Asturias, wild and untamed
** Spain increases its presence in the selection of destinations to visit with which The New York Times opens each year.** If in 2018 it opted for Seville and the Ribera del Duero and in 2019 by Cadiz , this year the American newspaper has included in its ** 52 Places to Go ** Asturias, Menorca and the Arán Valley.** More north than other years and more nature, yes; but also art, gastronomy and responsible tourism.
A) Yes, Asturias ranks 25th out of 52 that make up this list and define it as a “destination to connect with nature and escape from everything”. From it, the journalist Andrew Ferren highlights the contrast between the green of its hills and the blue of the Bay of Biscay and the fact that Its beaches are the refuge for those travelers who do not want to deal with the crowded Mediterranean coast in summer.
Menorca or slow tourism
Here everything (or almost everything) is played to that green of its landscapes and to the many options to practice active tourism that they offer, without forgetting the essence of the place, its history and how it is possible to discover it as one comes across its mythical forts; and as, the gastronomy. Lifelong restaurants, other newcomers, there are 'starred' ones, but they all have one thing in common: They ensure that those who visit Asturias only have one 'complaint', "that they eat too much".
The next Spanish destination, Minorca, The New York Times places him in the position 41. That Menorca likes, no one needs to tell us. That its beaches make us fall in love and that we would stay to live on its paths or floating calmly in its turquoise waters, either.
However, there is life beyond the art of turning around in the sun and in that, in art, It is precisely what journalist Lindsey Tramuta focuses on. And it is that Menorca is preparing to see how Hauser & Wirth, one of the most powerful galleries in the world, opens a branch on the island. Specifically, it will be king island, an islet located in the Port of Mahón. The opening date is not confirmed yet, but there is already talk of what it will offer to visitors and neighbors: temporary exhibitions and activities with which to create community with the local population.
Future artistic inauguration in Menorca with the arrival of Hauser & Wirth
In addition, Menorca Tramuta highlights the efforts that she makes to conserve the natural environment and the birth of new accommodations that have slow tourism as a philosophy.
The third and last Spanish destination included in 52 Places to Go in 2020 is the **Valle de Arán (46)**. AnneLise Sorensen highlights how access has been improved to get there, while she stresses that the isolation has had positive aspects in terms of preserving their culture, their language and their way of life is concerned.
She talks about the snow, of course, and about the ski possibilities that she offers in winter and also from après-ski, especially when it comes to satisfying the appetite after so much exercise; but she also talks about summer and all the trails that one can walk or bike. In addition, she highlights that the Aran Valley will host in July this year for the first time the Val d'Aran by UTMB® race, a new test of trail-running in the heart of the Pyrenees.
The rest of the selection is made up of destinations spread all over the world, with a TOP 10 made up of Washington, British Virgin Islands, Rurrenabaque (Bolivia), Greenland, Kimberley (Australia), Paso Robles (California), Sicily, Salzburg, Tokyo, Caesarea (Israel).
Salardu, in the Val D'Aran