To
Llanes
, a town and council in the East of Asturias, everyone comes in summer because it treasures
dozens of beautiful beaches and coves
, authentic works of art sculpted by the (evil) genius of the sea on the limestone cliffs.
It is convenient to avoid this time to calmly see the beaches themselves and the buffoons where the compressed waves form water chimneys many meters high.
We will also see prehistoric paintings, medieval walls, Indian houses ... And, above all, movie theaters:
22 films have been shot here
, no less.
The breakwater of the town of Llanes, in Asturias.
O. GONZÁLEZ getty images
9.00.
Multicolored concrete
Something typical for breakfast?
Las llaniscas de almendra de la
Confitería Vega
, a house founded in 1950 a few steps from the port.
Nearby, in the old fish market, is the
tourist office (1)
(985 40 01 64).
Crossing the pedestrian walkway next to it, we enter an old town with well-paved streets that smell of cider and saltpeter, nestled next to the
basilica of Santa María del Concejo (2)
, a Gothic temple, something rare in Asturias.
Llanes preserves a good piece of medieval wall, about 300 meters long, just behind the
Sablón beach.
To the north of this starts the
San Pedro promenade (3)
, made of grass, which runs one kilometer along the edge of the cliffs.
To the south, you immediately discover the harbor breakwater, whose concrete blocks display flowers and other cheerful motifs painted by
Agustín Ibarrola
:
The cubes of memory,
the work is titled.
It is worth taking the walk for 10 minutes to see the
Partarríu palace (4)
to the south of the town
, the Indian house where, among other films,
El orfanato
, by
Juan Antonio Bayona
, was filmed
.
11.00.
The feet of the warrior
Eight kilometers from the town, in
Puertas de Vidiago
, is the most impressive prehistoric vestige of the municipality of Llanes: the
Idol of Peña Tú (5)
.
In a rocky shelter facing east, one can recognize, among others, the figure of a little man wrapped in robes and cloaks with only his eyes and feet visible, and who is believed to have been a great warrior or chief of a tribe.
To its right, engraved in the rock, there is a dagger that facilitates the dating of the set to the year 3,000 BC.
And around the rock, 56 burial mounds indicate that this was a mortuary monument and a common burial site, including that of the little man.
From the
Peña Tú
didactic classroom
(now closed), you have to walk 900 meters through the field.
13.00
.
Seagulls and cloths
Returning to the town of Llanes, we will turn off towards Andrín to visit
Ballota beach (6)
, the most spectacular in the council.
From
the Boriza viewpoint
, at the top, between this beach and Andrín's, you can see its 300-meter
cliffed
shell wonderfully and, just in front, the islet of Castro Ballota, with its heavenly court of seagulls and paíños.
At the western end of the beach there is a famous jester, a natural chimney that spits the water that introduces the waves up to 40 meters high.
14.30.
Fabada with pantruque
The snails in grandmother's sauce, the scrambled eggs with orices and prawns, the tortos with eggs and picadillo, and the fabada with homemade pantruque are four good reasons to stay and eat at the
Casa El Rubiu cider house (7)
, in Vidiago.
The seafood tavern
El Bálamu (8)
(985 41 36 06), in the port of Llanes, is another success.
Through its windows you can see the origin of what you eat.
The Partarríu palace, a magnificent example of Indian architecture, was built in 1899 and housed the disturbing plot of 'The Orphanage', Juan A. Bayona's first film.
ALAMY
16.30.
Behind the Cantabrian Sea
In Naves, 15 kilometers from Llanes, the
Gulpiyuri beach
is hidden
(9)
.
There is no other like it in Spain because it is not on the shore, but inland, in a hollow where the sea cannot be seen, but whose waters filter through the rocks forming a crystalline pool.
Outside, the Cantabrian Sea roars.
Inside, total calm.
It is actually a torca, a karst depression that floods when the tide rises.
Another geological wonder is the
Bramadoriu de Llames (10)
, in Llames de Pría, a field of buffoons and cliffs that with angry sea offers a shocking spectacle: here and there jets appear like geysers whose snorting can be heard for miles.
For the locals, the buffoons are like barometers, announcing bad weather.
"When you feel the Pría well sound," they say, "get firewood for another day."
18.00.
Riverside sunset
With the last rays of the sun we will approach
Niembro (11)
to admire its riverside cemetery.
It is in a sandy meander of the Barro estuary, which the high tide overflows every six hours, giving this field of crosses a spectral air, like a ghost ship.
And, to return the next day, a couple of kilometers from the cemetery there is another amazing beach,
Torimbia
.
21.00.
Dinner at the chigre
If we are greedy and want to save
money
, we will have dinner at the
El Antoju cider house (12)
(984 08 96 41), a winch in the middle of Calle Mayor whose strong point is the XXL cachopo with a wide variety of fillings (its grilled octopus is also very tasty) .
If not, we will make a reservation at
El Retiro (13)
, a restaurant with a Michelin star in Pancar, on the outskirts of Llanes, where
Ricardo González Sotres
prepares contemporary Asturian cuisine, with a lot of texture, emulsion, tartar, caviar,
foie gras
and truffle.
23.00.
A town of cute little hotels
La Pereda (14)
, three kilometers from Llanes, is a village of only 49 inhabitants, but with an alarming density of cute little hotels.
There are
El Habana
, La
Posada de Babel
,
La QuintaEsencia
,
Caeaclaveles
and, best of all,
Arpa de Hierba
, where Patricia and Luis pamper the guest.
Its decoration stands out, with English wallpapers and French-inspired furniture, and its super breakfasts: freshly squeezed juices, steaming loaves, eggs, cheeses, cold cuts, crepes, homemade cakes ...
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