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Oviedo: basic information

Oviedo: basic information

What to see and do, routes, where to sleep and eat ... Oviedo

MainMunicipalities and towns of AsturiasOviedo: basic information
Updated on March 25, 2026
Municipalities and towns of Asturias
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What to see in Oviedo
Oviedo: basic information
  • Oviedo: basic information
  • Oviedo: basic information
  • Oviedo: basic information
  • Oviedo: basic information

Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias, is a welcoming city that grows at the foot of Mount Naranco. Oviedo is a well-reviewed city -Clarín, Palacio Valdés, Pérez de Ayala, Dolores Medio or Paco Ignacio Taibo, to mention a few-, that is, Vetusta, Lancia, Pilares, Fontán... It borders the councils of Llanera to the North, Siero and Langreo to the East, Mieres, Morcín and Santo Adriano to the South, Grado and Las Regueras to the West.

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Latitude: 43.3602982 Length: -5.8447809
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How to get to Oviedo

It is the best communicated council in the entire region, through a complex network of roads and railways. Since the year 1975, the three great Asturian cities have been connected by the «Y» highway, named for its route. Asturias airport is about 35 kms. connected by fast roads.
Distances: Gijón 28 km / Avilés 30 km.

History of Oviedo

The city's history begins in 781 when a group of monks settled on Oviedo Hill. There they founded a monastery dedicated to Saint Vincent. Shortly after, it suffered two successive Muslim destructions (794-795), and the court was temporarily established in Pravia. After the invaders were defeated, Alfonso II chose Oviedo as the new capital of the Kingdom of Asturias (808) and enlarged and embellished it with palaces, churches, and public works, a task continued by Ramiro I, Ordoño I, and Alfonso III, his successors on the throne.

From the 11th century onwards, the veneration of the reliquary of San Salvador began a process of external projection that culminated in the 12th century with Oviedo's designation as a pilgrimage center . The 12th and 13th centuries were marked by growth and commercial development, and the increasing prosperity attracted, for example, a significant colony of Franco-Gascon merchants and artisans. Thus, in the 14th century, construction began on the Gothic cathedral , which was completed in 1550. The city's growth occurred both within and outside its walls.

And Oviedo continued a journey that, like all life, combined lights and shadows: the city completes a general network of sewers in 1500, a terrible fire destroys a good part of the walled city in 1521, the University founded in the will of Fernando Valdés Salas (1608) is inaugurated on a day of Saint Matthew, the Casa de Comedias del Fontán roofs the great theatrical passion in 1666, Fray Benito Jerónimo Feijoo settles in Oviedo (1709) and from the monastery of San Vicente will make known his wisdom.

Oviedo will be the 9 of May of 1808 the first capital to declare war on Napoleon and the General Board of the Principality stands as the maximum representative of popular sovereignty, the French were expelled at 1812.

In another order of things, the street Uría (1874) begins and with it the main artery of the bourgeois expansion, the Campoamor Theater raises its ample and luxurious curtain in 1892, the urban center moves towards Uría and becomes the park the countryside of the knocked down convent of San Francisco, palaces and modernist buildings create a modern Oviedo that is opposed to the medieval ring.

Today, much of the old town, declared a monumental zone in 1955, is pedestrianized , road traffic has been limited in the central commercial arteries, squares and buildings have been rehabilitated, fountains have been built... a city to get to know by walking through its streets and squares.

Festivals and fairs in Oviedo

· Antroxu (Carnival), February.

· The Balesquida or Tuesday of the Field
It is celebrated at the end of May or beginning of June, coinciding with the first Tuesday after Pentecost, which is a non-working day in the city. The festival dates back to the 13th century to celebrate the donation made by Balesquita Giraldez to the tailors' guild of Oviedo.

· Cider tasting
This is the tasting of the first cider of the season, which is bottled in the months of May and June. It takes place on Gascona Street in the numerous cider houses located there.

· Saint John, June 24th
In Oviedo, there is a great event on the night of June 23 at 00:00, with the lighting of the bonfire and the dance of the Danza Prima.

· Saint Matthew, mid/late September
The patron saint festivities in Oviedo are usually ten or twelve days long, with numerous activities for all audiences.

Markets of Oviedo

• Ascension Fair , April-May

· El Fontán Market , every Sunday of the year.

El Fontán Market

El Fontán Market

El Fontán can be considered the epicenter of Oviedo, as strolling through its streets and squares fills us with… Read more

Cultural events in Oviedo

· Asturias Publishers Fair
Fair organized by the Guild of Editors of Asturias – Gremiu d'Editores d'Asturies in the central Plaza de Trascorrales, usually held at the beginning of March.

· Opera Season
During the autumn and part of the winter, the city hosts an extensive opera programme. Great universal works are enjoyed annually at the Teatro Campoamor.

· The White Night
This initiative takes place in the month of October and has grown over the years, offering a wide range of activities: exhibitions, workshops, literary events... adding up to a unique and interesting cultural offering.

· Vesu Festival
It is an independent music festival, but not just another independent music festival. It is characterized by the combination of established proposals, avant-garde movements and bets on new bands that will soon become a reference in our country.

· Oviedo with tapas
Pinchos/tapas competition from a good number of restaurants/venues in Oviedo. Don't forget to try their cuisine, they will surely surprise you!

· Dance Festival
In this new edition, the Campoamor Theatre Dance Festival is more faithful than ever to its creative spirit in which the diversity of schools, choreographic approaches and historical periods seeks to bring dance lovers an immense legacy that is in continuous evolution.

· Asturias Fashion Week
An event that welcomes international models and emerging models, a fusion in which people from Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Colombia) are present, who have taken the Oviedo brand beyond our borders. You can enjoy the design in jewelry, urban fashion, swimwear, ceremony, men's and women's fashion, and children's fashion.

Tourism offices

Tourist Information Office «El Escorialín».
Marquis of Santa Cruz, 1. Tel. 985 22 75 86.


Text: for asturias.com Copyright Ramon Molleda


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