THE Times newspaper has recommended that tourists check out the city of Aviles in northern Spain, saying that it is one of the ‘most underrated’ places in that part of the country.
The UK publication added that Aviles is enjoying a ‘long-overdue’ tourist revival.
The Asturias region city gained its charter in the Middle Ages with history going back centuries oozing in its streets and buildings.
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Its story has been carved in stone in its streets and squares, in its walls, in its historical layout, in its palaces and emblazoned houses.
Aviles has preserved its heritage and proudly displays it in a modern city, where strolling around leads to all kinds of discoveries.
They include museums, cider houses, streets that are atmospheric at vermouth or wine time, or restaurants that exude seafaring aromas and imaginative cuisine.
One of the most striking places in Aviles is its historic quarter.
There are hardly any reconstructions or recreations to be seen, and the fact is that the old Aviles has withstood the centuries like no other place in Asturias.
It still has one of the most striking historic centres in northern Spain.
It is not only the age of its buildings that stand out, but also the authenticity of its streets, many of which are arcaded like cloisters that help give shape to the heart of the city.
The focal point is in the Town Hall square and from there its most characteristic streets start out as if at a kind of crossroads.
Aviles is well placed as travellers abandon Spain’s scorching south for cooler Atlantic summers.
Even the rain has become part of the attraction as many tourists prefer a light shower and 22C to a battering 42C.
“It isn’t only foreigners discovering us,” said Fernando Artime in an interview with The Times.
“It’s Spaniards… and even Asturians.”
He’s a businessman whose restoration and transformation of historic buildings into hotels in Aviles and neighbouring San Esteban de Pravia is helping revive this corner of Asturias.
The city’s reputation of being a steel-making centre coupled with pollution, he says, simply failed to catch up with reality.
“People still have that image in their minds, even though it’s a complete anachronism,” Artime commented.
“Aviles has long been overlooked in favour of Oviedo and Gijon, despite once being one of northern Spain’s most important ports.”
During a visit to Aviles, you will realise that it is also a city of the arts.
Art permeates everything not only in its architecture but with a design school, a music school, the Palacio Valdes theatre and the Museum of the Urban History of Aviles.
One of the most contemporary touches in the city comes from the Niemeyer Centre.
Located on the most industrial bank of the estuary, its shapes and immaculate white provide the counterpoint to what was once the Aviles of iron and steel
It offers cultural activities all year round.
Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect, donated the design after receiving the Prince of Asturias award for pioneering the international style, asking only that it should stand beside water.
Its director, Carlos Cuadros, says ‘it brings together everything that defined his architecture’.
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