Avilés, the ugly duckling of the north
The podium of the northern cities has long been closed to a select few. San Sebastián for its bay, Santander for its surroundings, Gijón for its good food, and A Coruña for its emblematic presence next to the Atlantic. Few are the eyes that stop at the industrial city, with a cold and austere shell, whose skies share the fumes of the factories with the lazy clouds of the Cantabrian. Aviles , however, hides in its core, on the banks of the estuary, an attraction that makes it unique: it remains virgin to a tourism that is now on standby.
The Aviles estuary , a privileged cove on a coast where natural harbors are valuable , has long been an attraction for human beings. A water mirror located in the heart of Asturias , and that plays an important role in its history. Next to the estuary was built the Gauzon Castle , residence of the Asturian kings of the 9th century, and where the famous " victory cross ”, and in the XXI century, hosts the only work of the architect Oscar Niemeyer , the Niemeyer Center , symbolizing the fact that Avilés has never stopped creating.
Niemeyer Center
The deepest connection of the city is established with the sea . This love is easily palpable in the Parque del Muelle, a small green lung with the air of an old square and a nineteenth-century pavilion that will delight romantics. Two statues rest under the shade of plane trees: one dedicated to Pedro Menendez de Aviles , the most illustrious navigator in the city, and the other represents the always good-natured figure of a seal. The most marine mammal, along with the memory of an old sea dog , overlooking the calm waters of the estuary in perfect symbiosis: This is how our walk through Avilés begins.
After leaving behind the Dock Park , so named because it occupies the site that once housed the port, begins the historic center of Avilés. Calle de la Muralla represents the border between the "new", industrial and opaque, and the "old": a bourgeois, merchant and Indiana town . We ascend a slight slope, and to our left will appear the Romanesque façade of the Franciscan Fathers , the oldest building in Avilés, located in front of a square where cider is poured and they eat tapas with chorizo. Very close, distant an alley, is the Camposagrado Palace , considered the most beautiful example of Asturian baroque. The noble building, whose façade is presided over by enormous Solomonic columns that refer us to Italy, today houses the Superior School of Arts of the Principality , confirming the theory that in Avilés, art keeps walking.
Camposagrado Palace, Aviles
Precisely, it is advisable to continue walking so as not to miss the core of the historic center. The monotonous outskirts of Avilés, made up of factories and industrial estates , seems to want to hide the heart of the city from the eyes of the stranger. Calle de la Ferrería surprises once you walk it because you don't suspect to find medieval arcades, palaces and stone arches, after so much asphalt. On the corner with Calle del Sol , after leaving behind taverns where corsairs once drank, a Gothic palace and exotic airs appear that once again remind us of the Mediterranean. they call it House of the Baragañas , and belonged to a prosperous merchant who undoubtedly knew the luxurious residences of the bourgeoisie of Barcelona, Valencia and Marseille . It is the oldest civil building in Asturias, and today it houses the Aviles Historical Archive , in addition to providing a good shade to the square that opens before its north facade. There we recommend tasting a local beer, a hobby that is now an interesting business in Asturias, where craft beers abound, such as Caleya.
Ferrería Street, in Avilés
Walking through Avilés is a pleasure, since the center is a pedestrian almond with slightly steep slopes that converge in the wide Plaza de España . From there, looking for the heights of the town, the streets offer us a beautiful example of bourgeois architecture whose best standard is the Balsera Palace , daring and eclectic construction from the beginning of the 20th century that today houses the Municipal Conservatory of the city . One of the streets with the most character in Avilés starts from its façade, galiana street , whose extensive arcades have protected walkers from the rain since the 17th century. The oldest of all, those that support old mahogany wood beams and whitewashed balconies, are found at the top, where the Carbayedo street . And right in front, we are suggested a place to eat: the Twistboots.
La Galiana, Aviles
This place whose terrace rests on the arcades of a baroque house is specialized in offering the best mushrooms of the season . Special mention deserve their chanterelles , pure taste of Asturian humidity, as well as boletus. Visit Twistboots in Autumn , after having walked among the puddles of Avilés and nodding several times to surprise you with its beauty, is a pleasure that few have enjoyed until now. The ugly duckling of the north has earned attention that it long deserved: Avilés, like mushrooms, has sprouted from the undergrowth, and deserves a visit.