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Culture and Tradition

A picturesque city surrounded by mountains, breathtaking views, the green landscape and a blend of culture and tradition with state of the art architecture, make Oviedo a unique place; all the commodities of a modern city, with the calmness of a small town within 60 minutes of the best beaches and top ski resorts in the north of Spain.

Paul Richardson (Writer) describes Asturias and Oviedo in an article in The Observer (12 July 2009); he says:

"Asturias is very Spanish in some ways, and surprisingly unlike the rest of the country in many others. Its Celtic, Atlantic culture is the polar opposite of the indolent, sherry-sipping, sun-lounging outdoor life of the Mediterranean.

History and geography dictate the way a place looks, feels and tastes. Asturias was a nation and kingdom seven centuries before Fernando and Isabella invented Spain, and it formed the cradle of the "reconquista", by which the rest of the peninsula was eventually won back from the Moors. (Indeed, a popular saying has it that "Asturias is Spain - the rest is conquered territory".)"

"Oviedo has some of Spain's most venerable buildings - such as Santa María del Naranco, an exquisite pre-Romanesque church set in green pastures above the city."

"There is a lively cultural life here, the Campoamor opera house is a classic 19th-century chocolate-box theatre."

There is also a lively nightlife for young people, who normally gather in the Cider Boulevard or on the Wine Route where you will find one pub after another to enjoy a drink and delicious "pinchos" and "tapas"

"If Asturias is a series of pleasant surprises, Oviedo often comes as the first of them. It's a compact, handsome little city, charmingly buttoned-up."

"Oviedo had star billing along with Barcelona in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Woody is a huge fan of the city, which has responded by putting up a bronze statue of him in the street."