Guided Tour of Old Oviedo with an Official Guide

An official guide takes you around the old quarter: the founding of the city in 761, Alfonso II the Chaste, the cathedral, the San Tirso wall and the Royal Pantheon. You can extend it along calle Uría and the settings of La Regenta. There are no fixed departures: you ask for a date and a quote.

Who runs it

The tour is organised by Visitas Guiadas por Asturias, run by Regina Buitrago Martínez-Colubi, an official tourist guide of the Principality with the number GT-92. As well as guiding, she works with the media and presents the weekly programme Secretos de Asturias on YouTube. Turismo de Oviedo lists her in its directory of city guides. She works in Spanish and French.

What routes she offers in Oviedo

The basic route is the historic centre. It follows the first steps of the monks Máximo and Fromestano, who founded the city in 761 under King Fruela, and passes the cathedral, the eastern wall of San Tirso and the garden of the Reyes Caudillos, which the guide presents as the first royal pantheon in Spain. It can start at the Campoamor theatre, in the cathedral square or beside the statue of Clarín.

From there it can be combined with other themed routes:

• La Regenta: Baroque Oviedo, the 19th-century calle Uría and the settings of Clarín's novel.
• Jewish Oviedo: the company collaborates with the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain, Caminos de Sefarad.
• Cathedral: a special visit to the interior.
• Pre-Romanesque: the city's 9th-century monuments.
• Oviedo by night: the illuminated monuments, including plaza de la Escandalera.
• Camino Primitivo: the origin of the Camino in Oviedo, linked to Alfonso II.

How to book and how much it costs

These are private, tailor-made tours, for individuals, families, groups and companies. The website does not publish fixed prices, duration or meeting point: you ask for a quote with the date, the number of people and the route you are interested in. Contact: 610 567 260 or [email protected], or the website form. Also ask whether the price includes admission to monuments such as the cathedral.

For the historic centre, allow a couple of hours and confirm it when you book. If it is your first time in Oviedo, it is a good way to understand the city before visiting the cathedral of San Salvador on your own or going up to Santa María del Naranco.

If you prefer to go independently

The walk around the old town and the Fontán can be done without a guide, and at the Oviedo tourist offices they give you free maps and visitor guides. For a meal afterwards, the El Ferroviario cider house or Casa Ramón.