Llanes - Town

Town

Llanes is a traditional fishing port, with an active harbour and many notable monuments and traditions; one plaque commemorates the 65 sailors from Llanes who sailed on the three ships it fitted out for the Spanish Armada in 1588 (the Santa Ana, the San Nicolas, and the Santelmo). Parts of the surviving town walls date to 1206. Another plaque commemorates the visit of Emperor Charles V on September 26, 1517, who, when on his way to Valladolid to be crowned King of Castile, stayed for two nights before resuming his journey.

Today, Llanes is still an active fishing port, with its economy boosted by tourism (mostly by visitors from the rest of Spain) in the summer. The town has a good selection of traditional shops and restaurants, both in and around the town, and the zona de copas is lively at night in summer. Three beaches and a spectacular cliff-top walk, the Paseo de San Pedro, add to the coastal atmosphere.

The landmark old Theatre (the Teatro Benevente), built as part of the main bridge over the river, was pulled down in the 1990s, but an exploration of the back streets of the town is always worthwhile, specially the romanic-gothic Basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Near Llanes is the village of Porrúa, noted for its Ethnographical Museum.