Oviedo is a small and handsome capital that sits a few valleys back from the sea, in a green country that the Spanish call the natural paradise. The old kingdom of Asturias was born here, in the eighth century, when a little group of Christian nobles held out in the mountains against the Muslim armies that had swept up the peninsula. The kings who followed, Alfonso II and Ramiro I among them, built churches on the hills above the city in a unique style that art historians call Asturian pre-Romanesque. Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, both from the ninth century, are among the oldest and most graceful of them, and UNESCO has listed them together with other Asturian monuments.
The cathedral, with its slender Gothic tower, holds the Cámara Santa, a chapel built to house relics, among them a cross given by Alfonso II. But Oviedo is also a city to enjoy slowly. Sidra, the dry, cloudy apple cider of Asturias, is poured from a great height into a wide glass in a ritual that locals perform with practised ease, and the street called Gascona is lined with cider houses. A plate of fabada, a hearty bean stew with pork, is the classic meal, and the city also has a good tradition of cheese, including the blue Cabrales from the mountains.
The ride from Oviedo to the coast is a pleasure. The Cantabrian Mountains rise to the south, and the roads wind through green valleys with eucalyptus and chestnut woods, villages with granaries called hórreos on stilts and views of the sea at the end. The coast road west toward Soto de Luiña passes steep cliffs, small harbours like Cudillero and beaches in sheltered coves. Rain is common, so bring waterproofs, and fog can cling to the coast, but when the sun comes out the colours are wonderful. Surfaces are generally good, and curves are frequent, with a lot of short climbs.
Oviedo has fuel stations all around, with Lugones near the airport road and other suburbs on the edge, so you can start with a full tank and a good breakfast. A coffee and a sweet called carbayones, a puff pastry with almond, from a pastry shop in the old town, is a good way to start the day. The smell of the city after rain is of damp stone and woodsmoke, and in the autumn there is a faint tang of apples in the air.