Our insider guide on what to do in Llanes and the rest of Asturias

Where to eat

Close to the house:

La Puente / La Pomarada, Garaña - Our two favourite local restaurants. Nothing pretentious, both have great food and lovely gardens. La Puente has some indoor space, but might be closed in the evenings in low season. They have some animals in the garden.
Location: La Puente
Location: La Pomarada

La Pesa - this is the nearest bar, which has a small garden and some decent food options. Location

El Cuchareru, Nueva - Restaurant in Nueva, the nearest village. It’s a micro cider brewery, but they also have a cute shop and restaurant. Excellent food and cider. Location

La Chopera, Villahormes - Restaurant specialising in barbecue-grilled meat (‘parilla’ in Spanish). Location

Sidreria Muros, Nueva - Attractive restaurant in Nueva, all made out of antique cider barrels. Typical dishes and grilled meat, very friendly and good quality food. Location

Nido de Robin, Nueva - More meaty Asturian food quite close to the house. Location

Pizza Artesana, Villahormes - Very hip and delicious pizza / burger place, tucked away in the corner of a nearby village. Very nice in the evening, all lit up, plus the owners are v friendly. Check if they are open, as they may only open in the summer. Location

La Terraza de Laura, Villahormes - Typical Asturian food, good quality and popular with the locals. Location

Sidreria Llagar Cabañón, Naves - this is a beautiful venue, a converted old brewery (Llagar). They specialise in high-quality meat, so quite expensive. Location

Restaurante La Cerezal, Collera - Large restaurant on the way to Ribadesella, famed for its excellent seafood. Expensive, but worth it for seafood fans. Location

Sidreria La Guia, Ribadesella - Busy restaurant in the centre of Ribadesella with excellent meat and seafood. Quite expensive, but justified. Location


Further from the house:

El Molin de Mingo - high quality restaurant, hidden away in the middle of the countryside. Charming place and great food, but you will need to make it a trip out with the car. They usually have a set menu. Location

Casa Niembro, Asiego - Up in the mountains in the east of Asturias. They do a fascinating cider and cheese tour followed by a tasting menu. Their menu is also gluten-free. It’s a great place for a day out, one of our favourites. They have authentic and delicious Asturian food and, if the weather is good, incredible mountain views and a beautiful little village. 30 mins drive from the house. Location

Casa Xico - Another restaurant tucked away at the foot of the Picos mountain range. Great food and atmosphere. Location

<

.

Family activities

  • Tiny hidden playground!
    It’s just a slide, swings and see saw, but just round the corner from the house. Location

  • Dinosaur museum

    Recommended for dinosaur fans young and old! The museum itself needs prior booking, but the gardens are free to walk around and have lots of life-size models of dinosaurs, which is great fun for the kids. There’s a big playground and a cafe, with great views of the coastline. Free car park.
    Location

  • Real dinosaur footprints

    Just 5 minutes drive from the museum is Playa de la Griega. A huge beach with an easy 5 minute walk to visit the real dinosaur footprints in the rock formations. You’ll find large, round footprints of large sauropods, and smaller, three-toed prints of theropods. Location

  • Ruta Camin Encantau (The Enchanted Walking Route)

    A very popular route to do with children, as you follow a trail of wooden statues covering all the famous folkloric figures of Asturias. There is quite a big uphill section near the beginning, but it’s easier going thereafter. Location

  • Adventure activities (canoeing, horse riding, climbing parks etc)

    There are a large number of companies that provide activities for children and adults, but examples for children would include ‘Go Ape’ style climbing parks, horse riding, off-road buggies and the famous descent of the River Sella in canoe. We have always had good experiences booking with Cangas Aventura.

  • Cabárceno zoo - great drive-through safari zoo, with amazing large enclosures for the animals and a cable car that goes over the entire zoo for a different perspective. Near Santander. Location

  • El Bosque Zoo - very small but cute zoo in Oviedo, only for rescued animals. They have tigers, lynx, monkeys, birds and more. Because it’s very small, you are very close to the animals. It’s affordable too, and helps support the upkeep. They also do affordable experiences, such as meeting the lemurs. Location

<

.

Outdoor and adventure activities

Asturias is ideal for outdoor activities and adventure. Below is a list of some companies we have used for different activities and not had any problems, though there are many more to choose from.

  • Cangas Aventura

    • Descent of the River Sella in canoe

    • Off-road buggies

    • Climbing park, assault course, zip lines

    • Jetski

  • Montañas del Norte

    • Jetski

    • Boat trips from Ribadesella

    • Paddle Surf

  • NaturAsturias

    • Paddle surf

    • Electric mountain bike hire

    • Surf and kayak courses

<<

.

Beaches

There are many, many beautiful beaches to choose from, here are just a few worthy of mention nearby.

Los Bufones / Playa Guadamia

The beach next to los Bufones, one of our favourites and fun to explore with the tide up or down. When it’s up you can swim in the lagoon, when it’s down you can look in all the caves under the Bufones. Dog friendly in winter.

The Bufones are the holes made in the cliffs by the sea. When the tide is up and the sea a little rough, you get the sea water spurting out the top like a blow hole. Worth checking out if you get a day with rough seas. Still worth looking at on a nice day, but you’ll just hear the sea ‘breathing’ through the holes. Location

Playa Cuevas del Mar

One of the two closest beaches. It’s sandy, but has quite a few stones higher up the beach. Nice cave formations to have a look around. The chiringuito (beach bar) opens in summer and has some nice food, or just for an ice cream Location

Playa de San Antonio

Beautiful ‘hidden’ beach about a 15min walk from Cuevas del Mar. Worth a look, but you do have to walk to get there. Location

Playa de Barro

One of our regular favourites. Nicely protected from the waves when the tide is in, plus there are some good rock pools to explore. A decent bar on the side of the beach too. Location

Playa de Huelga

This is a personal favourite as a place to visit as it’s quite spectacular with the rocky archway out to sea, though maybe not the best for ‘a day at the beach’. It’s on the same path as that you take to get to Gulpiyuri (an inland beach). Location

Gulpiyuri

This is quite a famous place in Asturias and only 10 mins drive from the house. It’s an inland beach (basically a beach in a field), where the tide has worn through the rocks and when the tide comes in you have a little hidden beach and place to swim. Very busy in summer, so either go early or avoid. Location

Playa de Poo

Despite the comedy name, it has a beautiful lagoon protected from the waves which makes it great for a paddle. Plus you can take the comedy photo with the sign. What´s not to like? Location

<

.

Places to visit

Bulnes

Recommended for a top day trip. It’s a tiny village in a spectacular location in the mountains, with no road access. You can walk up from the funicular railway terminal, though we recommend taking the funicular railway tunnelled through the mountain, which is fun (though quite expensive). In the village there are a handful of restaurants. It’s beautiful to just walk around and take in the sights, then have a coffee or lunch. A spectacular drive to get there too.

Asiego

A very pretty mountain village with an excellent cheese and cider tour (includes visiting the mountain cave where they store the cheese). The village is stunning, with great views of Naranjo de Bulnes / Picu Uriellu, a famous peak in Asturias. The restaurant is modern, all gluten-free and great food. Amazing tortos!

Cuevas del Agua
Spectacular cave to walk / drive through and then the village is very cute, though very small - a little shop, a restaurant, and that’s pretty much it. There are two walking routes to do from here. The drive here from Ribadesella is picturesque too, passing some good restaurants on the way.

Ribadesella

Pretty town where the large River Sella meets the sea, just 15 mins drive away. Lots of bars, restaurants, a port, couple of beaches. Nice to walk around and have a chilled day. You can also do boat trips and jetski tours along the coast from here.

Nueva

The nearest village, which has a couple of mini supermarkets and a few restaurants and cafes. It’s small but pretty to walk around. On Saturday mornings there is a food market. There’s a big car park in the centre of the village. Car park is here:


Llanes (the town)

25 mins drive away is Llanes, a large town. Beautiful historic areas to wander around, and lots of restaurants and shops. A good option for a chilled out day wandering.


Cuevas de Tito Bustillo (in Ribadesella)

A very famous site with ancient cave paintings on the wall. You need to book it in advance - well in advance in high season - but the prices are very cheap and the guided tour is highly recommended. Website for more info

Gijon
40 minutes by car, Gijon is the closest big city. It has a huge selection of restaurants, including more variety and world cuisine than you might find out in the countryside. There are two large sandy beaches, a theatre, aquarium, botanic gardens and La Laboral cultural and arts centre. It has a very busy cultural calendar, with artisan markets, food fiestas, art galleries, a cinema festival in November, an air show in July and much more. Visit Gijon website


Oviedo

The capital of Asturias, one hour away by car. Known for its gastronomy, art galleries, historical museums, abundance of unique sculptures and statues, and shopping.

Santander surroundings

On your way to and from Santander airport, you might stop to visit:

  • Cabárceno zoo - great drive-through safari zoo, with amazing large enclosures for the animals and a cable car that goes over the entire zoo for a different perspective.

  • Redwood forest - nice place for a short stop off, quick to walk around, easy access with a buggy / backpack and just off the motorway.

  • Comillas - pretty beach side town which was a retreat for Spain’s royals and aristocracy, leading to some weird and wonderful architecture - including a famous Gaudi palace. 


Cider tours


Centro Niemeyer, Aviles

One of the other big cities in Asturias, this is the impressive looking arts centre. Check what’s on before going though, otherwise it’s a bit empty.


Fishing villages - Llastres, Candas, Tazones, Cudillero

Think pretty Cornish / Welsh fishing villages, with seafood to die for.


<

.

For the cyclists

  • I am a keen mountain biker - you can find many routes to follow using the tourism websites or route-finder apps. I personally use Wikiloc, this is my profile with lots of local routes. Gary’s Wikiloc profile for bike routes

  • Good repair shop in Posada

  • Mi Bicio High quality electric mountain bike hire near the bike park and flow trail in Laviana (the in-land mining valleys)

  • NaturAsturias E-bike hire good for touring

<

.