Valdés, municipality (concejo) in Asturias, Spain
Valdés is a council on the west coast of Asturias, bordered by cliffs, river estuaries, and forested inland valleys. Luarca, the main town, sits along a horseshoe-shaped bay and is home to a working fishing harbor.
Valdés grew over centuries as a community shaped by the sea and by farming in the inland areas. In the 19th century, emigrants who returned from the Americas brought back wealth and built houses in a modernist and indianist style that are still standing today.
In the coastal villages, daily life still revolves around fishing, and you can see it in the boats, the nets, and the small fish stalls along the harbors. The white buildings that line the streets of Luarca reflect a local style that has shaped the look of the town for generations.
A car is the most convenient way to get around, since many villages lie off the main roads. The coast and valleys are easy to explore on foot, and conditions are most pleasant between spring and autumn.
The cemetery of Luarca sits on a rocky promontory above the sea and is the burial place of Severo Ochoa, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1959. Many visitors are surprised to find a connection to one of the most celebrated scientists of the 20th century in this small coastal town.
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