Places & Areas

1. Asturies

   Asturias

   Usage

   The autonomous community (Principality) on Spain's northern coast, facing the Cantabrian Sea. The capital is Oviedo (Uviéu), and Asturian is the traditional language here

   Grammar Note

   Spanish Asturias ends in -as; the Asturian form ends in -es, the usual feminine plural ending

2. Uviéu

   Oviedo

   Usage

   The capital of Asturias, a city dating back to the 8th century and known for its pre-Romanesque churches and its cathedral. Signs often show both Oviedo and Uviéu

   Grammar Note

   The Asturian form of Spanish Oviedo: it starts with Uvi- and ends in -u, and the é keeps its accent

3. Xixón

   Gijón

   Usage

   The most populous municipality in Asturias, a seaside city with a port, a city beach and the old fishermen's quarter of Cimavilla. Signs often show both Gijón and Xixón

   Grammar Note

   Each x is read /ʃ/ (like English "sh"); it stands where Spanish Gijón has g and j

4. Avilés

   Usage

   A coastal town on the north coast of Asturias, known for its old town and its port, and close to Asturias Airport

   Grammar Note

   Spelled as in Spanish; keep the accent on the final é (not Aviles)

5. Aeropuertu d'Asturies

   Asturias Airport

   Usage

   Asturias's international airport (IATA code OVD), in the municipality of Castrillón near Avilés. Buses and taxis run to Oviedo and Gijón

   Grammar Note

   Airport is aeropuertu (Spanish -o becomes -u); de + Asturies contracts to d'Asturies

6. Catedral d'Uviéu

   Oviedo Cathedral

   Usage

   The mostly Gothic cathedral at the heart of Oviedo's old town. Its full name is the Cathedral of San Salvador

   Grammar Note

   de + Uviéu contracts to d'Uviéu (not de Oviedo)

7. Santa María del Naranco

   Usage

   A pre-Romanesque building about 3 km from Oviedo on the southern slope of Mount Naranco. It is part of a World Heritage Site

   Grammar Note

   del is de + el; Naranco is the name of the mountain and is spelled as in Spanish

8. Cuadonga

   Covadonga

   Usage

   A village in the Picos d'Europa, in the municipality of Cangues d'Onís. It is a shrine to the Virgin, the patron of Asturias, whose feast on 8 September is Asturias Day

   Grammar Note

   The Asturian spelling is Cuadonga, where Spanish has Covadonga

9. Llagos de Cuadonga

   Covadonga Lakes (Enol and Ercina)

   Usage

   Two lakes, Enol and Ercina, on the Asturian side of the Picos d'Europa. They lie in the mountains about 10 km from the village of Covadonga

   Grammar Note

   Lake is llagu, plural llagos; it starts with ll- and the singular ends in -u, unlike Spanish lago

10. Cangues d'Onís

    Cangas de Onís

    Usage

    A town in eastern Asturias and the gateway to the Picos d'Europa and Covadonga, a common base for visitors

    Grammar Note

    Cangues ends in the feminine plural -es (Spanish Cangas); de + Onís contracts to d'Onís

11. Picos d'Europa

    Picos de Europa

    Usage

    A limestone mountain range in northern Spain, shared by Asturias, Cantabria and León, popular for climbing and hiking

    Grammar Note

    de + Europa contracts to d'Europa; signs may also show Spanish Picos de Europa

12. Ruta del Cares

    Cares Route

    Usage

    One of the best-known footpaths in northern Spain, running through a gorge in the Picos d'Europa

    Grammar Note

    del is de + el; Cares is the river's name and is spelled as in Spanish

13. Llanes

    Usage

    A seaside town in eastern Asturias, facing the Cantabrian Sea and close to the Picos d'Europa, so it offers both beaches and mountains

    Grammar Note

    The initial ll- is a palatal sound /ʎ/, soft like Italian gl; the spelling is the same in Spanish

14. Sablera de Gulpiyuri

    Gulpiyuri Beach

    Usage

    A small beach north of the village of Naves between Ribadesella and Llanes. It is a sea beach lying inland, and it is a declared natural monument

    Grammar Note

    Beach is sablera here (a sandy place), not playa; Asturian place names use sablera

15. Ribeseya

    Ribadesella

    Usage

    A seaside town in eastern Asturias at the mouth of the Sella river (the Seya), where the early-August canoe race, the Descensu del Seya, ends

    Grammar Note

    A shorter form than Spanish Ribadesella; the second half carries the river name Seya (Spanish Sella)

16. Cuideiru

    Cudillero

    Usage

    A fishing town on the north-west coast of Asturias, best known for its fishing, above all line-caught hake

    Grammar Note

    Spelled Cuideiru, not Spanish Cudillero, with the ending in -u; signs may show either form

17. Villaviciosa

    Usage

    A town on the Cantabrian coast with the largest ría in Asturias, known for the quality of its cider and its apple orchards

    Grammar Note

    Spelled as in Spanish; the ll inside the word is read /ʎ/, and signs use this spelling

18. Cangas del Narcea

    Usage

    A town in south-western Asturias and the largest municipality in the region by area. Locally it is also called simply Cangas

    Grammar Note

    Here Cangas keeps its -as ending, unlike Cangues d'Onís; del is de + el

19. Tinéu

    Tineo

    Usage

    A town in western Asturias, the centre of a large municipality divided into 44 parishes

    Grammar Note

    Spanish Tineo becomes Tinéu: the ending is -u and the é carries an accent

20. Parque Natural de Somiedu

    Somiedo Natural Park

    Usage

    A natural park in the Cantabrian Mountains covering the whole municipality of Somiedu, about 39,000 hectares, good for hiking and wildlife watching

    Grammar Note

    Somiedu is Spanish Somiedo with -u in place of -o; park signs and maps may also show Spanish Somiedo

21. Cabu Peñes

    Cape Peñes

    Usage

    The northernmost cape of Asturias, in the municipality of Gozón, crowned by a lighthouse

    Grammar Note

    Cape is cabu (Spanish cabo with -u); Peñes has the feminine plural -es (Spanish Peñas); ñ is read like Spanish ñ

22. Cimavilla

    Cimavilla (Gijón)

    Usage

    The old quarter of Gijón (Xixón), on a headland jutting into the sea, once a fishermen's neighbourhood and good for strolling and eating

    Grammar Note

    A single-word place name: the ci- is read like "see" (like English "th" in some accents), and the ll in -villa is /ʎ/

23. Muséu del Pueblu d'Asturies

    Museum of the Asturian People

    Usage

    A site of some 35,000 square metres in Gijón devoted to Asturian traditional culture and architecture

    Grammar Note

    Museum is muséu (Spanish museo); pueblu means both "people" and "village"

24. Mar Cantábricu

    Cantabrian Sea

    Usage

    The part of the Atlantic along Spain's north coast, the sea to the north of Asturias, lined with beaches and fishing towns

    Grammar Note

    The adjective ends in -u (Spanish Cantábrico with -o); the accent stays on á

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