Carreño, Asturias: municipality guide

Carreño is a municipality in central Asturias, Spain, in the comarca of Gijón, 35 kilometres from Oviedo. Its capital is Candás. With 10,292 inhabitants and 66.70 km², it is a coastal municipality known for the fishing town of Candás, its lighthouse and its beaches.

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

What to see in Carreño

Carreño is a coastal municipality in central Asturias, part of the comarca of Gijón. With 66.70 km² and 12 parishes, it borders the Cantabrian Sea to the north, Gijón to the east and south, and Corvera de Asturias and Gozón to the west. Its capital is Candás, a fishing town with a working port and a long canning tradition that defines the character of the municipality.

Candás concentrates much of Carreño’s appeal: its port, full of seafaring atmosphere; the Candás lighthouse, on Cape San Antonio, one of the symbols of the coastline; and the church of San Félix de Candás, in the centre of the town.

Aerial view of Candás, with its port and beach, capital of Carreño — Photo: Wikimedia Commons / velisj2 (CC BY 3.0)

The religious and civil heritage of the municipality includes the church of Santa María de Piedeloro, late Romanesque from the 13th century and declared a Cultural Heritage site (BIC); the Estrada Mora Palace, from the 18th century; and the Prendes Tower, from the 14th-15th centuries. Contemporary culture has its home in the Candás Sculpture Centre–Antón Museum, dedicated to sculpture and to the memory of the sculptor Antonio Rodríguez García, «Antón».

The oldest history of Carreño can be read in the Monte Areo necropolis, with tumuli dating back to 3000 BC, one of the most important megalithic ensembles in Asturias. From the 20th century, the singular Perlora Residential Town is a notable example of leisure architecture. The coastline, beyond the beaches of Candás, offers coves and cliffs of great beauty.

Rocky cove among cliffs on the coast of Carreño — Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Triedros (CC0)

Camino de Santiago: the Camino del Norte — a UNESCO World Heritage site — crosses Carreño along two documented branches, the Monte Areo and the Loma Cortina, through El Cerillero, Poago (bridge over the Aboño), Monte Areo, Tamón and Tabaza, among others.

Getting there

Carreño is very well connected: the A-66 and A-8 motorways link it with Oviedo, Gijón and the rest of Asturias, while the AS-19 and AS-110 roads cross the interior of the municipality. It lies about 35 kilometres from Oviedo and a stone’s throw from Gijón, making it an easy getaway from the main Asturian cities.

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

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

Festivals and gastronomy

Candás is famous for its Jornadas Gastronómicas de la Sardina (Sardine Gastronomy Days), held in summer as a tribute to the star product of its port and its canning tradition. The municipality’s festive calendar includes the Santísimo Cristo de Candás, in September; El Carmen, on 16 July; Santiago, on 25 July in Albandi; San Juan Bautista, in Tamón; El Salvador, on 6 August in Perlora; and the Virgen de los Remedios, on 14 September in Guimarán, patroness of the municipality.