Avilés is situated on the
central strip of the coastline of Asturias, to the west of the cape of
Peñas. This old seafaring and farming town, it is now a modern city
and a major iron and steel centre. and has turned into the third
major city in the Principality of Asturias. Its historic quarter has been
declared a Historic-Artistic Site, since it houses significant gems of
civil and religious architecture. Some of the main attractions are the
pedestrian streets of Galiana and Rivero, Plaza de España with its City
Hall, the old church of Sabugo, from the 13th century, and the modern
Santo Tomás de Canterbury. In terms of civil architecture, Avilés
boasts the palaces of Valdecarzana and Camposagrado and the Palacio Valdés
theatre. In 1980 came the opening of the new fishing dock and fishermen's
guild of Virgen de las Mareas, whose market auctions almost 70% of the
fish caught in Asturias, which has placed Avilés, despite a limited
fishing fleet, at the head of the ports in Asturias in this sector.
