Aviles, Asturias: municipality guide

Aviles is a municipality in central Asturias, on the Cantabrian coast, shaped around its estuary. Its capital is the town of Aviles, the third city of Asturias. With 75,517 inhabitants, it combines a historic quarter declared a historic-artistic ensemble with a strong industrial tradition and a vibrant cultural life.

The municipality of Avilés highlighted in blue (central Asturias) on the map of Asturias

What to see in Aviles

The Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre, the Brazilian architect’s only work in Spain —he designed the city of Brasilia—, beside the estuary. Opened in spring 2011 as a space dedicated to education, culture and peace, it became a fundamental element in the city’s regeneration and an icon of today’s Asturias.

Niemeyer Centre. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Ugo Cuesta (CC BY-SA 3.0)

La Curtidora, a former factory recovered as a cultural space, an example of Aviles’s industrial heritage alongside late 19th and early 20th-century factories such as the Balsera warehouses and the El Águila flour factory.

The historic quarter, a historic-artistic ensemble since 1955. Its palaces, temples and civic buildings stand out along Galiana and Rivero streets, with their characteristic arcades. Among the civic works, the Ferrera (17th century), Valdecarzana (15th century), Camposagrado (17th century) and Llano Ponte (18th century) palaces stand out, and among the religious ones the Alas chapel, a jewel of 14th-century Asturian protogothic.

The estuary promenade, with the Steel Route (Ruta del Acero): a set of contemporary sculptures made from recycled steel materials along the estuary, promoted by the Town Council and ArcelorMittal. The port of Aviles is the leading fishing port in Asturias.

The church of Santo Tomás de Canterbury (new Sabugo), neo-Gothic, designed by Luis Bellido, and the seafaring district of Sabugo, an extramural suburb of medieval origin linked since its beginnings to fishing and seafaring, with the old 13th-century Sabugo church.

The visit is completed by the Palacio Valdés theatre, neo-baroque, hosting premieres of works of national interest; the Museum of Urban History, opened in May 2013 with a journey from Prehistory to the industrial legacy; and Ferrera park, the city’s great green lung.

Camino de Santiago: the Camino del Norte — a UNESCO World Heritage site — crosses the historic centre of Avilés along Calle del Rivero, the Sabugo quarter and Plaza de España, once home to a pilgrims’ hospital. This is the Gijón–Avilés–Muros de Nalón stage.

Getting there

Aviles lies 25 km from Gijón, 27 km from Oviedo and 15 km from Asturias airport. It is served by the A-8 Cantabrian motorway, the AI-81 access road, the N-632 and the AS-19 (Aviles-Gijón), AS-17 (Aviles-Langreo), AS-237 (Aviles-Grado) and AS-238 (Aviles-Luanco) roads. By train, the C-3 (Oviedo-San Juan de Nieva) and C-4 (Gijón-Cudillero) commuter lines serve the station, and since July 2024 the city has a daily (except Saturdays) Alvia service to Madrid.

The municipality of Avilés and its main towns · the capital, Avilés, in gold

Municipality map: data © OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Own rendering, no Google, no cookies.

Festivals and gastronomy

Aviles is a festive city. Highlights include its carnival (Antroxu), of regional tourist interest, with the International Fluvial Descent of Galiana street; the Fiesta del Bollo, on Easter Sunday and Monday, of national and international tourist interest, with its massive street lunch; the Interceltic Festival, in the second half of July; the Fiestas del Carmen (16 July); San Agustín (28 August), the city’s patron; the Celsius 232 festival of science fiction, horror and fantasy; and the Beer Festival (21-27 August). At the table, the most representative sweet is the Mantecado de Avilés —also called Bollo de Avilés—, historically linked to the Fiesta del Bollo.