No one who's been in Llanes doubts that this place is a beauty. And those who have been, are quite a few, because, between incredible beaches, historical heritage and the fantastic sights, the Asturian council attracts a tide of tourists every year wanting to see if this is as beautiful as everyone says. And it turns out that yes, it is.
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No one who's been in Llanes doubts that this place is a beauty. And those who have been, are quite a few, because, between incredible beaches, historical heritage and the fantastic sights, the Asturian council attracts a tide of tourists every year wanting to see if this is as beautiful as everyone says. And it turns out that yes, it is.
Llanes was called Puebla de Aguilar in medieval times and began to build its walls and tower back in the thirteenth century. Something rather curious, because the Muslim armies were further than a few miles away, and it was a long time since the Vikings had terrorised its coast. It seems that the protection sought was against the noble and warlike clans that, any day, could’ve felt like taking over the village. Because any bullet hurts, no matter which side it comes from.
The Church of Santa María is from that period, one of the high points of Asturias Gothic and one of the things that you should visit without a doubt. For its construction, all the neighbours had to dig into their pockets, and that is why the ownership of the temple belongs to Llanes and not to the church, as is usually the case.
Once walled in, the locals devoted themselves to trading and whaling, the harbour grew, and stately mansions like Gastañaga's palace began to appear in the streets. Very different, by the way, from the ones that centuries later were going to be built by the Indianos in this region. At the beginning of the twentieth century, striking mansions sprang up among the traditional buildings, which were the symbol of the triumph of the returned emigrants and still form part of the identity of the town.
Among other things, Llanes had time to face the Napoleonic armies, build a neoclassical town hall and a modernist casino, and prepare for the tourism that was to come looking for places like the beach of Cuevas del Mar and its many holes in the rock.
And keeping the sea as a witness, we suggest you go to the dock to see the Memory Cubes. A colourful and surprising work by the artist Agustín Ibarrola, which decorates the concrete blocks of the pier in the town's port.
