Picos, Asturias, & Galicia

I intend to do the Ride Magazine '6 Day Picos Tour' in early June'17. But in a car, rather than on the bike.

As it came highly recommended on here, I have booked the the Case La Pisa (which is just to the west of Potes) for the first 3 nights and the final night (before catching the Santander ferry).

The Ride tour suggests the following overnight stops for subsequent days:

Valdes
Santiago
Ourense
Leon

Before I start trawling through possible hotels on Booking.com etc etc, does anyone have any recommendations for overnight stops in these 4 areas? I am looking for B&B's or smallish hotels, rather than bigger hotels, either well located for local bars & eateries or, as with Casa La Pisa, ones that can offer good evening meals.

Your advice/recommendations will be most welcome

aparthotel san mames leon

cheap very clean near university but not in city centre - parking on street but underground if you want - i was on the bike and although they werent picked for that it was handy

casablanca round the corner does a mean seafood calzone

hotel astur astorga

stayed here on the way back to the ferry - right in the pedestrianised square but they have a garage

plenty of stuff to eat in the square and they have a resturant

pousada vicente risco

clean rural between ponferrada and ourense

many twisty h and paco dont speak english although it says english is spoken i managed for a week but their son does if ya get stuck

MUST DO CALDO <3 their other food is excellent and the cook speaks good english too

Have a look at Lugo, it has a lovely old walled city, worth a visit.......

Done all that before Ride magazine . Really enjoyed the whole area, not crowded nor commercialised ,great food and wine . Both coastal and inland areas well worth exploring

The hotels I used when putting the route together were:
Luarca - Hotel Baltico
Santiago - Hotel Miradorio de Belvis
Ourense - Hotel Rural San Jaime (outside the city itself but just fabulous)
Leon - the Parador (one of my favourite Paradores)

Treat yourself & try a few Paradors www.parador.es. Some of these are absolute must see sights anyway, so why not stay there, as the Pilgrims did.

Leon - the Parador Hostal San Marcos is a must see building, right on the Camino. Good outdoor parking at the rear - the parking guys will direct you to a favoured spot.

Santiago - the Parador Hostal Dos Reis Catolicos was the place to stop at the end of one's Pilgrimage, right next to the Cathedral. Garage parking available.

Ourense - we used the Parador Santo Estevo, Luintra, a converted Benadictine Monasterio in the hills near Ourense. Some great roads around here too.

Fuente De - Rio Deva. A Mountain hostal, sheltered by the Picos, near the Cable Car.

Cangas de Onis - Monasterio de San Pedro. About a mile out of town. Walk/ride to town, over the old bridge, try one of the Cider Bars. A good base for the Picos, as Fuente De/Potes/Riano can find themselves in cloud/fog.

Baiona - Parador in an old fortress - nice relax, if you need a few beachside days.

Santillana del Mar (attractive old Town) or Cervera de Pisuerga (Mountain Lodge) - these make good first/last lodgings if using Santander Port.

As others have said, it's probably best to do your own thing - any of the 'green' roads on the Michelin maps will be scenic. Most of the old N roads offer up some good riding. Watch for drunk drivers mid afternoon, leaving clubs/restaurants on the edge of the larger towns/cities. Speed cameras abound in the north of Spain now, usually signed in advance. Sleeping policemen can be savage, coming into the smaller towns/villages, usually where speed control traffic lights were getting ignored.

Whatever you decide, have a good trip..................... KEN

Brilliant

squibb34 said:

As others have said, it's probably best to do your own thing - any of the 'green' roads on the Michelin maps will be scenic. Most of the old N roads offer up some good riding. Watch for drunk drivers mid afternoon, leaving clubs/restaurants on the edge of the larger towns/cities. Speed cameras abound in the north of Spain now, usually signed in advance. Sleeping policemen can be savage, coming into the smaller towns/villages, usually where speed control traffic lights were getting ignored.

Whatever you decide, have a good trip..................... KEN

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Traffic is usually lose before lunchtime when folks are rushing to eat. And a 'club' is a brothel ...

+1 for Cervera de Pisuerga but I prefer cheap dodgers in the village so you can take a stroll and have a few beers and tapas with the locals. Paradors tend to be in the countryside, either in monuments like castles or monasteries or in places with astonishing views. Great but a bit sterile IMHO ...

Regs

Simon

Yes I know - they tend to be in the countryside, some are in city centre locations ...

PS I've never had the money to stay in one so anyone here can book me in for an independent review of the experience ...

Agree with the Paradores agree they can be expensive but well worth it if in your budget especially the one in Santiago but you will probably need to book well in advance

rodsharp said:

Agree with the Paradores agree they can be expensive but well worth it if in your budget especially the one in Santiago but you will probably need to book well in advance

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Hmm, quite a subject in its own right. Check out this review in the Slow Travel series, taking special note of the various deals on offer - after all the original idea of Paradors - even the origin of the words, which roughly means a place to stop (Sp. parar = to stop) - and I think originally there was a limit on maximum nights stay. One caveat; maybe I'm being cynical but the system used to be 'nationalised' but is now run as a commercial company, however the only shareholder is the State. Some criticisms arise from a tendency for staff's 'jobsworth' attitudes but I this k there has been a lot of changes in this respect ...

Regs

Simon

PS you'll see that many offers centre around 'Puentes' which is where people join up a public holiday falling on a Tuesday or Thursday to make a long weekend. These are often difficult time for book posh accommodation, or indeed day sometimes ... but Paradors are often empty outside these periods - in fact some close altogether in the low seasons, which a few years ago resulted in strike action - see above - when pop,e were laid off or had to move to other sites See here - in Spanish - although I think this issue is history now.

many thanks for the suggestions. I shall sit down with the Ride routes and my maps and fire up Booking.com and see what develops.

Another vote for Hotel Baltico in Luarca. Secure parking in their courtyard as well. Luarca is really picturesque. A great place if you want a day off the bikes. Beaches, walks, old harbour, stunning fisherman's cemetery overlooking the sea etc...