Villaviciosa

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. The old town is small and easy to explore on foot: a late Romanesque church, noble houses, a town hall from 1906 and the signposted apple walk. If you choose the route via Oviedo, you will find more reasons for a rest day there. More important here than how long you stay is the question of where you go tomorrow.

Villaviciosa in Ninja numbers

• 382.3 kilometres are still left from here to Santiago on the Camino del Norte.
• 349.0 kilometres it is via Oviedo: 40.3 on the Norte via Oviedo and 308.7 on the Camino Primitivo.
• 16.9 kilometres lie behind you from Colunga.
• 1213 is the foundation year an inscription gives for the church of Santa María de la Oliva.
• 1517 Charles I landed in nearby Tazones because of a storm and stayed in Villaviciosa for a few days.

Arriving: from the hinterland to the ría

From Colunga you come through the hinterland via Priesca and Sebrayo and then along the ría of Villaviciosa into town. The ría is a nature reserve and one of the best-preserved estuaries on the Cantabrian coast; from the Way you mostly see it only from a distance. The hostels are all in the centre.

In brief: a king, a church and the apple

The most important building in the old town is the church of Santa María de la Oliva, late Romanesque with Gothic elements; an inscription gives 1213 as its foundation year. Around it stand noble houses from the 15th to the 18th century, protected as a historic ensemble. In one of them, the 15th-century Casa de Hevia, the young King Charles I, later Emperor Charles V, stayed in September 1517. A storm had driven his fleet, on its way from Flanders, into the small harbour of Tazones.

Today Villaviciosa is above all the town of the apple. It is the largest town of the Comarca de la Sidra, and you can visit the El Gaitero cider works, where the film "Bellezas de Asturias" was shot between 1919 and 1920, for free if you book ahead.

Through the old town: what to see

The old town is compact, and the hostels are right in the middle of it.

• Santa María de la Oliva: Late Romanesque church with Gothic elements, founded in 1213 according to its inscription, the most important building in town. In summer it hosts the concerts of the Festival de la Ría.
• Casa de Hevia: A 15th-century noble house where Charles I stayed in 1517 after landing in Tazones. It has no pilgrim connection, but it is a good reason to pause briefly: here the future emperor spent his first days in Spain.
• Paseo de la Manzana: A signposted walk through the old town about the apple and cider. Information is available at the tourist office.
• Convento de Santa Clara and town hall: The convent dates from the 18th century, the town hall from 1906.
• El Gaitero: The well-known cider works; the visit is free, but only with advance booking. We did not find how far it is from the centre.

Honestly

• The stage to Gijón is tough. 30.9 kilometres with 943 metres of ascent; the highest point is at 438 metres.
• The hostels close in autumn. According to the database, the Albergue Villaviciosa is open from 3 January to 31 October, El Congreso from March into late autumn. After that, hostales and hotels remain.
• You hardly see the ría. The Way mostly passes it at some distance.

Where pilgrims sleep

Villaviciosa has private pilgrim hostels, all in the centre. The Albergue Villaviciosa has 28 places and costs 17 to 23 € in the dormitory depending on the source, open from 3 January to 31 October. The Albergue El Congreso on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento has 49 places, dormitory from 15 to 20 €, plus rooms, open from March (as of October 2026). The Hostal Café del Sol has dormitory beds for 20 €.

There is no public pilgrim hostel in town. The small hostel in Sebrayo is 5.8 kilometres before town. There are also several hostales and hotels, for example on the Plaza Carlos I.

Ninja tips

• Decide here. Just beyond Villaviciosa the ways part: the Norte heads to the coast at Gijón, the branch via Oviedo leads to the Camino Primitivo, and from here that is 33.3 kilometres shorter to Santiago.
• Via Oviedo you pass Valdediós. The church of San Salvador, called El Conventín, dates from the 9th century and lies 1.8 kilometres off the Way.
• Book El Gaitero in advance if you want to see the cider works.
• Buy food for tomorrow. On the way to Gijón there are only small villages.

Onward: to Gijón or Oviedo

On the Camino del Norte it is 30.9 kilometres to Gijón, with 943 metres of ascent and the highest point at 438 metres. On the Norte via Oviedo it is 40.3 kilometres to Oviedo, where the Camino Primitivo begins. This variant runs via Valdediós and Pola de Siero and, beyond Oviedo, rejoins the coastal route at Avilés.

Deep dive: The king who arrived here

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Villaviciosa. About two minutes' reading.

A storm off the coast

In September 1517 the seventeen-year-old Charles was on his way from Flanders to Spain to take up his inheritance. The fleet had meant to land further east, but a storm drove it onto the coast of Asturias, into the small harbour of Tazones. From there the young king rode to Villaviciosa and stayed a few days in the Casa de Hevia before moving on to Valladolid. Every August the people of Tazones re-enact the landing.

The town around the church

Older than this visit is the church of Santa María de la Oliva, founded according to its inscription in the year twelve hundred and thirteen. Around it grew a town with noble houses, later with a town hall and a large cider works.

What Villaviciosa gives you

A king arrived here because a storm blew him off course. Your way divides here too, and both directions lead to Santiago. One stays by the sea, the other goes over the hills to Oviedo and onto the oldest of all the Ways of St James. Villaviciosa is the place where you get to choose.