Gentlemen
As promised, I spoke to Diego, one of our engineers at Edinburgh who is from Asturias (Northern Central Spain) for a few tourist tips . This is what he came back with.
Hi Martin
Here there are some places you would like to visit on your trip:
Santillana del Mar (Very nice medieval village in Cantabria)
http://www.santillana-del-mar.com/
Potes (mountain village inside Picos de Europa National Park, in Cantabria)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potes
Arenas de Cabrales, Sotres & Bulnes (mountain villages in the heart of Picos de Europa National Park, in Asturias)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrales
Arenas is the center of the Cabrales municipality, there are restaurants and hotels, the beautiful Cares river with turquoise waters (freezing!), which is the most famous salmon fishing river in Spain. There is a parking in a place called Poncebos, where you can park your cars and go to Bulnes on the funicular (EUR 20) which climbs inside a tunnel in the mountain or you can take the 2h walk along a spectacular rocky gorge. The village of Bulnes is very small and there are a couple of restaurants and fantastic views of the highest peaks.
Passing that parking to the left, there’s a road that takes you to Sotres, the highest village in Asturias, again spectacular views and a lot of paths from a short walk to a more serious hike.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naranjo_de_Bulnes http://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/un_paseo_por_los_picos_de_europa.html
If you continue your trip to the west, very close to Cabrales, there is Cangas de Onis, first capital of Asturias (and Spain when the Reconquista started) and there you can see the famous Roman bridge. Close to Cangas de Onis, inside a cave, there is the Covadonga Sanctuary, that keeps the image of Covadonga Virgin, patron saint of Asturias, where the Asturians defeated the Muslim army and the Reconquista Started. There’s a Basilica and a monument to Pelayo, the first Asturian King. Up in the mountain, along the road, you will find the Lagos de Covadonga, three mountain lakes, fantastic views. But during the summer the traffic is restricted because the road is so narrow, so unless you go very early in the morning, you will have to take a bus.
Some coastal places around the east of Asturias:
Llanes:
http://en.llanes.com/ Ribadesella:
http://whereisasturias.com/ribadesella-asturias/ (there are some caves there that you may like to visit as well, but you will have to reserve in advance
http://www.centrotitobustillo.com/ ) Lastres: beautiful fishermen’s village:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastres Best fish and seafood restaurants around:
https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/R...1M3VoazEwY05ETXVORGcxTVRnPWNMVFV1TWpjd05EWT0= take a look at this guide, because there are some other very good places to visit.
Of course, Oviedo, the capital of the Principality, if you want some urban environment after all that countryside. The historical city centre is beautiful:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviedo
There is a good amount of rural hotels and called “rural houses” that are always a good accommodation option, very charming places:
http://www.toprural.com/Casas-rurales_Asturias_0_115_r.html
Don’t miss the opportunity to try the famous Asturian natural cider (Basques are trying to copy us, but theirs is sh!t, poor w@nkers… I mean, wannabes). The process to serve the cider, pouring it from over the head height, using big, thin glass is part of the tradition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6CCLB7dOJU
And that’s just the eastern part of our nation, you can leave the other half to your next visit and discover the less known, great woods, where you can still find bears!
If you have any questions or need some more info, I’ll be more than happy to help! Hope you enjoy your visit!
Cheers
Diego Alonso