Old Town, Plaza del Fontán and Calle Gascona

From the cathedral, go down to plaza del Fontán and its market, continue to plaza de la Constitución, with the town hall, and walk up calle Gascona, the cider boulevard, to the pre-Romanesque Foncalada fountain. The centre is pedestrianised: it is the walk for any time of day, Sundays too.

Old Oviedo

Oviedo was born in 761 on a hill, at a crossroads, when the monks Máximo and Fromestano built a monastery dedicated to Saint Vincent; around it grew what was called round Oviedo, closed in by gates. Turismo Asturias recalls that the old quarter, which people here call El Antiguo, keeps almost intact its air of an old royal seat. From its streets you see several historic towers, among them that of Santa María la Real de la Corte, the Romanesque and Gothic ones of the cathedral and that of San Tirso el Real, founded by Alfonso II the Chaste.

El Fontán and its market

Centuries ago, the Fontán was a lagoon fed by springs on the outskirts of the city. Country people began to sell milk, vegetables, cheese and hens there, and so one of the oldest markets in Asturias was born, which was also a playhouse. Today the square is still very lively at market times. Turismo Asturias notes that the street stalls are liveliest on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with flowers, garden produce, books, music and antiques. Next door, the food market hall is devoted to food alone, with fresh produce, a café and a restaurant. Nearby are the town hall square and the church of San Isidoro.

Gascona and the Foncalada

Calle Gascona is the most representative area of the city's cider tradition, known as the cider boulevard, with life at any time of day and night. You can also have a culín of cider in the Fontán. On calle Foncalada, halfway down and below street level, is the pre-Romanesque fountain attributed to the reign of Alfonso II. It keeps part of the pool and a small temple with a Cross of Victory and a Latin inscription now very worn. Turismo de Oviedo presents it as the only example of early medieval hydraulic architecture in Spain.

How to do it

It takes about two hours at an easy pace, free and on foot; the centre is pedestrianised and works with a pushchair, and dogs on a lead. If you want to carry on, calle Uría, the shopping axis, leads to the Campo de San Francisco, the big park in the centre, with its Quino's Mafalda. For a meal, Casa Ramón, beside the Fontán, or Casa Fermín, beside the Campo de San Francisco. The cathedral of San Salvador is the starting point, and the Fine Arts Museum, free, is on the way. If you would rather have it explained, there is a guided tour of old Oviedo.