Valdés, Asturias: municipality guide
Valdés is a coastal municipality in western Asturias, with 10,895 inhabitants (INE 2024) spread over 353.52 km² between the Cantabrian Sea and the interior. Its capital is Luarca, the white seafaring town, birthplace of Nobel laureate Severo Ochoa. The municipality is crossed by the Camino del Norte, an official Jacobean route.
What to see in Valdés
The Luarca lighthouse, built in 1862 on the headland of Punta Focicón, watches over the harbour entrance and is one of the historic lighthouses of the Cantabrian coast. Next to it, the Luarca cemetery, in a privileged position above the sea, is considered one of the most beautiful in Spain.
Luarca, the capital, is one of the most charming fishing towns in Asturias: the harbour, one of the most beautiful in the region, the fishermen’s quarter of El Cambaral —with its winding streets and stairways bridging the slopes— and the indiano mansions shape its profile. Among its buildings stands the Palace of the Marqués de Ferrera, and among its famous sons, Severo Ochoa, Nobel Prize in Medicine, and Gil Parrondo, the art director who won two Academy Awards and of whom the town is justly proud.
The interior of the municipality holds the Hoces del Esva, declared a Protected Landscape, a river gorge of great beauty; Cabo Busto, with its lighthouse and views; Cadavedo beach; the Parque de la Vida; and the valley of Paredes, declared an Exemplary Village of Asturias in 2001.
Camino de Santiago: the Camino del Norte, an official Jacobean route and UNESCO World Heritage Site, crosses the municipality. Luarca is a stop on the Way and has a pilgrims’ hostel, located in Almuña, about two kilometres from the town.
Getting there
The A-8 motorway (Autovía del Cantábrico) and the N-634 road are the main routes: Luarca is well connected both eastwards (Oviedo, Gijón) and westwards (Galicia). Pilgrims walking the Camino del Norte reach Luarca on foot from the east or continue westwards along the coastal route.
Festivals and gastronomy
On the last Sunday of July the Vaqueirada de Aristébano takes place, declared of National Tourist Interest and shared with Tineo. In Luarca, the Virgen del Carmen —patroness of sailors— is celebrated in Luarca and Barcia; 15 August is the Virgen del Rosario and 22 August San Timoteo. In Cadavedo, on the last Sunday of August, La Regalina is held, and in Trevías on 29 September San Miguel.
Municipality data
Coat of arms: Wikimedia Commons (SanchoPanzaXXI, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Capital: Luarca
- Population: 10,895 inhabitants (INE 2024)
- Area: 353.52 km²
- Zone: West
- Demonym: valdesano, -na
- Town Hall: Plaza Alfonso X, s/n, 33700 Luarca. Tel. +34 985 64 02 34
Neighbouring municipalities
Useful links
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