Page 92 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

90  NOR THERN SP AIN REGION B Y REGION

8 Gijón breathtaking views of the
Cantabrian Sea. Narrow streets
Asturias. Road Map D1. * 278,000.
£ @ n Calle Rodriguez San Pedro cluster around the Plaza Mayor,
(Puerto Deportivo); 985 34 17 71. ( with its 19th-century town
Sun. _ San Pedro (29 Jun), La Virgen hall, near to which stands
de Begoña (15 Aug). ∑ gijon.info the Museo Casa Natal de
Jovellanos. This 16th-century
Gijón is Asturias’ largest city, house is the birthplace of
with a metal- and chemical- Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos,
producing industry, but still an an eminent 18th-century
enjoyable place to visit. There author, reformer and diplomat.
are interesting museums, nice The house, which dates from
beaches and a lively nightlife. the end of the 16th century,
The 12th-century Iglesia de San Nicolás A good place to start a tour abuts the walls of the medieval
de Bari in Avilés is the Parque del Cerro de citadel. To the right of the Plaza
Santa Catalina, which features Mayor are the Baños Romanos,
7 Avilés the 1990 sculpture Elogio del or Roman baths, built in the
Horizonte – the symbol of the 1st century BC.
Asturias. Road Map D1. * 81,000.
n Calle Ruíz Gómez 21; 985 54 43 25. city – by the Basque artist The seafront leads to the long
( Mon. _ San Agustín (28 Aug). Eduardo Chillida. sandy beach, Playa San Lorenzo,
Near the park is Gijón’s which is popular with surfers.
Avilés is an industrial town and most interesting building – The Museo del Pueblo de
an important transport hub. the Baroque Palacio de Asturias, opened in 1968, has
Visitors should head straight Revillagigedo. Built between a wealth of documentation as
for the Plaza de España in the 1704 and 1721 at the initiative of well as an archive and library.
delightful Old Town, which is Carlos Miguel Ramírez de Jove, You can learn about the history
surrounded by 14th- and the first Marquis de Esteban of Asturias, see the interior of
15th-century buildings. Here, del Mar, it accommo dates a
too, are the majority of shops, Centre for Modern Art, opened
bars and hotels, as well as the in 1991. Opposite the palace
vast Parque de Ferrera, stands a statue of Pelayo, the
cov ering an area of 80,000 sq m Visigothic ruler who began the
(20 acres), which is main tained Reconquest (see p41). Nearby is
in the style of an English the Torre del Reloj, a modern
garden. Well worth visiting is tower erected on the site of a
the 12th-century Romanesque 16th-century building; there
Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari, are beautiful views of the city
occupying the site of an earlier and its attractive surroundings
pre-Roman esque shrine, which from the top of the tower.
was built as part of a Franciscan This part of Gijón, stretching
monastery. The church con tains out along a headland, is called
a beautiful 14th-century chapel. Cimadevilla. Fishermen began
The town boasts four to settle here in Roman times.
well-preserved palaces: the Today, the district has pre served
14th-century Palacio de its maritime character, offering The balcony of a house on Calle del
Valdecarzana, the oldest visitors one of the most Marqués de San Esteban, Gijón
secular building in Avilés;
the Palacio del Marqués de
Camposagrado, completed Asturian Bagpipes
in 1663 but Renaissance in
appearance; the Palacio del In Spain, the Celtic legacy is also evident in bagpipe
Marqués de Ferrera, from music, which combines elements of Celtic and
the start of the 18th century, Iberian culture. There are six types of bagpipes,
frequented by visiting royalty; the best-known being the Galician (gaita)
and the early 20th-century and the slightly larger Asturian. Although
Palacio de Balsera, which similar in appearance to Scottish bagpipes,
houses a music conservatory. they differ in terms of the number of
bourdon pipes as well as range and
A short walk from the Old fingering. Air from the leather bellows
Town is the architecturally is squeezed into the two pipes, which
striking Centro Niemeyer. produce the characteristic rich sound.
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer Men dressed in traditional Asturian costume
and opened in 2011, it hosts Musician playing can often be seen on the streets of Asturias
performances and exhibitions, the bagpipes playing old folk melodies.
and contains a viewing tower.
For hotels and restaurants see pp204–5 and pp217–19

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