Oviedo city is the capital of the Principality of Asturias It is a very elegant and enchanting city that invites you to wander through the medieval streets, enjoy amazing gastronomy, have a coffee in the charming cake shops and cafes, go shopping in their exquisite shops & boutiques, enjoy the art galleries and museums or have a drink in the busy bars and night clubs. From the bread used in our batters: the traditional and almost extinct Asturian spelt, to our La Peral cheese filling created by a renowned artisan cheese maker in Avilés, to our sides: Asturian lettuce purchased from small farmers at markets and Asturian mashed potatoes… everything we need to make the Best Cachopo of Asturias 2017 (Asturian cordon bleu) comes from the land that surrounds us.
Situated just a 5-minute walk from the historic city centre, very close to the cathedral and Calle Gascona, also known as the cider boulevard”, the convenient location and good modern facilities make the Aparthotel Campus a great choice, and specially recommended for long term stays.



Over the years Nacho has brought his modernisation of cocina asturiana to a high pitch of refinement: his torto de maíz is as light as feather, his arroz con pitu de caleya (a restaurante rice dish made with the meat of a free-range cockerel) is densely flavoured and accompanied by a scallop somehow deliciously aromatised with fresh cucumber and green pepper.

Besides drinking the cider, the Spanish have come up with many amazing meals where the cider is cooked in ceramic dishes, alongside hake, salmon (Asturias is Spain's leading salmon producing region) or clams or (my favourite of the entire weekend) chorizo (Chorizo a la Sidra”).
Whether visiting for summer holidays, to meet Rosana's family and friends or to attend weddings, I've been to Asturias quite a few times now and it never fails to inspire me with its impossibly green mountains, pristine beaches, idyllic coastal cities and hearty cuisine.

Celtic roots, an industrial heritage that includes coal-mining and steel-making, wild landscapes (Picos de Europa, the first National Park created in Spain, is partly located in Asturias) and a yet-to-be-discovered hearty food culture all come together to make this place a must-visit for food-lovers the world over.
You are then treated to a short guided tour of the city ( the cathedral, with its magnificent stained glass windows, the Romanesque facade of San Isidro with storks nesting above it.) Once on the train you travel up the Torio Valley to Mattallana, at the base of the mountains.
One fun and original thing I did in Oviedo was a theatrical tour by a company called Peregrinando Oviedo Our guide was dressed in full medieval traveller's garb and delivered the tour in the role of a holy pilgrim from these times, regaling us with stories of her journey and expressing her joy at arriving at Oviedo's Cathedral of the Holy Saviour And whilst Oviedo isn't on the traditional Camino del Norte route, they say that he who neglects to pay a visit to this sacred city in their haste to get to Santiago visits the servant (St.

Our first day began with a gentle hike through a forest, then along cow paths and up into several mountain villages, including Fresnedo, population 5. Our guide Judy chatted in Spanish with a couple of elderly villagers who still live in the town's wood structures with red tiled roofs.
He's keen to impress on me that this effervescent apple juice is much more than a tasty alcoholic beverage, and that its delectation forms an important social ritual, starting with the famous manner of pouring the cider from high above into the glass - a feat that takes quite some dexterity - and finishing with the way it's drunk, which is always down in one.