5 Places to Visit in Oviedo

Looking places to visit in Oviedo?

Oviedo is a beautiful city in Spain’s Asturias region that shows us the country’s fascinating history and the uniqueness that it holds.

While many tourists head to Barcelona and Madrid. Oviedo has something special with its town squares, historic churches, and excellent food that you cannot find anywhere else in the world.

This northern Spanish city gives visitors a real taste of the region’s culture that you won’t find in travel magazines.

So, without any further explanation of this amazing place. Let’s find out the most famous tourist attraction spots that you can find in Oviedo.

Oviedo Cathedral (Catedral de San Salvador)

The Oviedo Cathedral stands out in the city with its tall Gothic tower.

Inside of this amazing place, you’ll find the Holy Chamber (Cámara Santa). That is been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

That’s pretty wonderful to know right?

Moreover, it holds some important religious belongings. Including the Sudarium of Oviedo – a cloth that many believe that was touched by Christ’s face after his death.

The cathedral took about 300 years to build, from the 1200s to the 1500s, and shows different styles of Gothic architecture.

The best times to visit are early in the morning or late afternoon when there are fewer people.

You can also watch the sunlight that shines through the beautiful stained glass if you are a morning person.

In addition to that, make sure to visit the cathedral museum to see the medieval art. Especially the Cross of the Angels, which shows incredible back in time designs.

Plaza del Fontán

The Plaza del Fontán really shows what old Oviedo was about.

The square is surrounded by old buildings that were built in 1600s with walkways that are around.

This marketplace has been important to the city for hundreds of years.

Today, you can find traditional shops and restaurants under its arches.

Here’s something amazing to know:

Every Thursday, the plaza hosts a market where people sell fresh food, local cheese, and traditional crafts from the Asturias region.

So if you got any interest in those, please make some time to visit there.

Furthermore, the streets around the plaza have many cider houses and restaurants that serves local dishes like fabada asturiana.

Which means, if you are foodie, It’s the perfect place to try some authentic local food.

San Miguel de Lillo and Santa María del Naranco

We know, this name is quite tricky to read right?

However, what this place has isn’t something that you should miss.

On Monte Naranco hill that is above the city, you’ll find these two churches from the 800s.

Those churches are some of the best examples of early European architecture.

Santa María del Naranco was first built as King Ramiro I’s palace and has unique design features that were very advanced for its time.

Eventhough San Miguel de Lillo isn’t fully intact anymore, you can still see amazing historical layouts and original parts of the building.

What is important to note that is, both of these churches are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

So, now you know why that you shouldn’t miss this place.

Moving on, when you visit, in addition to seeing it’s remarkable architecture, you can also enjoy quite wonderful views of Oviedo and the mountains that are nearby.

Once you visit there, you will understand that these buildings tells us about the advanced kingdom that existed during the medieval times.

Campo de San Francisco

In the middle of Oviedo, you’ll find the Campo de San Francisco. Which is a large park that covers 90,000 square meters.

This was used to be a garden for Franciscan monks, but as of now, it has become a public park with old trees, walking paths, and decorative fountains.

Many people gets here to see the peacocks that walk freely around the park.

You’ll also find many sculptures throughout the park, including one of Woody Allen, who really loves this city.

In case if you ever felt like that you must relax your mind for a minute, this is the place that you must look for.

As a matter fact, every day, families and students spend their time in this park to overcome their mental issues before getting back to their busy lives.

Calle Gascona (Cider Boulevard)

People call this street as “Cider Boulevard” because it’s the best place to experience the Asturian cider culture.

This street is full of traditional cider houses where servers pour the region’s natural cider in a special way.

How they do this is actually amazing, they hold the bottle high above their heads and pour the cider into a glass that is been held low, which adds air to the drink and makes it taste better.

Note: The best time to go there is in the evening when local people gather to share cider and small plates of food. Once you are there, try the chorizo that is been cooked in cider and cabrales cheese for a true taste of Asturian food.

Practical Tips

The best months to visit Oviedo are in late spring or early fall when the weather is quite calm.

During this period, you can walk around the city center without worrying about anything, and there are good bus services to take you to places further out, like the old churches.

So once you are there, try to stay in the historic center, where you can find nice hotels in old medieval buildings.

In addition to that, knowing some basic Spanish words will help you to interact with them. Who knows, this will motivate you to learn their langauge as well.

So either way, it’s a win-win situation for you.

Conclusion

These five places are what makes Oviedo so much special.

Its architecture, religious history, food culture, and parks are the main tourist attractions in Oviedo.

Remember that each place is worth visiting on its own, but together they tell the full story of this remarkable city.

Overall, Oviedo gives visitors a genuine Spanish experience that you cannot get anywhere else in the world.

Think about it, you can actually experience the Asturian culture over here.

So what’s more amazing than this right?

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