Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Navia

What to see and do in Navia (Eo-Navia, Asturias): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 3 Nature · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Navia

Towns near Navia

What to see in Coaña 3.5 km · 4 places
What to see in El Franco 9.5 km · 4 places
What to see in Villayón 10 km · 4 places
What to see in Boal 14 km · 6 places
What to see in Tapia de Casariego 18 km · 4 places
What to see in Valdés 21 km · 9 places
What to see in Castropol 25 km · 7 places
What to see in Illano 26 km · 4 places

Spain › Principality of Asturias › Eo-Navia › Navia

What to see and do in Navia

Navia
Village
Navia is a municipality and town of Asturias, capital of the Eo-Navia district, situated in north-western Asturias beside the ria formed at its mouth by the river Navia, facing the Cantabrian Sea and with about 14 kilometres of coastline. It has about 8,000 inhabitants and combines industry — the ENCE group's paper mill, the Armón shipyards and the Reny Picot dairy — with fishing from the neighbouring Puerto de Vega. The relief is organised into three clearly differentiated units: the coastal platform, the middle valleys and, towards the interior and the border with Villayón, a mountainous area whose highest point is Panondres peak, at 842 metres. The river Navia, which gives the municipality its name, runs through it from south to north before opening into the ria. Every August the festival of the Virgen de la Barca is celebrated.
Beach of Frexulfe
Nature
At some 750 metres it is the largest beach in the municipality and is declared a natural monument for its dune system and the ecosystem that goes with it; it stretches between the town of Navia and Puerto de Vega.
Puerto de Vega
Curiosity
Puerto de Vega is a fishing village belonging to the municipality (concejo) of Navia, with a fishing port that in past times held great commercial importance thanks to whale hunting, practised until the end of the 17th century, and which over the course of the 20th century came to have up to ten canning factories, now gone. In this village, on 27 November 1811, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos died while fleeing French troops, in the house of his friend Antonio Trelles; the town received in 1995 the Prize for the Exemplary Village of Asturias.
Partial Nature Reserve of Barayo
Nature
A protected area straddling Navia and Valdés that brings together the mouth of the River Barayo, a dune complex and cliffs; among its wildlife the otter and the oystercatcher stand out, and its dune vegetation is among the best preserved in Asturias.
Death of Jovellanos at Puerto de Vega
Historical milestone
The Enlightenment figure from Gijón died of pneumonia on 27 November 1811 in this fishing town while fleeing a French counterattack on his way home; he had left Galicia in July of that year after the political attacks he suffered in Cádiz.
Palace of Anleo
Monument
The Palacio de Anleo stands in the locality of Anleo, in the Asturian municipality of Navia. Its founding as the manor house of the lords of Navia, later marquesses of Santa Cruz de Marcenado, dates back to the 13th century; it has an L-shaped plan with three towers of different sizes. The southwest tower, older than the palace itself, is said by tradition to have sheltered St Francis of Assisi during his pilgrimage to Santiago in the early 13th century. A fire destroyed it in 1520 and it was not rebuilt until 1704. It belonged to the Navia-Osorio family and today is owned by Reny Picot; it is undergoing restoration. It is declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection).
Ría of Navia
Nature
The Navia river widens into a ría of calm waters before reaching the sea, with the town on one bank and the port of Ortiguera guarding the mouth; it is the final stretch of a river that flows down dammed from the Salime reservoir. Its sheltered waters have historically served as a safe harbour, a trade route and a fishing ground, which favoured the appearance of settlements in its surroundings since ancient times; since 1958 it has hosted every August, unless the tide prevents it, the Descenso a nado de la Ría de Navia (swimming descent of the Navia ría), an event declared of Interés Turístico Nacional (a national tourist-interest designation).