Oviedo is a capital that started as a monastery. In the early ninth century King Alfonso II of Asturias moved his court here, built a church dedicated to the Saviour, and began to create a little kingdom out of the mountains that had resisted the Moors, and the buildings that followed form one of the most distinctive groups of early medieval architecture in Europe. UNESCO lists the Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias, and the best of them stand on the slopes of Monte Naranco, above the city: Santa María del Naranco, a palace hall of King Ramiro I built in the 840s and later used as a church, and San Miguel de Lillo, a slender church nearby.
Santa María del Naranco is a marvel. Its proportions are harmonious, with an arcaded gallery at each end, and the stone vaults and sculpted medallions show an architecture that has no direct parallel in its time. San Miguel de Lillo survives only in part, but its carved window lattices and doorway reliefs are exquisite. In the city, the Cámara Santa of the cathedral houses the Cross of the Angels, a gold and jewel cross given by Alfonso II in 808, and the Victory Cross, associated with Pelayo and the battle of Covadonga.
The ride up Naranco from the city is short and steep, with a few hairpins and a view of Oviedo. Beyond, the roads of Asturias are a rider's delight: the climb to the Lagos de Covadonga, the mountain passes of Pajares and San Isidro, and the winding coastal roads. Asturias is green because it is wet, so carry waterproofs, and expect fog on the high ground. Fuel is plentiful in Oviedo and in Lugones, five kilometres away.
Eat here, too. Oviedo is the home of fabada, the white bean and sausage stew, of cider poured from a height into a wide glass, of the cachopo, a vast breaded veal and ham cutlet, and of sweet pastries such as the carbayón. A statue of Woody Allen on a street corner commemorates his love of the city. Park the bike in a car park and walk, since the old centre is largely pedestrian.