Spain

Asturias

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intimate

Picos de Europa ❘ Anton Petrus/Getty Images

Ruta del Cares, Picos de Europa ❘ Ruben Earth/Getty Images

Asturian cheeses ❘ Gonzalo Azumendi/Getty Images

Asrturian coast ❘ Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

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Quiet seaside towns, craggy mountains, and endless wheels of cheese.

Asturias has a long history of cheesemaking, with local specialties like Cabrales, Gamonéu, and Casín, which were traditionally aged in the region’s caves.

In the northernmost reaches of Spain, Asturias rises up like a castle of green mountains. Rolling hills climb out of the sea, and dramatic cliffs bookend stretches of beach. The same paint that colors the fishing boats bobbing in the ocean adorns the houses of Cudillero and the street art in Llanes. And the numerous maritime villages that dot the Cantabrian coast are an ideal natural setting for a lackadaisical itinerary.

Unlike Basque Country to the east, Asturias has not seen a giant swell of tourists in the last decade. The pungent blue cheeses followed by steamy lobster stews, sticky but lively cider bars, and views of cliffside towns rising from the ocean all feel secretly intimate.

The autonomous territory of Asturias nicknamed itself Spain’s “natural paradise,” since a third of the region is environmentally protected. Spain’s first national park, Picos de Europa, is located there in the Cantabrian mountain range. Trails wind along green-speckled peaks and across the bridges and tunnels of Cares Gorge. Within the park, you’ll also find the Holy Cave of Covadonga, a church and shrine to the Virgin of Covadonga built right into the cliff walls.

Cudillero, Spain ❘ Anton Petrus/Getty Images

Whatever land isn’t protected is often used for farming and producing Asturias’s proud cuisine. The region makes 80 percent of Spain’s cider, which is poured from high above the glass, creating a stream of liquid as long as your server’s wingspan. The long journey from bottle to glass aerates the cider, making it lighter on the palate so patrons can drink it all in one gulp and then drop the dregs into a trough at the base of the bar, as the locals do. It’s often served with a plate of periwinkles freshly plucked from the sea, or, farther inland, with some of the region’s beloved cheese. Asturias has a long history of cheesemaking, with local specialties such as Cabrales, Gamonéu, and Casín, which were traditionally aged in the region’s caves.

The high season here spans June to August, when Spaniards flock to the Cantabrian coast. Spring and fall are therefore wise choices, especially for those who love walking along a beach in a sweater rather than a swimsuit.