What to do this month
Asturias has something for every month. Here is what you do not want to miss depending on when you come, each with a link to the official source to confirm dates and times.
August
Now- International Sella Descent (first Saturday of August): 20 kilometres of canoes between Arriondas and Ribadesella, with the whole river partying.
- Gijón's Big Week, mid-August: free concerts and the Night of the Fireworks over San Lorenzo bay.
- Natural Cider Festival in Gijón, late August: a collective pour on Poniente beach.
September
- Día de la Santina (8 September): Covadonga's big day, with mass and procession. It is also Asturias Day, though the official ceremony moves to a different council each year.
- Virgen de la Guía (8 September): the seafaring festival of Llanes, with the virgin going out to sea.
- Day of America in Asturias (19 September): floats and folklore parade down Calle Uría.
- San Mateo (21 September): Oviedo's main festival, with the old town out in the streets.
October
- El Desarme (19 October): all of Oviedo eats chickpeas with spinach and cod, tripe and rice pudding. National Tourist Interest.
- Apple Festival in Villaviciosa: October, odd years. Market, tastings and new cider in the apple capital.
- Autumn at its best: the beech forests of Redes Park are spectacular.
- Peak mushroom season: boletus, saffron milk caps and meadow mushrooms.
November
- Amagüestu: roasted chestnuts and sweet cider in villages all over Asturias.
- Esfoyón and Amagüestu in Navelgas (early November): the whole district re-enacts village life and trades, with chestnuts and cider.
- First serious cold. Good time for fabada and pote asturiano.
December
- Oviedo's Christmas market: craft stalls by the Cathedral and in Plaza Porlier, from the lights switch-on until 6 January.
- New Year's Eve in the street: the twelve grapes at Oviedo's Town Hall square.
January
- Epiphany and Roscón in the sidrerías of Colloto.
- The Three Kings parade fills Oviedo's centre on the evening of 5 January.
- Damp cold: the Lakes of Covadonga under snow are another world.
February
- Antroxu (Carnival): Avilés holds the National Tourist Interest declaration, with its Galiana Descent. Dates change every year.Movable date
- Sea urchin season in the coastal restaurants.
- Angula Festival in San Juan de la Arena: tastings and a fishermen's market at the mouth of the Nalón.Movable date
March
- Antroxu (Carnival): Avilés holds the National Tourist Interest declaration, with its Galiana Descent. Dates change every year.Movable date
- The days start to lengthen. Good time for cliff walks without the crowds.
- Angula Festival in San Juan de la Arena: tastings and a fishermen's market at the mouth of the Nalón.Movable date
- Easter: processions in Oviedo and Lenten food. It falls in March or April depending on the year, and the two feasts below move with it.Movable date
- Los Güevos Pintos (Easter Tuesday): Pola de Siero shows and gives away hand-painted eggs. National Tourist Interest.Movable date
- Fiesta del Bollu in Avilés (Easter Monday): rolls, wine and parades, over a century old.Movable date
April
- Easter: processions in Oviedo and Lenten food. It falls in March or April depending on the year, and the two feasts below move with it.Movable date
- Los Güevos Pintos (Easter Tuesday): Pola de Siero shows and gives away hand-painted eggs. National Tourist Interest.Movable date
- Fiesta del Bollu in Avilés (Easter Monday): rolls, wine and parades, over a century old.Movable date
May
- La Ascensión fair, mid-May: Oviedo's big agricultural market, with livestock, crafts and music.
- Martes de Campo: the whole of Oviedo picnics in Campo de San Francisco with a stuffed roll and wine. It falls on Whit Tuesday, between May and June.Movable date
- Corpus Christi: the streets of Castropol and Cué (Llanes) are covered in floral carpets. The date changes every year.Movable date
June
- Martes de Campo: the whole of Oviedo picnics in Campo de San Francisco with a stuffed roll and wine. It falls on Whit Tuesday, between May and June.Movable date
- San Juan: bonfires on the beaches of Gijón on the night of the 23rd.
- Corpus Christi: the streets of Castropol and Cué (Llanes) are covered in floral carpets. The date changes every year.Movable date
- L'Amuravela (29 June): in Cudillero, an ironic verse sermon in the pixueto dialect reviews the year before Saint Peter.
July
- El Primer Peregrino: Oviedo re-enacts Alfonso II's departure to Santiago and the Cathedral square becomes a medieval village with a market.
- Cider Festival in Nava (second weekend of July): the best cider of the year, pouring contests and revelry.
- Shepherd's Festival (25 July): the shepherds of the Picos de Europa gather at Vega de Enol, above the Lakes of Covadonga.