I really like Oviedo. It has a fantastic food culture and lots of nice buildings to look at, so it’s the perfect place for me.
I’ve broken my posts down as follows:
Casco Antiguo Architecture (this post).
Modernista Architecture.
Street Sculpture.
Eating at the high end.
Cheap and mid-range dining.
You’ll find everywhere mentioned and more on this Google map.
The narrow streets of the Casco Antiguo are pedestrianised so you can wander around staring upwards, with no danger of being run over.
Notable buildings include the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) at Plaza de la Constitución.
Also in the square are a couple of nice Modernista buildings (see separate post) and the Iglesia de San Isidoro.
The Catedral de Oviedo, while not particularly a beauty, is very imposing.
The finest features to my eye were the heavily adorned archways and the doors themselves which are intricately carved with unusual characters. Click on the photos to see a full-screen slideshow.
Nearby, you’ll find these old relics on the corner of Calle Rua and Calle San Antonio.
There are a couple of bars here should you want a pit stop.
To the east of the cathedral, in Plaza Carrada del Obispo and along Calle San Vicente, there are several old quasi-governmental buildings with imposing doorways.
One of these is the Museo Arqueologico de Asturias museoarqueologicodeasturias.com. Entrance is free, and it’s very modern and plush inside but there are no explanations in English sadly. There are a few nice pieces but nothing that excited me particularly. Again, click on the photos to see them full-screen.
There are lots of little squares that are worth checking out. Plaza Daoiz y Velarde has some nice old buildings. Casa Ramón at 1 Plaza Daoiz y Velarde is a good place to eat tapas and drink cider.
Plaza de Trascorrales has some nice bars and street sculpture. Married, my favourite restaurant, is near here at 19 Plaza de Trascorrales. La Mezquita in the picture looks fun.
As usual one of my favourite places was the market (the low building on the left in the picture, Iglesia de San Isidoro is in the background). I didn’t get a chance to see it in action due to work getting in the way but on my last day I managed to catch the last stall to buy the ingredients for a Fabada, the famous Asturian stew. I also ate here at El Fontan, which overlooks the market (see my post on Mid-range and Cheap Eating).
Just opposite the market at 9 Calle Fierro is an excellent deli called Aramburu www.aramburu-asturias.es. It’s another good place to stock up on goodies to take home…
…or grab a snack.
Street sculpture in the Casco Antiguo next!