Cabranes, Asturias: municipality guide

Cabranes is a municipality in the Oviedo comarca, part of the Comarca de la Sidra (Cider District) association. Its capital is Santa Eulalia. With about 1,090 inhabitants, it is one of the smallest municipalities in Asturias, known for its pre-Romanesque church of San Julián de Viñón and the Rural School Museum.

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

What to see in Cabranes

The Rural School Museum of Asturias, in Viñón, housed in the old schools, traces the history of education in rural Asturias, with reconstructed classrooms, period school materials and the memory of the teachers who educated generations of country children.

The town hall, in the capital, Santa Eulalia, presides over the village centre and is a good example of the municipality’s civic architecture.

Town hall of Cabranes — Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Uviein (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Other places of interest: the church of San Julián de Viñón, of pre-Romanesque origin with Romanesque elements and declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1965; the parish church of Santa Eulalia, from the 15th century; and examples of indiano architecture, such as the schools of Viñón (1907) and Santa Eulalia, built with the money of emigrants who made their fortune in America.

Part of the Comarca de la Sidra association, Cabranes is a land of apple orchards and cider presses, with a rural landscape of meadows, woods and villages that invites peaceful walks and the enjoyment of the most authentic Asturias.

The Viñón schools of 1907 are the finest example of the municipality’s indiano architecture: built with the capital of returned emigrants, they stand out for their glazed galleries and careful ornamentation. Today they house the Rural School Museum, so a single visit reveals two sides of Cabranes’ history: emigration and education.

The cider tradition is very much alive in Cabranes: as part of the Comarca de la Sidra association, its orchards and traditional presses keep alive a culture that revolves around the apple. Tasting the local cider in one of the area’s taverns is the perfect end to a day of sightseeing among villages, meadows and pre-Romanesque churches.

Getting there

Cabranes lies 47 kilometres from Oviedo and is connected by the AS-255 road, which links Villaviciosa with Infiesto, as well as the regional AS-334 and AS-335 roads. Access from Oviedo is via the A-64 motorway towards Villaviciosa or via Infiesto from the east; the capital, Santa Eulalia, is just a few minutes from this main road, making the municipality an easy getaway from different parts of Asturias.

The municipality of Cabranes and its main towns · the capital, Santa Eulalia, in gold

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

Festivals and gastronomy

The Festival del Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding Festival) is the municipality’s best-known event, dedicated to the quintessential Asturian dessert, and each year brings together cooks and visitors around this delicacy. The festive calendar also includes San Francisco, in the capital Santa Eulalia; el Carmen, in Torazo; and the traditional livestock fairs. At the table, besides rice pudding, Cabranes’ cuisine follows the tradition of the Cider District: fabada, hearty stews, cured meats and cheeses, always accompanied by natural cider.