Every October, Asturias becomes the center of attention with the Princess of Asturias Awards. Beyond the solemnity and international impact of the gala held in Oviedo, the anticipation also extends to the towns and villages of the region with the presentation of the Exemplary Village of Asturias Award.
From 1990This recognition distinguishes localities, communities and groups that have stood out for preserve their roots, protect their heritage, defend their environment and keep the community spirit alive.
If you are staying in Llanes or are thinking of organizing a getaway around the region, exploring some of the Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias It is a magnificent way to discover another side of the region: villages where the landscape, traditions and the lives of its inhabitants continue to be the true protagonists.
This selection also allows us to understand why the Exemplary Villages of Asturias They are much more than a list of award-winning towns: each recognition tells a story of community, conservation, and the future.
Furthermore, this journey has a special significance in 2026. Llanes council can boast of having two awards directly linked to their territory: Porrua, awarded in 2005, and the Santa Ana Fishermen's Guild of Llanes, recognized as Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026.
This Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026 designation further reinforces the importance of Llanes within the Foundation's map of recognitions.
If you want more information, you can check here. all the winners of the Exemplary Village of Asturias Award since the creation of the recognition.
Llanes, protagonist of the Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026
The big news this year comes from the very heart of the town's seafaring tradition.
La Santa Ana Fishermen's Guild of Llanes It has received the recognition as an Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026, an award that highlights centuries of relationship between Llanes and the sea.
The institution has its roots in the medieval seafaring tradition of the town and continues to play a fundamental role in the preservation of artisanal fishing, fishing culture and the social life of Llanes.
The climactic moment will come on Saturday 24 of October 2026, when the Royal Family visits Llanes to present the award.
Visit It will turn Llanes into the center of attention of the Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026 and will allow the public to experience a maritime tradition that is still very much alive.
The day before, the King and Queen, the Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía will participate in the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony in Oviedo. Afterwards, the focus will shift to the port of Llanes, where Fishermen, residents and authorities will be the main protagonists of a historic day.
Latest news on preparations in Llanes
The port and the historic center are experiencing particularly intense activity these days.
Fishermen, residents and authorities are working to ensure the village presents its best image for the arrival of the Royal Family. The chapel of Santa Ana, the fishing port and some of the most emblematic places in Llanes They are preparing for a day that will be marked in the recent history of the council.
The planned route will take the entourage through some of the most representative places in the town.
Among them are the Paseo de San Pedro, the Cubes of Memory, the chapel of Santa Ana and the fish market, where a traditional fish auction is planned to be recreated.
The official ceremony will take place in the port area. The award will be presented there, followed by speeches from representatives of the Brotherhood and the Royal Family.
One of the most special moments of the day will be the symbolic appointment of Princess Leonor as “Marinera de Honor”further strengthening the link between the celebration and the fishing tradition of Llanes.
The day will conclude with lunch at the municipal sports center, where local gastronomy will also take center stage with dishes linked to the sea and the Llanes fish market.
Those planning to visit the village should be aware that there will be Traffic restrictions, security checkpoints, and temporary closures on some access roads to the town center.
Route through the Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias
The recognition of Llanes is also a magnificent excuse to discover other places that have received this award.
Many Exemplary Villages of Asturias They are concentrated precisely in this eastern area, which allows you to link several visits during a short getaway.
From the villa it is possible to organize an authentic route through Eastern Asturias, visiting small towns that preserve an important cultural, natural and ethnographic heritage.
This route through Eastern Asturias connects fishing villages, livestock villages and mountain settlements with very different histories.
These are some of the most interesting stops.
1. Porrúa: rural tradition a few kilometers from Llanes
Just five kilometers from the village lies Porrua, one of the villages most closely linked to the rural identity of the council.
It received the Exemplary Town of Asturias Award in 2005 for its ability to preserve its historical traditions, promote generational renewal, and develop its own cultural initiatives.
Porrúa also represents one of the essential stops on any tour of the Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias.
Because of its proximity to the town, it is often also the first stop for those starting a route through Eastern Asturias from Llanes.
What to see and do in Porrúa
One of its main attractions is the Ethnographic Museum of Eastern Asturias, located in the old houses of Quinta Llacín.
His collection allows us to learn about daily life in rural Asturias: old textile trades, artisanal tile making, livestock tools and traditional domestic spaces.
But Porrúa also deserves a leisurely stroll through its streets.
Its granaries, stone houses, wooden corridors and spaces linked to the livestock tradition They offer a good example of the council's vernacular architecture.
If you visit the town at the end of August, the Asturian Market is another major event. For a few days, crafts, gastronomy, mythology, and tradition transform the town into a true journey back in time.
2. Sotres: an Exemplary Village in the Mountains
In the heart of the Picos de Europa mountains, at an altitude of approximately 1.050 meters, lies Sotres, one of the best-known towns in Cabrales.
From Llanes, it's about an hour's drive, passing through some of the most spectacular landscapes in eastern Asturias. Therefore, Sotres is a very natural stop along the route. Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias.
Sotres received the award in 2024 for preserving a traditional and sustainable livestock activity in the high mountains and combining it with initiatives linked to Cabrales cheese, tourism and landscape protection.
His recognition places him among the Exemplary Villages of Asturias that best represent the relationship between landscape, livestock farming and mountain life.
What to see and do in Sotres
Cheese is one of the main attractions of the town.
In the surrounding area there are natural caves whose humidity and temperature offer ideal conditions for the ripening of Cabrales cheese, one of the most recognizable products of Asturias.
Some cheese dairies offer tours of their facilities and aging caves, as well as tastings that allow you to better understand the entire production process.
Sotres is also one of the great starting points for mountain hiking.
From its surroundings, roads lead towards Pandébano and Picu Urriellu, popularly known as Naranjo de Bulnes.
Even without undertaking a long route, the panoramic views of the limestone massifs make the surroundings one of the most spectacular landscapes of this route.
3. Asiegu: landscape, cider and cheese
Also in Cabrales is Asiegu, recognized as an Exemplary Town in 2019.
The award highlighted its model of sustainable rural development, based on the conservation of natural and cultural resources and the direct involvement of its residents.
It is another of the Exemplary Villages of Asturias where recognition is best understood by walking through its streets and learning about the initiatives driven by the people themselves.
From Llanes it is located approximately 45 minutes by carTherefore, it can be perfectly combined with other visits to Cabrales.
What to see and do in Asiegu
One of the best ways to discover the town is to leisurely explore the La Caleya neighborhood, made up of narrow streets and traditional stone buildings with wooden corridors.
Along the Camino de Las Prunales you will also find the well-known Corten steel cows, work by the artist José Sahagún, which pay homage to the livestock tradition of the town.
In the same area is “Following Fifi’s Footprints”, a mural that commemorates a former resident of Asiegu who was especially linked to cats.
But one of the most interesting experiences is the Cheese and Cider Route.
The tour allows you to discover orchards, cheese factories, ripening caves and different elements of local culture before ending with a traditional Asturian espicha.
Also located very close by is the Pedro Udaondo viewpoint, from where you can enjoy one of the best views of Picu Urriellu.
4. Colombres: the great Indian capital of the East
In the Ribadedeva council we find Colombres, one of the most unique locations in this selection.
It received the Exemplary Town Award in 2015recognizing especially the work done by its neighbors to preserve and enhance their exceptional Indian heritage.
Colombres thus becomes part of the Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias in which heritage has become a tool for the future.
A short walk through its streets is enough to understand the profound mark left by Asturian emigration to America.
What to see and do in Colombres
The must-see is the Archives of Indians, located in the spectacular Quinta Guadalupe.
This small palace with bluish tones currently functions as a museum and documentation center dedicated to Spanish emigration to America.
The rest of the town allows you to continue your visit by following a route through its many Indian-style houses.
Gardens with palm trees, striking facades, glazed galleries and iron gates recall the prosperity of those emigrants who returned to Asturias after making their fortune on the other side of the Atlantic.
Among the most well-known buildings are The Stone House, Villa Las Cortinas and La Casina de las Flores.
If you visit Colombres during the summer, the Indianos Fair is also one of the most important cultural events in the town.
5. Ballast: maritime tradition facing the Cantabrian Sea
About 40 minutes from Llanes lies one of the best-known coastal towns in Asturias: Lastres, in the council of Colunga.
The town received the Exemplary Town Award in 2010 for its ability to keep its maritime traditions alive and for the strong involvement of its associative network.
Your visit fits especially well within a route through Eastern Asturias that combines coast, heritage and maritime tradition.
The combination of houses terraced on the hillside, the port and the Cantabrian Sea creates one of the most recognizable images of the Asturian coast.
What to see and do in Lastres
The best place to start the visit is the San Roque viewpoint.
From the top you can see a spectacular panorama formed by the town, the Cantabrian Sea and the nearby Sierra del Sueve mountain range.
Afterwards, it's worth going down to the historic center.
Its cobbled streets, staircases, and small passageways gained great popularity thanks to the television series doctor matthew, filmed in numerous corners of the town.
The visit can end next to the fishing port, where the historical relationship of Lastres with the sea is still very much present.
6. San Esteban de Cuñaba: the origin of the prize
The last stop on this tour has a special meaning.
Saint Stephen of Cuñaba It was the first town recognized with the Exemplary Town of Asturias Award, in 1990.
Its history allows us to understand the origin of the Exemplary Villages of Asturias and the value that the award gives to the collective effort of small communities.
The award highlighted precisely the work of its residents to recover a mountain village that was threatened by abandonment and degradation.
The road to get there from Llanes passes through the spectacular surroundings of La Hermida Gorge before ascending a narrow, winding road to the village.
What to see and do in San Esteban de Cuñaba
The main attraction of San Esteban is precisely its vernacular architecture and its small mountain village atmosphere.
Steep alleyways, stone houses, balconies full of flowers, a traditional washhouse and the small hermitage of San Roque make up a good part of its heritage.
Its natural surroundings also allow for different routes to the high areas of the Sierra del Cuera.
For those who prefer to simply relax and enjoy the scenery, the town also has a recreational area that features a monumental beech tree over four centuries old.
A different route to discover Eastern Asturias
tour the Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias It's much more than just linking locations on a map.
The Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias, taken together, offer a privileged reading of the rural, maritime and mountain identity of this part of the region.
Each one represents a different way of understanding Asturian identity: Fishing in Llanes, livestock farming in Porrúa, mountain life in Sotres, the cheese and cider culture in Asiegu, the Indiano legacy of Colombres, or the seafaring tradition of Lastres.
They all share, however, something essential: the ability of their neighbors to preserve their heritage and keep their traditions alive without giving up on the future.
With the recognition of the Santa Ana Fishermen's Guild as Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026Llanes adds a new chapter to that story and becomes one of the best starting points for organizing a route through Eastern Asturias.
The Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026 now adds a new reason to start this in Llanes route through Eastern Asturias.
Thus, Exemplary Villages of Eastern Asturias and the new Exemplary Town of Asturias 2026 make the region a particularly attractive route for those who wish to get to know Asturias through its towns and those who keep them alive.
An opportunity to discover familiar places from a different perspective and, above all, to understand that many of Asturias's greatest treasures are not only found in its landscapes, but also in the people who have been taking care of them for generations.
