The benches with the most beautiful views in Asturias

Can you imagine sitting on a bench and having a wonderful world before your eyes? Well, in Asturias you have dozens and dozens of benches located in incredible places, overlooking the most beautiful landscapes you can imagine.

To paraphrase the hymn of Las Piraguas, the most famous Asturian festival in the world, you could say of these benches with excellent views that you are in a Natural Paradise, that there are no more cheerful benches, with more beautiful landscapes or more Asturian essence?

You could make a trip all over Asturias from bench to bench... And what's more, they are often located at the beginning, middle or end of a walk, so that in addition to the pleasure of observing the landscape, there is the added delight of resting after the effort.

In this post we show you a handful of them, to get you started... They are benches that have been created and designed by lovers of this land, with the best of intentions: that we can all enjoy what they find beautiful. Some of them treasure romantic and marvellous stories that have passed through time, which today almost sound like legends.

So we begin an exciting journey, in which you will realise that sitting for a while, and observing the panorama, can be one of the greatest satisfactions in your travelling life.

Cape Vidio is a special place, somewhere between mystery and fascination. The beauty of its cliffs, as well as the coves, beaches and caves in the surrounding area, is immediately magnetic. For this reason, the benches in the vicinity are perfect vantage points, both for resting and for contemplating and enjoying the landscape, as can be seen in our cover photo showing the bench at the Sablón viewpoint.

Cape Vidio, which belongs to the parish of Oviñana, in Cudillero, is deservedly included in the Protected Landscape of the Western Coast, and is not only a breeding area for seabirds, but also offers wonderful panoramic views, from Estaca de Vares to Cabu Peñes.

It also has a short and easy route, with different benches as viewpoints, such as the one at Cueva beach or Sablón beach.

The contemplative journey around Cape Vidio will not disappoint you at all.

Llombatín is a small, traditional village in the council of Illano, which stands out for its tranquillity, as well as for being the starting point of a route that goes from there to the Folgueirou recreational area.

Perched on a hillside, it literally overlooks the river Navia, which flows peacefully and powerfully at its feet.

One fine day in 2020, a resident of the village called Daniel Álvarez, had the happy and great idea of building a bench, and placing it in an area with stunning panoramic views of the Doiras reservoir, the Tiracais peninsula, and villages such as Xío or Zadamoño.

The bench has become one of Daniel's favourite places to relax, and also of the hundreds of people who have visited it so far?

Without a doubt, benches with excellent views in Asturias are happy ideas for happy moments.

Whether you are a mountain enthusiast or not, when you get to Cabrales, you must make a stop at the Pozo de la Oración, very close to the village of Po, and easily accessible, as it is at the foot of the road.

The place invites you to relax. Before your eyes, not far away, the central massif of the Picos de Europa rises majestically, and among its almost magical outlines, the Picu Urriellu, simply the Picu for the locals, and also known as the Naranjo de Bulnes, stands out.

This viewpoint was built in the 1930s, and it is said that it was Pedro Pidal himself who wanted to highlight the figure of Gregorio Pérez, the cainejo, who had been his climbing companion on the Picu Urriellu. "I just put my feet and hands where Gregorio told me to," said Pidal, in a gesture of honesty and consideration that has been recorded for posterity.

But the story-legend of this viewpoint does not end there, because it is also said that every spring, Pedro Pidal would approach the Pozo de la Oración and with tears in his eyes, he would ask the Picu: "How have you spent the winter, old friend?

So it is clear that the Pozo de la Oración is an inspirational place full of good vibrations, which for decades has been the focus of attraction for thousands of people, fascinated by such beauty, at any time of the year.

Cabo Busto is one of those unmissable spots on the western coast of Asturias, and not only will you have wonderful benches to sit and contemplate the horizon, but on clear days you'll be able to make out the silhouette of the hermitage of La Blanca and catch a glimpse of Ḷḷuarca.

There is also a viewpoint and explanatory panels to interpret what you are seeing. Of course, you can't leave the site without taking a walk to the lighthouse, to enjoy contemplating the impressive cliffs on which it stands.

And if you're up for it, you can walk a little further and take the circular route that passes right by the cape and the lighthouse, and get to know the surroundings, admiring a landscape of farms, villages, forests and viewpoints that offer magnificent panoramic views, both to the east and to the west.

To complete the stop, you can go into the village of Bustu, very close to the lighthouse, and taste the sweet creations of one of the best confectioners in Spain, or, if you prefer, enjoy these delicacies sitting on your bench, looking out to sea...

On the path that takes you to Barayo beach, you will find a charming viewpoint, and right next to it, a bench strategically located in the shade of a tree. A peaceful spot, where you can guess the wonders that await you if you decide to continue your walk and dive in the Barayo Nature Reserve.

In this Reserve you will be able to appreciate maritime and fluvial landscapes, because it is a kind of mixed ecosystem where you will see, on the one hand, the final stretch of the river Barayo - natural limit between the councils of Navia and Valdés -, with all the goodness of a freshwater riverbank, and on the other hand, an impressive dune system, the marshes, and an immense and wild sandy beach.

A simply spectacular and different panorama that will leave you in awe of the Protected Landscape of the Western Coast.

The entire Asturian coastline is full of charm and beautiful views, and the council of Colunga is no exception. So there are numerous places that act as spontaneous vantage points from which to look out over the Cantabrian horizon.

The town of Llastres has some memorable benches, which, once seated on them, will invite you to enjoy the scenery.

However, on this occasion we have selected one that is located on the west side of the beach of La Isla, and from where you will have a beautiful view of this beach, the beach of El Barrigón, the beach of La Espasa, and the entire eastern coast, all the way to the domains of Ribadesella.

The bench is at the beginning of a coastal path that takes you to La Griega beach, and is one of those unforgettable spots in the middle of the Jurassic coast.

The mythical river Sella, home to trout and salmon, ducks and herons, cormorants and cows that graze on its banks. This place of overflowing nature and unusual beauty is the perfect place to contemplate the river life, the flow of the villages and the profile of the peaks that surround it.

And also to enjoy the passage of canoeists and kayakers, who have in the Sella one of the most seductive open-air training grounds in the world.

Moreover, when you settle down on a bench on the banks of the Sella, you will be able to dream about the Fiesta de las Piraguas, and feel like you are in the middle of a great sporting and leisure event, with all the emotion that it entails, and as a backdrop, the town of Ribadesella/Ribeseya, capital of an extraordinary council .

The Redes Nature Reserve is one of the 7 Biosphere Reserves in Asturias. The gentle landscape of mountains and valleys, streams, rivers and reservoirs, is characteristic of this area, which has numerous watchtowers for the enjoyment and observation of nature.

The hydrological richness, together with the variety of flora and fauna, and the authentic ethnographic reserve of its many villages, make every corner of Redes a real discovery for the senses.

On this trip, we have sat in the heart of one of those villages, in Llaíñes/Ladines (Sobrescobio), and we have let ourselves be carried away by the harmony with a green and leafy landscape, which leaves you speechless, or rather, where words are not necessary...

The Sierra del Sueve is one of those mountains with a magical aura that makes it different. And in its foothills, specifically in the council of Caravia, the Fitu viewpoint has stood for almost a century, a sort of window to dreams, where you can contemplate in a 360-degree panoramic sweep, the entire central-eastern Asturian orography, with the Picos de Europa in particular standing out.

In this sweep of incredible perspective, you can also see the Cantabrian Sea, and on clear days you will be able to see the boats passing by, as if it were a film shot.

That is why the bench at the foot of the viewpoint is a special place to have a refreshment and, if you pause on your way, to enjoy the panorama in front of you.

The San Pedro promenade is a unique place. For its serene beauty, for its privileged location, for its blanket of grass, for its enveloping atmosphere, and of course, for its exceptional views.

It is the great balcony of the town of Llanes. From there, both to the east and to the west, you will be able to contemplate with peaceful clarity this exceptional coastline, with its cliffs and forts, with its always surprising shapes, with its changing air depending on the time of day?

If you turn your gaze towards the town, Llanes will be at your feet, with its cobbled streets, its palaces, its wall and its medieval tower, its basilica, its churches and chapels, its great History. And further in the distance, the Cuera mountain range, and a few steps behind, the Picos de Europa.

So the benches of the San Pedro promenade are pure poetry, vintage romanticism, like the one that inspired this promenade in the 19th century.

After this itinerary, you will see that there arewonderful places for your holidays in Asturias!