Avilés, birthplace of Pedro Menéndez, the discoverer of Florida, offers one of the most remarkable historical old towns in northern Spain. It is always an unexpected surprice for visitors because Avilés is better known for its intense industrial activity. Old streets are full or arcades and very well preserved houses, host of shops, bars and restaurants. The whole area is very lively and very pleasant to walk.
How to get there
We can either go by train or by car. Train from Perlora takes 22 minutes (see the section on public transport in the Blog). The station is 10 minutes walking from the apartments. We turn left as we leave the apartments, follow the old road to Gijón, pass the turn to “ciudad residencial” and turn left just before “El Piedra” hotel. Avilés train station is very central.
If we go by car it will take about 20 minutes drive to cover 18 kms. There is a car park beneath the town hall square, or alternatively there is a free car park at the Niemeyer centre (it closes at night, beware of the time).
Description
From the town hall square we can walk all the old historical streets of Avilés: Galiana, Rivero, La Ferrería, Bances Candamo, La Cámara, La Fruta, San Bernardo. Places worth passing by are The Valdecarzana Palace, the romanesque church of “Padres Franciscanos”, the old church of Sabugo or the church of San Nicolás de Bari (both XIII century), the market, Ferrera Palace (a hotel nowadays), San Francisco fountain, Ferrera park or Carbayedo square.
Sabugo is one of the oldest quarters of Avilés, outside the walls in medieval times, and home to the families of fishermen. It is in this part of town that Pedro Menéndez recruited seamen to travel overseas.
New Avilés is represented by Centro Niemeyer. It lies in the industrial side of the tidal river and offers an intense cultural programme all year round. Both the architectural proposal and the cultural activities are good reasons to visit it.
More information
https://www.turismoasturias.es/descubre/donde-ir/municipios/aviles
https://www.avilescomarca.info/
What else to do
There are good beaches nearby: Xagó and Salinas are well known. In Salinas we have one of the Michelín star restaurants in the area, el Real Balneario.
We can recommend several good restaurants in Avilés: Tataguyo, Casa Lin y Casa Alvarín offer local food which includes cider and shellfish; Ronda 14 is a very interesting japanese peruvian restaurant.
Finally, if you happen to be near Avilés at Easter, do not miss the processions, it is the oldest and most famous Semana Santa in Asturias.



