Avilés

For our last destination of the tour we were taken to Avilés. It is, along with Gijón and Oviedo, one of the main cities of Asturias. The bus pulled up outside Parque del Muelle between the city and the river docks and we proceeded on foot. Avilés seems to have a fine estuary Ría de Avilés for its docks.

We threaded our way through El Mercado de Avilés, an enclosed space with shops.

We stopped outside Palacio de Camposagrado which is now a cultural centre. No doubt the guide talked about it, but I decided to research later, like now.

All around Avilés were posters highlighting a winner of a 2025 Princess of Asturias award, Graciela Iturbide, a Mexican photographer. Incidentally the current Princess of Asturias and heir presumptive to the Spanish throne is Leonor, born in 2005.

Next we were shown Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua, a Franciscan church. No doubt it was mentioned that the tomb of the founder of St. Augustine in Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, is here.

A few minutes walking found us in the centre of the city, Plaza España. I like how the panorama has unfolded the space.

Another sector of the plaza.

Another panorama.

Behind me in those picures was the Ayuntamiento (City Hall).

Here it is glowing in the late afternoon light.

At this point we were told we could wander around and to return to the Ayuntamiento at a specified time.

This is Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Avilés.

I walked up Calle Galiana, noting the restaurants and cafes lining it, obviously a dining destination. Then I entered Parque de Ferrera, a very pleasant green space.

I returned to the plaza by cutting through Casa Municipal de Cultura de Avilés. You can see it to the left of the Escuela two photos ago. There seemed to be a performance about to start.

Before boarding the bus to return to Gijón, Centro Niemeyer on the other side of the channel and train tracks was pointed out to us. It's the only one of the architect's works in Spain.