43.42° N · 4.75° W
The base for the eastern coast: thirty beaches, a coastal path and the Picos half an hour away.
Part of Camino del NorteScenic train journeys in SpainCantabrian CoastPicos de Europa
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Kayaking · 2–3 h with an instructor · Coves, caves and islets · From age 4 · From €25
Walk · A grassy path above the cliff, dating from 1847, with views of the town and the Sierra del Cuera · Free
Walk · The breakwater painted by Agustín Ibarrola, the lighthouse and Toró beach · 1 h · Free
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In June and September, with quiet beaches and long days. July and August are the months of the bando festivals and the most people; in autumn and winter is when the blowholes blow hardest.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Llanes can be seen on foot, but the beaches further out, the blowholes and the Picos call for a car. Sleep in the town or in Póo, leave the car parked in the morning and use it for one excursion a day.
Llanes can be reached by air through two airports at almost the same distance: Asturias, about 130 km away, and Santander, about 90, according to Las Conchas campsite. Both have direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities. From either, the practical thing is to hire a car there and arrive by the A-8 in a little over an hour.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Llanes has the advantage that the town is flat and pushchair-friendly, and that there are beaches with services five minutes away. For older children, kayaking; for everyone, the blowholes on a day of heavy swell.
For teenagers, Llanes offers water and a bit of a challenge: a surf lesson, a kayak route through caves and coves, and the blowholes roaring on a stormy day.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Family-run six-room hotel in a historic house on calle Mayor in Llanes, with breakfast in a box brought to your room and everything within walking distance.
Why we like it: Hotel on the cliff above El Sablón beach, with direct access to the sand and 34 rooms, half with sea views. Closed from November to January.
Why we like it: Campsite 2 km from Llanes and 200 m from Póo beach, beside the coastal path, with pitches, bungalows, mobile homes and glamping.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: line-caught squid in its ink, fabada or tripe, and the caramelised rice pudding
What to order: an L cachopo for two or tortos with picadillo, and frixuelos or rice pudding for dessert
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
It is the best view of the town and the start of the urban route. Then go down to the harbour to see the Cubos close up.
On a calm-sea day they do nothing. Check the sea state and the tide before going.
Its water comes from the sea through channels beneath the rock, so the beach looks best at high tide.
Mountains in the morning, before the clouds come up; beach in the afternoon.
Seeing Llanes on a quick midday visit in August. You miss the beaches and the atmosphere and spend your time looking for parking. If you can, stay overnight.
The historic centre of Llanes is a historic-artistic site and preserves the northern stretch of the 13th-century wall, with the defensive tower that was attached to it. The best way to see it is the urban route suggested by the town council, which you can do on foot in a morning and is hard to get lost on:
If you have time to spare, cross the bridge and follow the river path along the Carrocedo through the Marismas promenade to Pancar, and come back the same way. In the town and the surrounding area you will also see indianos' houses, built by the emigrants who came back from America.
The municipality has the most beaches in Asturias: the town council lists twenty-nine. In the town are El Sablón, Puerto Chico and Toró. Further out, depending on what you are looking for:
With a swell and high tide, especially in autumn and winter, it is worth going to see the bufones (blowholes) at Pría or Arenillas: chimneys in the cliff rock through which the sea shoots out under pressure with a roar.
Llanes works better as a base than as a day visit. The town can be seen in a morning; with three nights you can add beaches, the coast and the mountains. By car, from Llanes you have Ribadesella 25 minutes away, Arenas de Cabrales about 40, Cangas de Onís 40 and the Lakes of Covadonga a little under an hour. The Sierra del Cuera, behind the town, separates the coast from the Picos de Europa.
The Camino del Norte to Santiago passes through Llanes and runs along the coast, so there are stretches that link beaches on foot and can be done in parts.
From Celorio, 6 km from the town, NaturAsturias runs a paddle-surf trip along the coast from the Niembro estuary or Palombina beach, for €25 an hour, and guided e-bike tours linking Gulpiyuri, Torimbia and Cuevas del Mar or the Arenillas blowholes, from €40 for two hours. The same company takes you to a family goat-cheese dairy at the foot of the Cuera, with a workshop to make your own fresh cheese. And 24 minutes to the east, at Pimiango, the Pindal cave holds paintings and engravings from between 18,000 and 13,000 years ago above the cliff; you book by phone and pay in cash.
By the A-8 autovía, which runs along the coast, or by the N-634. From Oviedo it is a little over an hour by car; from Santander, a little more. Asturias airport is a good hour and a half away. There are ALSA buses and a Renfe train station in the town, although to get around the beaches and the mountains you will need a car.
The tourist office is in the old fish market, at Calle Marqués de Canillejas 1 (985 400 164).
Questions
Half a day for the town. Three nights if you want to add beaches, the blowholes and an excursion to the Picos de Europa.
The town council lists twenty-nine in the municipality, the most in Asturias. In the town there are three: El Sablón, Puerto Chico and Toró.
The concrete blocks of the harbour breakwater, painted by Agustín Ibarrola. They can be seen from the Paseo de San Antón and from the viewpoint at Toró beach.
To the town, yes: there is a bus and a train. For the outlying beaches and the Picos, a car is almost essential.
The big ones are in summer and are organised by bandos (rival neighbourhood teams): La Magdalena, San Roque and La Guía, all three of tourist interest. They are the days with the most atmosphere and the most people.
Llanes has more beaches nearby and a bigger old town; Ribadesella is closer to Cangas de Onís and the Sella. They are 25 minutes apart: either works for the eastern coast.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/llanes
