Top 10 plans for a healthy holiday in Asturias

The holidays are here and it's time to experience them in terms of wellness. A healthy holiday to relax to the maximum. Asturias is the perfect paradise to recover, to give you peaceful moments, and also with the ease of having everything close at hand: the sea and the mountains, the village and the city... because in Asturias there are no distances.

Nature, landscape, coast, gastronomy, culture, outdoor activities and hospitable people, willing to give the best of themselves, will be key elements in a different and unforgettable holiday.

This is our list of suggestions for the most attractive holidays in Asturias, a land that prioritises taking care of your health in the most natural way.

There are dozens and dozens of routes to choose from. So to whet your appetite, we suggest three particularly attractive ones: the A Paicega Route, in Pesoz; the Camín Real de la Mesa Route, between Belmonte de Miranda, Teverga and Somiedo, and the Ruta de los Bufones, between Ribadesella and Llanes.

The A Paicega Route is a journey back in time through the most magical Pesoz, always with the trail of time floating in the atmosphere, especially when you arrive at what was a workers' village in the middle of the 20th century, designed ex professo at the time for the construction of the Grandas de Salime reservoir.

For its part, the Camín Real de la Mesa Route, where you walk along an ancient Roman road, will transport you to an epic and imperial atmosphere, in the midst of dreamlike landscapes.

In the east of Asturias, the route of the bufones, between Llanes and Ribadesella, will allow you to discover the spectacular cliffs of the area, while also contemplating the landscape of the Cuera mountain range and the Picos de Europa. And of course, when sea conditions permit, you can enjoy the natural spectacle of the bufones, those jets of salty, powdery water, which slip through the porous karst rocks, and offer one of the most curious sights of all the coasts of the world...

Asturias has hundreds of incredible villages, where time seems to have stood still, where the sky lights up every morning, where the greenery shimmers and adorns the landscape. Villages with identity, with strength, with many stories to tell you and with many stories to live.

Villages scattered throughout one of the richest rural geographies of the entire European continent, the Natural Paradise.

Today we have chosen three to suggest that you travel through so many Asturian villages where you will forget everything and where you will find yourself and your most beloved environment.

Santa Eufemia, in Villanueva de Oscos, is a charming village in western Asturias, where you can savour time slowly and visit a unique museum: the Bread Ecomuseum.

Bermiego, in Quirós, is another of those dream villages. Its granaries, its traditional houses, its church of Santa María and its thousand-year-old 'texu'.

Cueves, in Ribadesella, is a village unlike any other you can imagine. You access it through a natural cave, with a river included. And when you get there, surprise, surprise: a very traditional village, with its granaries, its chapel, and its hydrangeas giving colour to a setting of unusual beauty...

Biosphere Reserve. The concept and the images transport us to dream worlds. Worlds where you can hear the birds singing or flapping their wings, the rustle of the trees, or the 'kikiriki' of the roosters in the villages. Where the air is pure and crystalline like the waters of its rivers, and where the breeze caresses your soul...

Asturias is almost a Biosphere Reserve in its entirety, because it treasures seven, which are almost a third of its surface. One of the most emblematic places on this map of the Biosphere is the Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias Nature Reserve, where you will find the Muniellos forest, the largest oak forest in Spain, as well as various viewpoints for bear watching.

All the Asturian reserves, each with its own personality and landscape, are marvellous.

In fact, visiting them one by one is a journey into the essence of nature, something that comes in handy at this time of year.

So the Picos de Europa National Park, the Ponga Nature Reserve, the Redes Nature Reserve, the Las Ubiñas-La Mesa Nature Reserve, the Somiedo Nature Reserve, the Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias Nature Reserve, and the Oscos-Eo and Terras de Burón Biosphere Reserve, await you with their loving and healthy arms, for a dream trip...

The Asturian coastline is dotted with more than 200 beaches, allowing you to enjoy the coast and the Cantabrian Sea to the full. Quiet beaches where the mountains and lush green vegetation often merge with the sea...

Large and small sandy beaches, hidden coves, rocky outcrops, beaches that can only be reached by sea... Endless options for the best sunbathing, saltwater bathing or sea breezes.

The entire coastline offers you discovery after discovery, in a continuum of landscapes of singular beauty.

An excellent example of the spectacular beaches of Asturias is that of Anguileiro, in Tapia.

Asturian gastronomy is famous for its flavour, quality and warmth. That is to say, tasty dishes, with excellent local produce, and pampered to the max, both in the preparation and in the service.

A delicious gastronomy that you will never tire of, both in its classic and innovative versions. A gastronomy that combines wonderfully with Asturias Cider and Cangas Wine.

Dishes and recipes of reference such as fabada or pote, desserts such as arroz con leche, frixuelos or casadielles; fish, seafood, meat, cheese, etc.

A whole world of recipes and products that will make you adore Asturian cuisine and never want to forget it...

In addition, you have numerous activities linked to gastronomy, such as the Ruta'l Quesu y la Sidra, in the village of Asiegu, which is very popular because it was named Exemplary Village in 2019, and is a great cultural and ethnographic reserve in Asturias.

Culture in Asturias pervades everything, and takes on many forms: monumental, historical, museums... And all of them are very lively and interesting.

You can enjoy art, whether civil or religious. With palaces and mansions, with chapels, churches and collegiate churches, with museums and their works of art, with ethnography... With everything you can imagine.

If we talk about the conjunction of Art and History, the great Asturian heritage is the Pre-Romanesque. Although the Romanesque is not to be underestimated.

When it comes to museums, there is something for everyone, and one of the most original and imaginative is the Jurassic Museum of Asturias - MUJA, which also has an absolutely spectacular location, with more than twenty dinosaur replicas in the open air, and as if that wasn't enough, it always organises very educational and fun workshops for the little ones.

Active tourism and, therefore, activities in nature are essential in a post-covid holiday. It is the time to reconnect with the natural environment, without haste, without fuss, with tranquillity as a premise.

Mountains, rivers or beaches are some of the settings chosen to enjoy all kinds of active tourism activities: canyoning, trekking, canoeing, horse riding, etc.

An example of all this is a healthy, sustainable and peaceful descent of the Sella...

Asturias is a paradise of good views. Panoramic views are one of the most remarkable landscape and visual assets of this Natural Paradise.

The most common thing is that you walk through this land, and the prize at the end or in the middle of a route is a wonderful viewpoint, a geodesic vertex or a cliff, a cueto, a summit, in short, dozens of ways, ideal to contemplate in a 360º sweep everything that reaches your gaze.

On other occasions, you won't need to walk far or make a great effort. At the foot of the road or not too far away, you will have the option of being captivated by the beauty of Asturias. The Fitu viewpoint, which appears on the cover of this post, is a good example.

The fishing villages and towns of Asturias, which stretch along the entire coastline, are a highly motivating incentive at this time of year.

Fresh air, fresh air, breeze and foam, aromas of seafood and fish, traditional stews... Walks by the sea, on the beach, on the cliffs, and of course, good views, lighthouses in idyllic places, romantic stories.

A prime example of this is Llastres, in Colunga, famous for its beauty and atmosphere.

But there are many others: Llanes, Ribadesella, Tazones, Lluanco/Luanco, Candás, Cudillero, Luarca, Tapia, etc.

Asturias is the only example in Spain where three equidistant cities offer the traveller very different and complementary passions and surprises at the same time.

Oviedo/Uviéu is still in the 21st century a royal and monastic capital, and of course a stroll through its historic centre with its old University and the splendid Museum of Fine Arts, the Fontán market and a visit to its cathedral with its Holy Chamber, will corroborate this.

Once you have soaked up the history of the Asturian kingdom and the origin of the Camino de Santiago, don't forget to visit the pre-Romanesque jewels of Monte Naranco, Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo and finish off with a climb up Monte Naranco, where you will have the best panoramic views of the city, the Monsacro, the Aramo mountain range and the entire central mountain range.

After so much wandering through the Middle Ages, you will return to the 21st century and the dynamism of a city of very human dimensions, not only for its size, but also for the open and hospitable nature of the Asturian people of today, so a stroll along Calle Uría, San Francisco Park, the Campoamor Theatre, annual venue for the prestigious Princess of Asturias Awards and some cider and tapas in Gascona are not to be missed.

Once your appetite is satisfied, you'll feel like going to the coast and head for Gijón/Xixón, which is characterised by being an avant-garde city, very free and cosmopolitan, that doesn't forget its humble seafaring essence. So go straight to its historic fishermen's quarter: Cimadevilla, and there on the hill of Santa Catalina you will enjoy a first panoramic impression of the city. Then a stroll along the marina, the western beach, passing by the Palacio de Revillagigedo with a stop for some cider in the town hall square. You can continue your route along the San Lorenzo sandy area, towards the Molinón area, the Guía and Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, to go up through the residential neighbourhood of Somió to the Alto de la Providencia.

You will be exhausted. It's time to rest, looking at the moon and the Cantabrian Sea.

It's dawn and we continue sailing. This time we head for Avilés. Once again, back to the Middle Ages, and to the city that the Marquis of Ferrera dreamt of and partly designed. In Avilés you will discover one of the best preserved medieval old quarters in Asturias, and also a city that has not lost its commercial, port, seafaring and industrial instinct.

A city of art and artists, a city of atmosphere, of markets, of shops, of wines and ciders, of good food and drink.

And then it is time to cross its famous estuary, which makes it the only city in Asturias with such a powerful river flow that it has the air of Amsterdam or Venice. Yes, yes, Avilés is definitely the most fluvial Asturian city, and at the same time the most seafaring.

If you have dared to cross the estuary, you will contemplate Oscar Niemeyer's last work in Europe. Pure avant-garde in a post-industrial environment.

As you can see, the cities of Asturias form a triangle of passions that in just a few hours from the different points of the Asturian geography, will take you to a medieval Christian kingdom, will turn you into a Jacobean pilgrim, will make you pour cider, or will make you vibrate with the coast in an avant-garde city, or enjoy the great channel that is the Avilés estuary, surrounded by centuries of history on its banks?

Explore all these wonderful plans!

And for these healthy holidays, Asturias offers you the possibility of making your reservation online and has an imaginative selection of the most appetising Offers and Getaways!