire owner Conchi Cuesta's tapestries!
Hotel ÁlivaHOTEL
(%942 73 09 99; www.cantur.com; s/d €50/80; hmid-Jun–mid-Oct)
At an altitude of 1700m, this 27-room mountain lodge features a cafe and restaurant as well as a sun deck. It's linked by 4WD tracks to the top of the teleférico (which is operated by the same company, Cantur) and to Espinama and Sotres. Packages including transport and meals are offered.