The dream of steel
- Avilés Asturias Centre
- Distance: 45,9 kms
- Difficulty: Short
- Cars: 2 days
- Start point: Avilés
- Layout of the route: Download kml
The region of Avilés exemplifies the past, present and future of Asturias like no other, thanks to its tradition of steel and iron and steel making.
Info
The region of Avilés exemplifies the past, present and future of Asturias like no other. For its iron and steel working tradition, of which there are still many industrial archaeological remains and smoking chimneys, for its ability to reinvent itself and emerge from the crisis as a modern territory that knows how to preserve its heritage and for its cultural and avant-garde dreams.
Route
Avilés - Trasona 31,8
The historic centre of Avilés, with an obligatory detour towards the estuary to visit the Niemeyer Cultural Centre, is well worth a morning. Starting and ending in the Plaza de España, where the town hall is located, the traveller can take a stroll through the old quarter, which has been a Historic-Artistic Site since 1955. The walk can take in the streets San Francisco and Galiana, to contemplate the Fountain of Los Caños de San Francisco, the palace of the Marquis of Ferrera, the church of San Nicolás de Bari, the Ferrera park and the Museum of Urban History, in Calle La Ferrería.
Calle de La Cámara is home to the Palace of Maqua and Calle Armando Palacio Valdés, an imposing theatre, the venue for national premieres, which also bears the writer's name. The next stop is the Niemeyer. On the banks of the estuary, it forms an architectural ensemble, the work of the Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, with three different buildings located around a public square. After lunch, it is worth sitting behind the wheel to head inland. The Trasona reservoir, accessed from the AS-19 regional road, is well worth a visit. This reservoir, one kilometre wide, was built by the Ensidesa steelworks in the 1950s. Although it was originally intended for industrial use, it is now a leisure area, ideal for sports.
Professional canoeists and rowers train in its waters and numerous international championships are held there. Once in the car, you can return to the outskirts of Avilés and follow the AS-237 road to lose yourself in the beautiful villages of Illas, land of the famous La Peral cheese, which takes its name from a small village.
Salinas - Playón de Bayas 14,1
The second day in the region will be marked by the sea and the mine, a binomial that also defines Asturias. Salinas, with a wonderful walk from the Philippe Cousteau Anchor Museum to the beach of El Espartal, protected by a system of white and grey quaternary dunes that have been declared a Natural Monument. Salinas is also one of the centres of surfing in Asturias.
In the vicinity of Salinas, the Arnao Mine Museum includes a descent into the authentic shaft that the miners used to work. The last afternoon can be reserved for discovering the longest beach in the region. The Bayas beach, located at the westernmost point of Castrillón, near the airport, is the continuation of the Los Quebrantos sandy area. Together, these two spaces, almost four kilometres long, also have protected dunes.