# Villaviciosa and Tazones What to do in Villaviciosa: visits to El Gaitero and a cider mill in Amandi, the Conventín de Valdediós, Tazones and its dinosaur footprints, the estuary and the MUJA. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/villaviciosa-and-tazones · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Villaviciosa is the capital of the Comarca de la Sidra (Cider Country): a town with an old quarter at the head of an estuary, surrounded by apple orchards and cider mills, less than half an hour from Gijón. From here you go to Tazones, the port where Charles V landed, to the Conventín de Valdediós, a pre-Romanesque church consecrated in the year 893, and to the beaches at the mouth of the estuary. ## How do I get there? By car, along the A-64 from Oviedo, in about 37 minutes, or along the A-8 from Gijón, in 24. From Santander it is around an hour and three quarters on the A-8, and from León, an hour and fifty via Oviedo. To get around the area you need a car: Tazones, Valdediós and the Jurassic Museum are between 15 and 25 minutes from the town, each in a different direction. ## Where can I see how cider is made? In two very different places. El Gaitero, in La Espuncia, is the factory of Asturias's best-known sparkling cider: an hour and a half through its cellars and its collection, with a tasting, for €5, and free for under-14s. Sidra Cortina, in Amandi, is a family-run mill making natural cider: a culín (small pour) straight from the barrel, ice cider and local cheeses for €10, with its cider house, Casa Cortina, next door. Both require a reservation. ## What else is there to see? Tazones is the little port at the mouth of the estuary, with two quarters of fishermen's houses and dinosaur footprints in the cliff by the beach, visible at low tide. The Jurassic Museum (MUJA), in Colunga, explains those footprints and is the rainy-day plan with children. Inland, Valdediós brings together the Conventín and the church and cloister of the Cistercian monastery; it is closed on Mondays. And the estuary is a nature reserve and, after the Eo, the second area in Asturias for wintering waterbirds. ## Where do I sleep and eat? La Casona de Amandi is an indiano house (built by a returned emigrant) with a garden and nine rooms, open all year, in the same village as the Cortina cider mill. In town, the Hotel Arcea Villaviciosa accepts pets. For eating, the Sidrería El Roxu, on Calle Cervantes, with a long list of ciders with Denomination of Origin, and Casa Cortina, in Amandi, with a garden for the children. In Tazones, fish from the fish market on the harbour terraces. ## How much time do I need? A day covers a cider mill, Tazones and the estuary. With a night you add Valdediós and the MUJA without hurrying. From here, Ribadesella and the eastern coast are less than half an hour along the A-8. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Cantabrian Coast, Picos de Europa, Camino del Norte - Cerca: Cangas de Onís and Covadonga (a 28.7 km), Ribadesella (a 30.4 km), Oviedo (a 36.0 km), Valgrande-Pajares and Fuentes de Invierno (a 46.7 km) ## Qué hacer - **Guided visit to the El Gaitero cider mill, in La Espuncia** (1 h 30 · All ages; under-14s free with an adult · Desde 5 € per person): El Gaitero is the best-known sparkling cider brand in Asturias, and it is made in La Espuncia, on the way out of Villaviciosa, beside the estuary. The visit shows the other scale of Asturian cider: not a village cider mill, but large cellars and a permanent collection that tells the history of the house. What you see The route, of around an hour and a half, goes through the cellar and the permanent collection and ends with a tasting of several of its ciders. Part of the way is outdoors: if it rains, bring a waterproof. It is wheelchair accessible. Price, hours and how to book Admission costs €5 per person and is redeemed at the shop at the end of the visit, only that day; under-14s go in free with an adult. From 1 October the autumn-winter timetable applies, Thursday to Sunday, with slots at 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 16:00 and 17:30; in spring and summer the timetable changes, so check it on their website. You must book beforehand and wait for confirmation, through the form, on 985 890 100 or at gaitero2@gaitero.com. With less than a day's notice there may be no room. Groups are 30 people at most. How it fits into the day La Espuncia is a couple of minutes from the centre of Villaviciosa by car. A full cider morning would be El Gaitero first thing and, to compare with a family natural-cider mill, the Sidra Cortina visit in Amandi, with lunch in its cider house. In the afternoon, Tazones is a quarter of an hour away. - **San Salvador de Valdediós, the Conventín, and the Cistercian monastery** (1 h · All ages; the route has stairs · Desde 7 € per adult): In a valley of oaks and chestnuts about 9 km from Villaviciosa there are two churches of two eras, one beside the other. San Salvador, the Conventín, is Asturian pre-Romanesque: Alfonso III the Great had it built as part of a palatine complex for retreat, and seven bishops consecrated it on 16 September 893, according to the marble inscription kept inside. Santa María is the church of the Cistercian monastery founded by Alfonso IX and Berenguela in 1200, begun in 1218 and, until the Gothic cathedral of Oviedo rose, the largest in Asturias. What you see The cultural visit passes through the Conventín, with its three-aisle plan, the royal porch and the Bishops' chapel, where frescoes remain that the monastery compares with those of San Julián de los Prados and San Miguel de Lillo; continues through the church of Santa María and ends in the Renaissance cloister, completed in 1777. It is done with an audio guide, at no extra cost, in Spanish, English, French or German. There is also a personalised guided visit, for groups of up to 15, that goes into the sacristy and the choir: Tuesday to Friday at 12:00 and 18:00, with booking confirmed 24 hours ahead. Hours and price From April to September it opens from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00; on Sundays, from 11:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00. From October to March, only from 10:30 to 13:30, and on Sundays from 11:00 to 13:30. Closed every Monday and on 1 and 6 January, 8 and 16 September and 25 December. General admission costs €7; over-65s, €6; schoolchildren, university students up to 25 and pilgrims, €4; under-8s, free. You pay at reception, in cash or by card. Booking online secures the audio guide, and is compulsory for groups of more than 15. Getting there By car from Villaviciosa, about 15 minutes. From Oviedo and Gijón it is a little over half an hour, so it fits on the way to the town. In the same complex there is a pilgrims' hostel. - **Tazones, Charles V's port, and its dinosaur footprints** (3 h · All ages · Desde 0 € ): Tazones is the small port at the mouth of the Villaviciosa estuary, about 11 km from the town. Here Charles V landed in September 1517, on his first journey to the peninsula, and it is the only Asturian port that is part of the emperor's imperial routes. The villagers re-enact it every August in a festival declared of Tourist Interest. The rest of the year it is a fishing village with two districts, San Miguel and San Roque, declared a Historic-Artistic Ensemble. What to see Climb the lanes of coloured fishermen's houses and look for corners such as the Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells). Below, the fish market auctions what the boats bring in, which is why the port's restaurants and cider houses live off the day's fish and seafood. The lighthouse, one of the best preserved on the Asturian coast, is on the edge of the village. Dinosaur footprints Tazones is one of the points on the Jurassic Museum's Dinosaur Coast. On the cliff at the eastern edge of the beach, about 120 metres from the access ramp, you can see on a tilted rock layer several three-toed footprints of theropod dinosaurs, some forming a trail, and a loose block with more footprints. Beside the lighthouse there are hand and foot prints of quadruped dinosaurs. Go at low tide, with footwear that grips wet rock, and do not stand at the foot of the cliff. To understand what you see, the Jurassic Museum is half an hour away. Getting there and parking By car from Villaviciosa, about 16 minutes along the edge of the estuary. In summer and on Sundays the village fills up at lunchtime: arrive before twelve or mid-afternoon. - **Jurassic Museum of Asturias, the MUJA, in Colunga** (2 h · All ages; very good with children · Desde 7.21 € general admission): The MUJA is in Colunga, about 22 km and 25 minutes from Villaviciosa, and is the museum of the dinosaurs of the Asturian coast: the one the museum itself calls the Dinosaur Coast, with footprint sites on beaches and cliffs such as those of Tazones or Merón. Here they explain which animals left them and what this place was like in the Jurassic. It is the area's rainy-day plan, and with children it always works. Hours It changes with the season. In July and August it is open every day from 10:30 to 19:00. From March to June and in September and October, Wednesday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00, and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10:30 to 18:30. In February, November and December, Wednesday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:30, and weekends and public holidays from 10:30 to 18:00. Outside summer it is closed Monday and Tuesday, and closed all of January and on 24, 25 and 31 December. Last entry is an hour before closing. The garden, with a play area, is open the same days until 21:30, except on weekdays in winter. Price General admission costs €7.21 and the reduced rate €4.75, for children aged 4 to 11, over-65s and groups of 20 or more. Under-3s go in free. There are audio guides for €1.76 and a self-guided visit for children for €2. With the ticket for Tito Bustillo, the Prehistory Park of Teverga or Laboral, among others, you get a discount for a year. After the museum The footprints are seen on the coast. Those at Tazones, beside the port and the lighthouse, are among the easiest to find at low tide. If you continue east, those at Tereñes, in Ribadesella, are on a cliff beside the road. - **Visit to the Llagar de la Ferrería of Sidra Cortina, in Amandi** (1 h 15 · Adults · Desde 10 € per adult): If El Gaitero is factory cider, Cortina is the family cider mill. In Amandi, on the edge of Villaviciosa, the Llagar de la Ferrería makes natural cider with Designation of Origin and ice cider, and shows how in a visit that ends where it should: with a culín drawn straight from the barrel. What is included It starts in the visitor centre with a video about the making. Then you tour the cider mill: the apple, the pressing, the barrels, the curiosities and myths of Asturian cider. At the end there is a culín drawn from the barrel, a tasting of Cortina ice cider and a sampling of artisan cheeses from the Cider Region. You take home the screen-printed glass. Price and booking It costs €10 per adult. Book on their website, in the sidraturismo section: when you choose the date only the times with places appear, and if one does not show it is full. The website does not publish the duration or fixed timetable; if you have doubts, the cider mill answers on 985 893 200. Eating afterwards The house cider house, Casa Cortina, is a few metres away, at number 41 on the same street, with a covered terrace, garden and children's area, and serves the cider mill's cider. It is open Tuesday to Sunday; closed on Mondays. If you want to see the industrial scale of the same drink, the El Gaitero visit is on the other side of the town. - **Birds of the Villaviciosa estuary and the El Puntal interpretation centre** (2 h 30 · All ages; binoculars · Desde 0 € ): The Villaviciosa estuary is a nature reserve that opens between the beaches of El Puntal and Rodiles, next to Tazones, and narrows to the centre of the town, where it ends in the porreos, meadows reclaimed from the sea with channels and ponds. According to the Principality, it is the second area in Asturias, after the Eo estuary, for wintering and migration rest of European waterbirds: almost a hundred species have been identified. When and where to look At low tide the waders spread across the mud, the shallow waters and the channels, and that is when you see most. The best time is from autumn to spring, with wintering birds and migration passages. The estuary has four parts: the mouth, with Rodiles beach; the sandy bay of the Misiego inlet; the mudflats, where most birds pass; and the upper channel, near the town. Bring binoculars. The interpretation centre It is on the left bank, on the Villaviciosa to El Puntal road, and has an exhibition on the estuary's values. It is open Friday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:00 to 18:30; the Principality warns that it may change with the season, so call first if you go on a weekday. It is the place to ask where to walk and what is being seen these days. The rules Dogs must be on a lead of less than a metre and may not enter the special restricted-use or moderate-use zones; on the reserve's beaches they are not allowed off the lead. Do not leave the paths in the marshes. To round out the day, Tazones is on the other bank, at the mouth of the estuary. ## Dónde comer - **Sidrería El Roxu** (Cider house, Villaviciosa, €€). Qué pedir: a bottle of pouring cider with PDO, fabada or pote and a free-range chicken rice for the table - **Casa Cortina Cider House, in Amandi** (Cider house, Amandi (Villaviciosa), €€). Qué pedir: the cider from the cider mill next door, tortos with picadillo and Cabrales and something from the grill; the welcome menu if you are coming to try things ## By car: Half an hour from Oviedo and Gijón Villaviciosa is 37 minutes from Oviedo and 24 from Gijón by motorway, and everything worth visiting around it is less than half an hour away: Tazones, Valdediós, the estuary and the Jurassic Museum. The car is the convenient way; for the cider, let whoever is not drinking drive. Presupuesto orientativo: 60–110 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **La Casona de Amandi** (Country house): La Quinta la Ballina, built on an old forge La Casona de Amandi was built in the mid-19th century on the walls of an old forge, on an estate belonging to the Counts of Revillagigedo, and in the village it is also known as the Quinta la Ballina. It stands on the plain of the River Llinares, right on the Camino de Santiago, with the chapel of San Juan opposite. Two glazed galleries were added in the early 20th century; the south-facing one, on iron columns, is the corner where you can watch the sun rise and set. It was declared a building of special interest in 1991 and was one of the first rural guesthouses in the area. It is five minutes from Villaviciosa and less than half an hour from Gijón. The garden, of more than 5,000 m², has wisteria, lime trees, firs, thujas, beeches, willows, oaks and a great sequoia, with a wide meadow. Nine rooms, four ways to sleep There are nine, spread over two floors, all different, with wooden floors and antique furniture; the whole house sleeps about 24 people. All have a private bathroom with shower or bath, hairdryer, toiletries, heating, television and wifi. Double, for a couple or one person. Double family, somewhat larger, with the option of an extra bed, designed for families with children. Indiana, a suite with a glass-walled bathroom in white and blue tiles, which takes two extra beds. Indiana junior, spacious and bright, with views of the chapel of San Juan and the mountains, for three or four people. Cots are available, and pets are welcome. The website does not publish prices: they appear in its booking search. The house's breakfasts and dinners The casona serves breakfasts and dinners made with seasonal produce, much of it organic and local, to showcase traditional Asturian cooking. If you would rather go out, in the same village there is Casa Cortina, the cider house at the Sidra Cortina cider mill. What the casona organises From here they arrange tailor-made routes, on foot, by bike or on horseback, along the Camino de Santiago, past the mills or the old jet mine entrances, and along the cliffs. The outing that sets it apart is "Escapada en bandada" (a flock getaway): a birdwatching visit guided by a local biologist. They also help organise surf or paddle-surf lessons at Rodiles and descents of the Sella, about forty kilometres away. Weddings, times and cancellation The estate has a timber-and-glass structure for 300 guests, and the house hosts weddings, communions and corporate events: ask whether any coincide with your dates. Check-in is from 17:00 to 19:00, a short window, and check-out is until 12:00. They do not ask for payment in advance: the booking is guaranteed with a card. Cancelling is free up to 14 days before; after that you pay half, and with less than 48 hours' notice, the full amount. Open all year. - **Hotel Arcea Villaviciosa** (Hotel, desde 51 € / night): A few metres from the old town, on the way to Rodiles The Arcea Villaviciosa is the three-star hotel that the Asturian chain Arcea has in the town, on Calle Víctor García de la Concha, a few metres from the historic centre. It was completely renovated in 2018. From here you walk to the cider houses in the centre, and by car you are about ten minutes from Rodiles beach. The website gives the distances: El Gaitero cider mill 1.3 km, the Villaviciosa estuary 2.8 km, Gijón 27 km, Oviedo 43 km and Covadonga 58 km. It is a practical base if you want to split your stay between the coast, the estuary and the cider towns without changing hotel. From the budget double to the junior suite Turismo Asturias counts 51 rooms and 88 places. The website offers five types; for some it publishes a from price: Budget double, for two, practical and functional, from €51 a night. Double, exterior and bright, from €52. Superior double, renovated and larger, with a double bed. Double with extra bed, for three people, from €66. Junior suite, for up to four, with an extra-large double bed and a sofa bed. All have a bathroom with bath and shower and bidet, toiletries, television, telephone, heating, wooden floor, wake-up service, wifi, safe and a free minibar. There is a cot on request. The website advertises best price, late check-out and free cancellation when booking direct. Buffet breakfast and café The café bar prepares a buffet breakfast with sweet and savoury every morning, and during the day serves dishes, sandwiches and something to nibble. For a calmer dinner, the Sidrería El Roxu is on Calle Cervantes, in the centre. Reception is open 24 hours and stores luggage; Turismo Asturias also lists a closed bike store. The website says nothing about its own parking: ask when you book. With a pet Pets are welcome for a supplement. According to Turismo Asturias, one animal per room is admitted, with no size limit, which cannot be left alone in the room, and potentially dangerous breeds are not accepted. They provide a food and water bowl if you ask, but not a bed. Dates According to Turismo Asturias, it closes from 15 November to 31 March, and high season is August. From here you have close by the visit to the El Gaitero cider mill, Tazones and the birds of the Villaviciosa estuary. ## As a family: Dinosaurs, birds and apples Villaviciosa with children means looking for dinosaur footprints at Tazones, seeing the museum that explains them and stopping at a cider mill that does not charge. Everything is less than half an hour away by car, so you can go back to your lodgings at midday. ### What works best The Jurassic Museum, with a garden and play area; ages 4 to 11, €4.75 The Tazones footprints at low tide, and the port El Gaitero, free for under-14s The birds of the estuary with binoculars ### Where to sleep La Casona de Amandi, with family suites for four Hotel Arcea Villaviciosa, with a cot on request ### Where to eat Casa Cortina, with a garden and children's area Fish on the terraces of the port of Tazones, early ### Bear in mind At Valdediós the tour involves stairs; under-8s free MUJA closes on Mondays and Tuesdays outside summer, and all of January The footprints are only clearly visible at low tide ### Qué hacer as a family - Guided visit to the El Gaitero cider mill, in La Espuncia - San Salvador de Valdediós, the Conventín, and the Cistercian monastery - Tazones, Charles V's port, and its dinosaur footprints - Jurassic Museum of Asturias, the MUJA, in Colunga - Birds of the Villaviciosa estuary and the El Puntal interpretation centre ## Consejos ### Book the cider mills before you go El Gaitero asks for confirmation at least a day ahead; Cortina is booked on its website. ### Tazones, at low tide The dinosaur footprints on the beach can only be seen properly at low tide. ### Valdediós, in the morning in winter From October to March it closes at 13:30. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How much does it cost to visit El Gaitero? €5 per person, redeemable in the shop at the end; under-14s, free. ### Can you see a traditional cider mill? Yes, the Sidra Cortina one in Amandi, with a culín from the barrel and a tasting, for €10. ### What is there in Tazones? A fishing port with two historic quarters, the lighthouse and dinosaur footprints on the beach. ### Can you go with a dog? Around Tazones and on the paths, on a lead. In the estuary reserve, on a short lead; they are not allowed into El Gaitero. ### What do I do on a rainy day? The Jurassic Museum, Valdediós and a visit to a cider mill.