Oviedo Travel Guide

203km (126 miles) W of Santander, 444km (276 miles) N of Madrid

A bit over a decade ago,  the ascension of Felipe VI to the Spanish throne shone a happy spotlight on Oviedo, birthplace of his wife, Queen Letizia. The capital of Asturias and only 26km (16 miles) from the coast, Oviedo (Uviéu in Asturian) can be temperately pleasant in summer, when much of Spain is unbearably hot. Despite its high concentration of industry and mining, the area has unspoiled scenery.

Razed in the 8th century during the Reconquest, Oviedo was rebuilt in an architectural style known as Asturian pre–Romanesque, which predated many of the greatest achievements under the Moors. Remarkably, this architectural movement was in flower when the rest of Europe lay under the black cloud of the Dark Ages.

And speaking of Dark Ages—Oviedo suffered the special enmity of dictator Francisco Franco, who made his reputation by ferociously crushing a miners’ uprising in 1934. The fighting led to the destruction of many historical monuments. The cathedral was also damaged, and the university was set on fire. Even more destruction came during the Spanish Civil War.

Yet for all of its dark past, Oviedo today is a lyrical and upbeat little city, where Celtic musicians and folk dancers take to the streets in the summer.