Table of Contents
5 Beautiful Places You Should Visit in Asturias
Have you ever heard of the region in Spain called Asturias?
It is not very well known among tourists because the Spanish keep the best for themselves.
Asturias is a very traditional part of the country in Europe, with beautiful national parks, high mountains and magnificent cliffs on the ocean. Here are the 5 beautiful places you should visit in Asturias.
Find out more about the Asturias region in this ultimate guide.
Cudillero
Asturias is full of picturesque small towns and villages on the shore surrounded by mountains. Renting a car, you can visit most of them in a few days, while buses arrive and leave only once or twice a day. The town of Cudillero can be regarded as the best of those coastal settlements.
You definitely need to visit this place, if you are going to Asturias. I recommend trying some local dishes made of fish accompanied with famous Asturian cider, differing with its natural sour taste and no gas added. You can also climb up the hill and enjoy the view of the magnificent Atlantic Ocean.
Oviedo
The capital of Asturias, and, probably, the most traditional town in the region is Oviedo. People live here like as though they are living in ancient times, without international brands and lots of advertising on the streets. The city looks like it is 16th century, which is even more highlighted by the fact that the famous Camino de Santiago (St. James Way) goes through Oviedo, and hundreds of pilgrims visit the city and its beautiful cathedral.
There are several beautiful parks in the city, interesting archeological and historical museums, unusual statues and a futuristic (in contrast to the whole city) shopping mall designed by the famous Spanish architect from Valencia Santiago Calatrava (you can find the unusual forms of his buildings all around the world).
Picos de Europa
Picos de Europa is a beautiful national park full of mountains with sharp tops. The national park is so big that it is located on the territory of three regions: Asturias, Cantabria, and Castille and Leon. The mountains are tall enough to go skiing there even being in hot Spain. The highest peak is Torre de Cerredo, which is 2650 meters tall.
Apart from beautiful nature, there are many small farms with cows, sheep, and goats. Some of the farms also produce a piquant Cabrales cheese. You can find more interesting things to do in Picos de Europa visiting its official website.
Ribadesella
Another nice coastal town which has a long beach line and picturesque views of the nearby mountains is Ribadesella. Ribadesella is also hometown to Queen Letizia of Spain. The famous competition called Descenso Internacional del Sella takes place here every first weekend of August. At that weekend, oarsmen from all around the world come here to try to cover the final 20 km of the Sella River faster than the others. The town is also interesting for the prehistoric Tito Bustillo caves, open all year round.
Santa Cueva de Covadonga
Santa Cueva de Covadonga is one of the most important in the history of Asturias. During the time of Spanish occupation by the moors, the region was independent thanks to the heroic battle on Covadonga. The battle not only helped to protect the land, it also started the process of Reconquista (the regaining of the territory of Iberian Peninsula).
Santa Cueva de Covadonga is a Catholic sanctuary situated on a mountain with picturesque natural sights surrounding it.
These are the top 5 beautiful places to visit in Asturias.
The region is full of great landmarks that are not very well known among tourists, so you can enjoy them without crowds of people taking pictures and locals trying to sell souvenirs. Have a great time in Asturias!
Roman from RomanRoams.com travel blog writes about adventurous travel and traveling on a budget around Europe and beyond. He also owns a website with interesting facts, useful information and many attractions in Belarus called Visit-Belarus.com.
Thanks for visiting our site Voyager – imvoyager.com and taking the time to read our post!
We’d love if you’d comment and share this post.
Do You Love Traveling?
Do you want to know how to travel the world? We have put together a very useful travel resources page with best travel tips. Go check it out now.
Thanks for visiting our site Voyager – imvoyager.com and taking the time to read this post!
If you wish to collaborate/work with us then reach us at [email protected]
We’d love if you’d comment by sharing your thoughts on this post and share this post on social media and with your friends.
[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”27413782″]
Follow our journey on our social media channels:
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest G+ YouTube
Whoa. The pictures you have shared are really gorgeous. Asturias sure sounds like a cool offbeat place. I am glad that it has a good mix of natural and man made gems. I am most interested in Picos de Europa, thanks to the natural beauty it offers.
Made a great read.. thanks
Are those mountains really that colorful?
This is a guest post by Roman of RomanRoams. According to him, indeed Asturias in Spain is a hidden gem. This country – Asturias is beautiful with lovely landscapes and beautiful mountains.
I was hoping to know if the colors of the mountain in that picture are real or photoshopped. The waterfall looks nice and inviting. My better half is crazy about waterfalls, would be great to suggest this to him.
This place is unbelievable. No wonder this is hidden jewel that the Spanish are hesitating to share 😉
these places are so beautiful. I have never been to Spain before but through this post, i can see it beauty. Spanish is very lucky having this amazing places right in their homeland. Thanks for sharing this post. I hope you will write more about this topic
Every time I see a post about Spain, it just drives home how much we need to get there! Asturias looks incredible – from the little 16th century towns to the amazing, colorful mountains (which, by the way, how on earth are they purple in places?!). Thank you for sharing your experiences in these lovely places!
I hadn’t heard of Asturias before – though Spain is a beautiful country for sure. I can definitely see why the Spanish like to keep this their little secret – tourism would be flooding here!! Love the picturesque small towns and villages on the shore – the colors of the buildings are so beautiful! So much European charm. Santa Cueva de Covadonga in particular caught my eye though, it astounds and amazes me ho they can build a sanctuary into a rock face like that!
I can’t say that I have heard of this Asturias but, I’d love to know more! The mountains are really strange looking all bald and such. Forgive my geography but this is northern Spain? I’ve been to some cliff structures in Austria but Santa Cueva de Covadonga looks much more detailed.
I’ve honestly never heard of Asturias – just like you said, I guess it is kept a secret from tourists! Beautiful photo of Ribadesella! I’d love to stroll along the water and enjoy that pretty little town. And Santa Cueva de Covadonga is amazing!! Imagine building that fortress into the rock like that!
I’ve never heard of this region in Spain before and I’m so glad it’s getting a bit of the spotlight. I’d love to visit Oviedo to experience the 16th century charm will little advertisements, name brand shops or fuss!
These sound like wonderful destinations. I’ve always wanted to visit Oviedo, but I’ve not heard of the other destinations though. Santa Cueva de Covadonga is now at the top of my Spain list – sounds incredible!
It is so nice to see another side of Spain. I’m often reading posts about the more popular attractions, but this is something different and it’s no wonder the locals keep it to themselves 🙂 I would love to visit one of their beautiful national parks.
I’d not heard of Asturias either, but your travel pics and historical background sure bring it all to life. The colours of the mountains are amazing, love out of the way ‘off the beaten track’ places to visit, so I’d absolutely include this when in Spain.
As soon as you said, “high mountains and magnificent cliffs on the ocean” I was intrigued. There’s a place like that just south of where I was born & raised on the California coast. Have you heard of Big Sur? And your photo of the Catholic Sanctuary, wow, that’s a fantastical looking place! Thanks for introducing us to this region!
Initially I thought you made a spelling mistake while typing “Austria” !! Oh stupid me, I swear I read lots of blogs but never had I heard about Asturio. I would love to visit this place where the streets don’t scream of international brands and advertisement banner. The caves also interest me.
I would not have originally thought this to be Spain! It looks absolutely amazing and truly like a unique place. I’m continually fascinated by our planet, and you always do a great job highlighting places I’ve never heard of!
Never heard before about this part of Spain, and Asturias surely looks stunning! I loved the amazing pictures! From the likes of it, it does look like a place hidden away from the tourists! Hope to visit some day!
I have heard so many good things about Spain but I hadn’t heard of Asturias before. The landscapes are so varied and gorgeous. Perfect place for offbeat travelers like me.
Gem of a place, I have been to Spain twice in my life but have never heard of Asturias. It seems quite an un-touristic place, which makes it a place I would love to go to. Through your photos, it seems quite an interesting place to stay away from the bustling metro cities.
Places like this that are not touristy but surprisingly beautiful are what I look for when visiting a country. I wonder how it feels like to walk during the 16th century that I can experience in this place. I guess it’s a hidden jewel of Spain with the historical structures and beautiful nature because, in this time, it’s hard to find this kind of place that is not crowded with tourists.
We couldn’t visit Spain on our recent trip to Europe but we definitely are going to include it in the next trip. And will use your writeup as our guide . Since it contains everything that we love to see and do when in Europe . The small towns and beautiful picturesque sites being some of them!
I will be honest…I have only heard of these names. However, reading through these have definitely given me a better idea of what to expect. Santa Cuva appealed the most with its unique landscape – in some ways reminding me of Spiti and Himachal. I am definitely looking a lot of these up.
Spain is so beautiful. I never heard of this place. Now it’s on my bucketlist! :p
I had never heard about Asturias. It looks like a hidden gem and typically our type of place. It is so untouched and pristine. The pictures are really gorgeous and of all these Santa Cueva has attracted me the most. Will be adding this to my bucket list. Thanks for sharing.
Had on idea Spain has such beautiful landscape and naturally beautiful spots to visit. I have always seen the architecture of buildings and beautiful streets whenever I have seen Spain in pictures and videos. I will definitely choose some places from these when I happen to visit there.