Oviedo Review, Asturias, Spain (españa)

Oviedo Review, an introduction

2009-12-01T18:44:00.002+01:00

Oviedo Review is written by an Englishman living in the Spanish city of Oviedo (pron: Ovi-ey-doe), the regional capital of the lush and stunning Principality of Asturias. Located on the northern coast of Spain, Asturias is one of those amazing places that often gets overlooked for the sunnier, warmer destinations of the south, yet has so much to offer the visitor.

As in most places in Spain, Oviedo has precious little information for the visitor - guide books only skim the surface. Numerous times I have found myself looking at an amazing monument and become frustrated at the lack of information about it (espeically in the international language). How many guide books will tell you of the bullet holes in the walls of the old city buildings created during the fierce fighting during the civil war? Or where to find them?

Oviedo Review has been created to display some of the amazing beauty of the city of Oviedo and the surrounding area; to explain why it is one of the cleanest and safest cities you could ever wish to visit; and to give you - the visitor - some useful facts and information about the place eg; hotels, bars, restaurants, transport, monuments, local food, language, culture, out and about, nightlife and just about anything else you might want to know to enjoy this amazing place.

If you are looking for a place to visit for a holiday which is awell away from the hoards of international tourists, or looking for a superb city to live and work in, then look no further. Avoid the stifling and over-crowded, cheesy costas of the south, come to where the beauty and culture is relatively untainted by tourism. Come to Asturias.

As Spain is sadly lacking in facilities and access for disabled people and has a lot to do to bring it into line with European standards, I will be advertising places that are wheelchair friendly and therefore accessible by disabled people. They will be recognised on this site with the following symbol.
Unfortunately, there are many bars that advertise themselves as 'smoke-free' yet are full of smokers. When questioned over this the smokers will either get angry with you, say 'espana is diferente' if they lack any form of intelligence or just shrug their shoulders. Management will just say they can't turn the custom away, so 'accept it'. Don't accept ignorance. Ask for the 'Book of Complants' (Libro de reclamaciones) and write out a complaint for the local authorities to see when they inspect it. Available in every bar.

On this site I will be promoting the genuine smoke-free bars with this symbol. I will also be identifying the frauds too. In my view, avoid the frauds. Sitting in a smoking bar full of smoke is better than sitting in a smoke-free bar full of smoke. More genuine...

Spain is now a smoke-free country. You will have to pass through a wall of smoke at each and every doorway, but at least the interior will be healthy for you now!

Photos

Above right, Plaza del Pescado

A brief summary of Oviedo and Asturias

2009-12-01T00:12:00.002+01:00

Oviedo is the regional capital of the Principality of Asturias, an autonomous region on the north coast of Spain (see map below). It is bordered in the north by the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay), to the east by Cantabria, the south by Castilla and Leon and the west by Galicia.

It is an extremely green and fertile area, with numerous mountain ranges and areas of outstanding natural beauty, as well as a stunning coastline.

Oviedo (Uvieu) is located 30 minutes drive south of the coast. It is located in a linear valley and has great views of the surrounding mountains, even from the centre of the city. With a population of 220,000, it is a small city and with such magnificent countryside in its back yard it has the feel of a small, community-minded town.

The old town is concentrated around the beautiful cathedral, is mainly pedestrianized and is packed full of stunning, well-preserved old buildings (primarily bars which are only obvious at night!). It is also on the (extended) pilgrims route - Camino de Santiago. A five minute walk takes you to the new town centre with a high concentration of shops and again, with large pedestrian areas.

Several large shopping centres can be found on the outskirts of town and are well served by buses.

The city has numerous well-tended and large parks, but please do not step onto the grass. For some reason, it is acceptable to leave your dog mess on grass for the children to step in...

The city has won numerous awards for being the cleanest city in Europe (although perhaps it should be called the Best Cleaned City, as it is the amazing work of the team of cleaners that keeps the city clean) and is one of the safest to live too. Very little crime occurs here, especially crimes against the person, although Parque Campillin is becoming an unpleasant area around the clock.

In all, Oviedo has much to offer the traveler and has the advantage of not being deluged with tourists (yet).

Photos: Top right, Oviedo's cathedral at dusk; above left, the market area on a Sunday afternoon in January; bottom right, the stunning Asturian coastline

This map is fully interactive. Click on it to zoom in or move around.

View Larger Map

Barmania

2009-10-29T00:31:00.000+01:00

It is said that Spain has more bars per capita than any other country in the world. It is also said that Oviedo has more bars per capita than any other place in Spain. This means, of course, that Oviedo has more bars per capita than anywhere else on earth!

It certainly feels like it has. I have never seen so many bars in one place, all packed with people from 10pm onwards. It doesn't matter where you go in the city, you will never be more than one minute away from a bar.

That said, as with most of Spain, smoking is permitted in about 98% of bars and restaurants, which makes for a very unpleasant atmosphere indeed if you happen to be one of the few people who doesn't smoke in Spain!

I will, in due course, list on this site all of the non-smoking bars and restaurants in town so that you may have a smoke-free night if you so wish. If you know of any in advance, please let me know and I will list them here.

Photos

Right, eating in the sun during a local festival

Safest City in Europe?

2009-06-26T00:31:00.000+02:00

I think that Oviedo should be awarded a prize for being the safest city in Europe, if not further afield. No other city has felt as safe as this one. If somebody gets caught stealing a pair of shoes from a shop, it makes the front page.

What makes it so safe? Well, where to start? You know that feeling you get when you are walking along the main street in your home town, or any city/town (especially in the UK) late on a Friday night, when hundreds of drunken people are milling around? Fear of instant, unwarranted and out of control violence? Not here.

Many nights I have walked through the main party street (Calle Mon) in Oviedo at 4am, when it is absolutely thronged with young revellers. Having clashed shoulders with some young drunken male walking in the opposite direction, my homemade reaction is always to prepare for instant confrontation. Fortunately, the drunken male will always tap you gently on the back or shoulder and apologise.

You can visit the parks at any hour of the night and have no problems - even sit there using your laptop or expensive, new mobile phone. I do not fear when my wife is walking home alone from a night out.

Calle Rosal is where the teenagers hangout at night. They go there in their hundreds, as young as 12 yrs old. Many have been drinking in the parks before arriving. When my wife and I go to the LIDL supermarket in the same street late on a Friday night, we have to thread our way through these drunken, hormonal creatures. Unless they see us first - a middle aged couple with their shopping bags. Perfect for ridicule from drunken yobs, of course. But these kids, they stand aside for us. If there is a God, I think he blessed Oviedo.

As a man who has visited many different countries in the world, and who has an apparent built-in 6th sense for trouble after serving many years in the British police, I think I can confidently say I have never met a safer city than this one - long may she continue to be so.

Pictures: Top left, Calle Mon at night (Thanks to La Hora de Asturias; Right, Youths in Northumbria, UK (Thanks to Chronicle Live); and bottom, adolescents (not yobs) in Calle Rosal (thanks to LNE.es)

Photos

Top left, youths in Calle Mon, Oviedo's main focus of nightlife
Right, British youths in a British street
Bottom left, Calle Rosal, teenage meeting point

Getting here...

2009-05-25T13:18:00.002+02:00

Getting to Asturias from the UK is easy with Easyjet flying from London Stansted (STN) to Asturias (Oviedo) Airport (airport code OVD) daily. The airport is not quite in Oviedo, being located near to Aviles on the coast just north of Oviedo (9 miles as the crow flies). Flights are often about 20 Euros with Easyjet.

The landing is quite interesting as you have to come in over hilly terrain which makes it slightly bumpy due to the winds blowing over the hills, and you have to stop at the end of the runway due to the beach and sea! Alternatively you approach over the sea.

Getting into Oviedo is easy. You can book a hire-car from one of the many car-hire places in the concourse in advance, and pick it up on arrival. You can take a taxi from the front of the station, cost being about 40 Euros. (40€ to Gijon, under 20€ to Aviles, which is actually the nearest city).

Alternatively, you can catch the bus. There is a small bus station just outside the terminal on the right. Buses go to Oviedo, Aviles and Gijon, Asturias's three main cities. The Oviedo one is direct and will have 'Oviedo>Aeropuerto>Oviedo' written on its side. It costs about 8 Euros and you can pay on the bus. Its first stop is just as you enter Oviedo in Calle de Fernando Vela, followed 5 minutes later at the main bus station in the heart of Oviedo.

Ryanair fly into Santander from Stansted, which is about 2hrs by car (111 miles straight line). Again, prices are so low as to be mind-boggling. Buses run daily to Oviedo for about 16 Euros and take a very pleasant scenic route for a couple of hours. Check the Alsa website for more details.

Madrid airport, for tanscontinental arrivals, is about 4 hrs away by car. As with most of Spain, the motorways are superb although some have toll roads. Easyjet have now cancelled the route from Madrid to Oviedo, although Spanish airlines still do it.

Alternatively, forget struggling to cope with the terrible baggage allowance offered by economy airlines and travel by car. P&O Ferries cruise from Portsmouth to Bilbao and Brittany Ferries from Plymouth to Santander. Load the car up with everything you need, including your dog, and have a pleasant cruise to Spain. I travelled the Bilbao route. It took a day and a half and we had a wonderful night on board. And when you get to Spain, you have your car to travel around in!

A word of warning if driving! Oviedo's road system is possibly one of the worst thought-out (was it thought-out?) city road systems I have ever had the misfortune of driving around. There are 'no left-turn/right turn's everywhere, for no apparent reason, and trying to get from A to B will take you via the rest of the alphabet too.

Also, DO NOT attempt to negotiate roundabouts if a local is driving around one. They are taught by the local driving instructors that - if in doubt - take the outside lane no matter which exit you are taking (no, seriously, they are!). Now, you can instantly see the danger in that yet the Spanish can't. Accident blackspot? You bet...

Photos

Top. Stunning scenery from an Alsa bus
Bottom. Easyjet route from the UK to Spain, courtesy of Flycheapo.com

Hostals and Hotels

2009-05-11T15:14:00.000+02:00

Oviedo has numerous hostals and hotels through the whole price range. Considered to be the best hotel in Oviedo is the Hotel de la Reconquista, centrally located. This is where the Prince stays when he is in town, as well as any VIPs attending the Prince of Asturias Awards.

There are plenty of mid-price hotels all over town. Most are centrally located but some are on the outskirts of town.

If you are looking for a budget place to stay, then choose a Hostal. These are very basic indeed, with no facilities to talk about and usually located at the top of numerous flights of stairs (without lifts!) and lacking any form of fire escape. They can be found centrally and are very cheap. You will get a lockable bedroom and a shared bathroom.

Photo

Hotel de la Reconquista

Getting around - walking

2009-05-01T15:50:00.000+02:00

Oviedo is such a small, compact city, nestled between mountains in a linear fashion that the best way of getting around is on foot. It's easy to walk across the city in a matter of 10-15 minutes, it's a beautiful city to see on foot and there are many streets completely pedestrianised, all of which make up for a very pleasant stroll at anytime of the day or night.

The Old City (frequently and hilariously mis-translated into the Old Helmet in local travel brochures and maps) is almost completely pedestrianised and an absolute delight to visit on foot.

The main shopping streets, between Calle Uria and the Saleses shopping centre, are also pedestrianised. The central San Francisco park is a a great place to stroll and chill-out after all that walking.

There are negative sides to walking in Oviedo (and in Spain as a rule) such as the pedestrian crossing lights are weighted heavily in favour of the car and you can be waiting a long long time before you can cross the road.

Anybody who has run all the way to the bus station only to have to wait at the pedestrian lights outside can understand my frustration. Five minutes feels like a long time, especially when you can see your bus reversing out of its stand.

In Spain you have to remember that the car is still King and it'll be a few years yet before they catch on to the fact that pedestrians should have priority over cars, and not vice-versa. This can be overlooked however, due to the great pleasure walking around Oviedo offers.

The other, more serious matter for Oviedo is the fact that the local council have paved all of the pedestrian areas in a shiny, smooth marble-like stone which looks very pretty. Unfortunately, it is lethal when wet. I see many people fall heavily to the floor after a rain shower, including pensioners, and I myself fell heavily off my bike just because these stupid tiles were wet. The compensation culture has yet to reach Spain but when it does many councils will go bankrupt when held accountable for such stupidity as this.

Please be very careful.

Photos

Pedestrian streets of the Old City (aka Old Helmet)

Cafeteria La Paloma

2009-04-01T19:18:00.001+02:00

I was recommended this place by a friend and I wasn't disappointed. A very popular bar located centrally at the junction of C/Uria and Independencia, this place will probably be very busy. Fortunately, the staff here are super-efficient and you will no-doubt get served in seconds!!

As smoking is permitted, why not stand on the pavement outside and use one of the barrel tables to enjoy the fresh air?

This bar is famous for it's drink of Vermouth, dispensed from a huge barrel. Be careful, it is very strong! Also try their delicious food. Excellent Gambas and pinchos.

To visit their own website (with map) click here.

Pictured below are their delicious fried gambas. Picture courtesy of Enciclopedia gastronomia

A typical smoke-filled bar as found in most of Spain

2009-04-01T01:14:00.000+02:00

Like most European countries, the Spanish government bought in legislation (in January 2006) to combat the huge amount of smoking in Spain. Unfortunately, they watered the law down so much so that it is probably one of the most impotent smoking laws in the world, and a missed opportunity at improving the living standards of many Spaniards and international visitors.

With the rare exception, all you have to do is display a notice at the front of your bar/restaurant etc to say "smoking is permitted in this establishment". You can see the sign in the picture to the right of the door stating "en este local se permite fumar".
Sadly, you can also see the huge cloud of smoke billowing around above the heads of the customers and staff alike, damaging health and making a typical night out in Spain unpleasant and unhealthy.

Unfortunately you may occasionally see bar-staff standing behind the bar smoking too, just before serving you. As you are reading this blog I am assuming that you are none-Spanish and quite possibly a none-smoker who finds this kind of smoky bar unacceptable in this modern age. It is for this reason that I will be promoting the genuine, smoke-free venues in Oviedo on this site. By genuine I mean those places that actually enforce the proclaimed no-smoking policy of their own establishment, as many Spaniards simply ignore the signs and staff ignore the smokers!! Just click on the label 'smoke free' in the side bar to the right for all relevant places, and feel free to add to comments below to add any I have missed.

Photos

Top right, a typical smoke-filled Spanish bar
Bottom left, impotent legislation. The sign required by Spanish law to be displayed at the entrance, advising you that you can smoke in this bar

Chocolateria Valor

2007-09-28T15:24:00.002+02:00

Like all good things, I discovered it by accident. Whilst exploring this splendid city one day I first noticed the 'No Smoking' sign in the window. On closer inspection I noticed that this was no ordinary bar (it has to be said that most bars in Spain look much the same as any other, offering exactly the same food for sale as the others) so it was with some pleasure that I discovered this place.

Valor is the name of a Spanish chocolate manufacturer which happens to produce one of my favourite bars of chocolate here in Spain. Passing the outside terrace seating (for the smokers) I entered a wonderfully styled bar cafe. To the left was the bonboneria (or chocolate area) displaying the wonderful range of chocolate sweets and bars to take home.

The seating area was beautifully styled, with black and white collonial style tiled flooring, comfortable seating and plenty of light from the numerous windows offering great views of the world outside.

The two girls working the bar were efficient, courteous and very capable. When I ordered my Cappuccino I was actually given the option of having nata or not (I still forget that everything in Spain comes with nata, a poor excuse for real cream and normally you get it without being asked). I declined having my coffee ruined with nata and had the best Cappuccino I have found in Oviedo (although there is still room for improvement!)

Looking at the menu I saw some delicious options. A firm local favourite is Churros with hot chocolate sauce, whilst I'd prefer the delicious looking Tiramisu or Profiteroles. Another radical idea (for Spain) was the chocolate and fruit Fondue for two people (15 Euros).

Freshly squeezed orange juice, decaffeinated coffee options and a pleasant and clean environment (and more importantly - smoke free) mean I will definitely be revisiting Valor Cafe soon. Give it a try!

This bar has the best wheelchair access I have ever seen in Spain - well done Valor!

For a map of its location, click on the link below.

Chocolateria Valor
Avda Fundacion Principe de Asturias, 5
33000 la Losa, Oviedo

and

C/Corrida, 211
33000 La Losa, Oviedo 33206 Gijon

Photos

Top right, Valor chocolate
Above left, Valor profiteroles
Bottom right, Churros con chocolate

All courtesy of Valor Chocolate

Kenneling your dog whilst away

2007-08-27T00:38:00.003+02:00

I've had some good experiences and some bad experiences. Or rather, my dog has. Twice a year she is required to go into kennels from a week to 10 weeks whilst we are out of the country. From our experience in Spain, most kennels don't really care about the animal, just the money.

So it is with some relief that we have found a kennel near to Oviedo that not only loves animals, but causes the animal to love them too! I'm talking about Kennel Residencia Canina/Felina. Twice we have used them now and we are very happy with their service. They will collect and deliver the dog (or cat), are extremely helpful, flexible but above all, they love the animals entrusted to them.

Don't make the same mistake as we did and send your beloved dog to another kennel in the area which mistreated her (she's never been the same since) - use one that comes highly recommended - use Kennel

Address: La miranda,72 33480, Llanera, Asturias
Email: info@kennel.es
Tel: 985920093

Incidentally, they also breed Saint Bernards (Boyero de Berna & San Bernardos). Visit their other site at De la Cruces

All pictures courtesy of Kennel, Asturias

Update: Our last experience at this kennel was not a good one for our dog and cat. As a result, we won't be using him again....

Indian Food - The Taj Mahal Restaurant

2007-07-27T12:30:00.008+02:00

If you are looking for international food in Spain you may be disappointed with the limited selection available. You can usually find Italian and Chinese restaurants, but anything beyond these two should be considered unlikely- such as Greek, Thai, etc. Japanese food is slowly entering the Spanish culture so these restaurants are beginning to pop up in various places.

If you want to eat Indian food, Oviedo has one Indian/Pakistani Restaurant - the Taj Mahal. Located in the back streets near to Los Prados, this restaurant is difficult to find. Click here for map.

The staff are friendly enough, the restaurant is well decorated and comfortable and you don't need to book, as it only really gets busy on a Friday night after 10pm, and even then you'll get a table on arrival. Expect to pay around €20-€25 per head for a full meal and drinks. The main restaurant is usually full of smokers but the front is a smoke free zone - although I have never seen anybody eating there. Juat ask if you want smoke free and I'm sure they will oblige.

The food is naturally modified for local tastes so expect lots of garbanzos (chick-peas) and lack of fire - just ask for it to be spiced up if your tastes are for traditional curry.

My restaurant review of the Taj Mahal? I've eaten here about 7 or 8 times in the last 18 months, both in the restaurant and as take-away (they don't deliver). Every time the staff have been extremely friendly, the food has been tasty (if lacking a bit of fire) and well cooked and I've come away satisfied. However, on my recent visit to the Taj the food was just terrible...

Grilled poppadoms, burnt around the edges
Extremely watered down dips
Very good Onion Bhajis and Samosas
Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi, my favourite dish, had NO sauce what-so-ever, and contained small, square pieces of chicken (processed? frozen?) that were too dry to eat and a dominance of onion (it's supposed to look like the dish in the link above!!!)
Mushroom fried rice which looked (and tasted) like Paella
Peshwari Naan which was the best part of the meal for me, but this had a pool of oil sitting on top

Needless to say I refused to eat the main course. My friends also had strange looking dishes and weren't happy but by then they were so hungry that they ploughed on regardless. I complained to the friendly manager who offered to make me another dishe which I declined. He removed my main meal from the bill.

He wouldn't except that anything was wrong with the food stating 'cultural/tastes' differences between English and Spanish Indian food, despite the fact that I had eaten this same dish half a dozen times in this very restaurant and been completely happy about it.

Other (Spanish) customers seemed content with their food - even if we all smelt one sizzling hot platter being bought out which was clearly burning its meat.

Maybe it was just a bad night? I've had lots of good meals here but the managers attitude leads me to think that it has changed hands and the food has just gone completely downhill. Let me know of your experiences of this restaurant and vote in the box on the right>>>

I, for one, will not be returning there anytime soon and neither will my wife and friends. Damn, now there is no Indian Restaurant for me in Oviedo!!!

Tal Mahal
Puerto Tarna 17
33011 Oviedo

985 117 323‎

(also in Gijon)

Oviedo's Famous Son - Fernando Alonso

2007-06-25T21:02:00.002+02:00

Probably the most famous son of Oviedo is Formula 1 World Bi-Champion F ernando Alonso. Often seen around town when not on tour, Fernando still visits his family who live locally. At the end of each season he returns home as a hero to an adoring town (if he wins or not) where he is paraded from the balcony of the local City Hall with all the pomp and ceremony of a visiting head of state.

Unfortunately, the plaza is totally inadequate for the immense crowds that come to support him so only a small percentage actually get to see him. There are far better locations for this annual event to be held (such as La Losa) which would enable more citizens to see their hero but locals tell me that the Mayor wants some of his popularity to rub off on him, hence the town hall reception...

It's fair to say that nobody in Spain much cared for Fernando Alonso or F1 until he became world champion in 2005, then the youngest F1 driver ever to win the title. (Surpassed ater by Lewis Hamilton).Naturally, it is difficult to have a genuine and honest chat about the sport here as in Spain there is no Formula 1, only Formula Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton is now a world champion and has been lauded by numerous ex-world champions and F1 experts but of course, he is hated in Spain for the rivalry between Alonso and he when they were at McLaren Mercedes together in 2007. As they do not fully appreciate F1 nor understand it yet, they choose to throw insults (now racist) at Hamilton and actually celebrated his 'loss' at the end of the 2007 season, when in fact he had beaten Alonso and gained a great reputation at the same time, whereas Alonso had lost his title and one of the best cars in F1!

Oh well, don't get into any conversations about F1 when in Spain, just smile and nod. And if you watch F1 on TV here, turn off the terrible, amateurish and totally one-side commentary. In one such race, Alonso crashed out mid-race so Telecinco, the broadcasting channel, stopped broadcasting the race and covered the local political elections in the north of the country!! Talk about ignoring the tens of thousands of international visitors to their country. Very nice indeed.

Update: La Sexta (ch6) now show the sport but it is still totally one-sided, although coverage has slightly improved. FA has now had a road in Oviedo named after him...

El Fontan Market

2007-04-04T20:26:00.001+02:00

One of the greatest ways to get a feel for the culture of a place is by visiting the local market. El Fontan in the centre of Oviedo is no exception.

Located within the old city centre, it is a maze of pedestrianised streets and alleyways found just off the Ayuntamiento Plaza.

If it's fresh fruit and vegetables or fresh fish and other wonderful seafood that you are after, then the indoor market is a must. Small, clean and organised, it's worth a visit just for the seafood. Open Monday to Saturday, the best time to arrive is mid-morning, after the fish has just been delivered. You will also find a recycling point for oils just inside one of the doors.

Outside you will find delightful pedestrian streets around beautiful preserved buildings with throngs of people visiting the outdoor market. Here you can find lots of cheap clothes, fake designer bags and sun glasses, and even a small flower section. There is also a man blasting out some terrible music at far too high a volume, destroying the lovely ambience somewhat. Maybe if it wasn't painfully loud I might learn to appreciate it more. (I'm told it is local Asturian music.)

On Sundays the normal outdoor market is extended across onto the nearby Campillin Park where you will find a flea market with people trying to sell all kinds of recovered junk. Just don't visit at the end of the day when the amount of rubbish dumped in the park is a disgrace.

The market area is a delight to visit at any time of the day, with gorgeous boutiques, bars and restaurants at every turn. Just grab a seat, sit outside a bar tasting the local Sidra and watch the world go by, just like the locals do.

Something that you will no doubt find surprising is that you won't get any bargains by turning up at the end of the day. There is something distinctly odd about Spain in this respect. They will not reduce prices to sell stuff off. They would prefer to take the stuff back home with them than reduce the price to sell, unlike most people I know. This is true of the flower sellers too, even when the flowers are on their last lags, with only a day or so left in them, they WILL NOT even consider selling them at a reduced price. They'd rather take them home and throw them away. I am told that this has something to do with the archaic, draconian and unworkable taxation laws that still exist in Spain. Apparently, if they sell at a reduced price then they still have to pay the tax man the full tax. Maybe this is just an excuse for poor commerce practises, who knows?

Photos

Top left; The indoor market
Top right; Fresh fish every day
Middle left; beautiful buildings surround the market
Above; one of the most beautiful buildings in town overlooks the main market
No 2; The main market
No3; Bars tucked away everywhere
Bottom; the Flower Market - don't expect any bargains though

Cycling in Oviedo

2007-01-02T23:14:00.003+01:00

Despite what the logo on the right says for a Spanish cycling holiday, Spain is not a natural cycling country - yet. Whilst cycling in Spain can be a real pleasure it is not without its problems and dangers.

Spanish people have a very strange relationship with bikes. Like most things in their lives they have to put everything into nice, neat categories eg medicine can only be bought in a pharmacy, a lottery ticket can only be bought in a Lottery Shop and cigarettes only in a tobacco shop etc. Yet in the UK I can buy paracetamol, get a lottery ticket and a packet of fags all in the same shop! Who wants to visit three?

And so it is with cycling, or ciclismo in Spanish.. There are only two uses for bikes for the majority of Spanish people. A kiddies toy to play on when you are young, (left) or the other form of cycling - full-on, totally kitted-out long distance 'sport' cycling (below right). There is no in-between. Nobody commutes to work by bike, nobody goes 'out' by bike. So cycling as most of the world knows it ie, clean, cheap, silent, healthy, fun, convenient, good for the environment and fast transportation just does not exist here in españa (as below left).

I highly recommend cycling in Oviedo but before I tell you why just one word of warning - Spanish roads are among the most dangerous in Europe. I once read that 10% of all European road fatalities occur on Spanish roads (W.H.O.) and from my years of experience here I am not surprised. Spaniards drive with seriously blinkered vision and they are dangerous. If you discuss with the locals why they cannot see a cyclist, despite him wearing a lurid, fluorescent yellow vest, numerous flashing lights and other please-see-me accessories they will shrug their shoulders and just say 'we are not accustomed to cyclists on the road...'

Now I find this unbelievable! I'm not used to kangaroos on the road but if I ever rent a car in Australia I know I will see one - even if it's behind me - and that I'll give it a wide berth, AND it won't be wearing a yellow jacket either! Why will I see it? Because I am a good, concientious and capable driver. So the excuse that I hear time and again here in Spain serves as a warning - the Spanish ARE bad (dangerous) drivers.

Having got that out of my system I can recommend cycling in and around Oviedo. The main reason is that the city has huge pedestrian areas which are safe (and tolerated) to cycle through, and the city is small enough to travel around by bike. There are also numerous routes out of the city that get the cyclist into the beautiful hills around and about.

If you do decide to cycle, please read these dos and don't below;

Do

expect to be stared at by everybody - cycling as a form of transport is still a radical concept in Spain
be careful in the old Oviedo city area - the flooring is made of smooth, marble-like tiles which are lethal under foot when wet - I once had the bike fly from under me, nearly breaking my arm
do expect Spanish people to suddenly change directions without warning when walking, usually right into your path, even if there is no reason for the them to do so ie towards a brick wall!
DO NOT attempt to negotiate a roundabout at any time - just sit and watch one for 5 minutes to see what I mean. It is just too dangerous. Spaniards cannot use a roundabout properly and will usually travel completely round the roundabout in the outside lane, cut lanes up - and you - or fail to look when they enter, as happened to me once where I would probably have died under the wheels of the taxi had I not seen him coming. Be especially careful of buses and taxis who always use the outer lane and no other, regardless of exit
do wear a cycle helmet and yellow vest if traveling on roads out of the city - it is the law
do expect pedestrians to step into the road right in front of you without looking - they are not used to silent forms of transport!!
cycle out on the lovely - car free - tarmac routes out of the city into the countryside

Don't

ever, EVER, use a roundabout. The locals haven't got a clue and will kill you on principle
expect cycle lanes - Oviedo (and Spain in general) believe that the car is King - 'you have made it if you have a car' - and in Oviedo no cycle priority lanes exist - shame on the ayuntamiento for not promoting cycling in Oviedo
forget to fit a bell - or better still - a klaxon, as the locals just cannot see you although if you ding at them, they look around at the floor up up into the sky all confused, for some reason
worry to much about the police - you can do pretty much what you like on a bike in the city and the police will ignore you

Buying, renting and cycle repairs

2007-01-02T14:19:00.003+01:00

If you wish to purchase a cycle then you could visit any of the large supermarket chains such as El Corte Ingles or Carrefour, who offer a decent selection of bikes and accessories for reasonable prices. If you want a specialist cycle dealer there are a few around. Second hand bikes can be bought but aren't that common. Try Mil Anuncios, an online advertiser where you can buy just about anything.

One of the best small cycle shops where you can buy, rent or get your cycle repaired in Oviedo is the Garaje de Biciletas Salvador Bermudez (click here for map), located within the old city centre. You can rent a mountain bike for €13 per day or €20 for the weekend.

The old chap there is very friendly although he can't speak any English, so practise your Spanish!

Garaje de bicicletas
Salvador Bermudez
Potigo alto, 1
Oviedo
Tlf: 985 213 326

Open Monday - Saturday
10am - 1pm
4pm - 8pm

(**post in progress - more to come re cycle routes, as well as cycle protest groups)