Page 16 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

14  INTRODUCING NOR THERN SP AIN

Costa Verde
• Duration Seven days.
• Airports The nearest
international airport
is Asturias Airport in
Oviedo, 93 km (58 miles)
from Ribadeo.
• Transport A car is essential.

Day 1
Ribadeo (p56) enjoys some
of the most spectacular coastal
The walkways and turrets of the Palacio Real in Olite scenery in the area, particularly
the rock formations at the Praia
Vineyards and Day 4 das Catedrais beach. Drive east
Pilgrim Paths Head east to Calahorra (p165), to Luarca (p89), a whitewashed
one of the oldest cities in the fishing port, where you can
• Duration Seven days.
region. Press on to prettier enjoy a delicious seafood lunch.
• Airports The nearest inter- Olite (pp162–3), where the Continue east to another
national airports are Biarritz kings of Navarra kept a royal picturesque fishing town,
(France), 115 km (72 miles) residence, the magnificent Cudillero (p89), piled steeply
from Pamplona, and Bilbao, Palacio Real de Olite, then on to around a charming harbour.
155 km (96 miles) away. Sangüesa (p160), another well-
preserved medieval town. Day 2
• Transport A car is essential.
Spend the day in Oviedo
Day 5 (pp92–7), famous for its
Day 1 Follow the Valle de Salazar Romanesque churches
Explore the Navarran capital (pp154–5), a beautiful, verdant (pp96–7), which sit in the hills
of Pamplona (pp156–9). Walk valley shaded with beech overlooking the town. Stroll
along the ancient narrow forests and scattered with around the winding streets
streets of its Old Town, home charming villages and of the Old Town, admiring
to several pretty medieval handsome country houses. the handsome mansions
churches and a splendid Stop for lunch at a rural and churches, then visit the
cathedral. Take a break in the restaurant, or bring a picnic beautiful Gothic cathedral
gardens surrounding the and enjoy it by the river. and the excellent Museo de
Ciudadela, a 16th-century Travel to Ochagavía (p154), Bellas Artes.
fortress, and don’t miss out on the loveliest of all the villages
the city’s fantastic tapas bars. in these parts, which preserves Day 3
six stone bridges. Back on the coast, modern
Day 2 Gijón (pp90–91) boasts plenty
Drive south to the enchanting Day 6 of attractions, including its old
pilgrimage town of Estella Spend the morning exploring fisherman’s quarter, known as
(p161). Stop for lunch, then the magical Bosque de Irati Cimadevilla, and the fascinating
press on to Logroño (p164), (p154), Spain’s largest primeval Museo del Pueblo de Asturias,
famous for its many bodegas forest, which is home to an which gives an insight into
that produce the area’s world- abundance of bird and animal traditional life in the region.
renowned Rioja wines. Take a life and full of wonderful
wine-tasting tour (pp168–9) walking paths. Take the twisting
at one of the bodegas. mountain road to Roncesvalles
(p154), an ancient pilgrim town
Day 3 on a mountain pass near the
Spend the morning at another French border, where you can
bustling wine town – Haro visit the Colegiata Real, the
(p167) has an excellent wine burial place of Sancho VII.
museum and a clutch of
eminent bodegas. After lunch, Day 7
take a leisurely drive to Santo Enjoy the many beautiful walks
Domingo de la Calzada (p167), around Roncesvalles, admiring
a small village named after a the spectacular mountain
medieval martyr whose relics scenery, before returning down
are buried in the lavishly another scenic mountain road The dramatic landscape at the beach of
decorated 12th-century church. back to Pamplona. Praia das Catedrais, Ribadeo
For practical information on travelling around Spain, see pp246–51

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