This is a follow-up to my previous post http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-itinerary.cfm. We are pretty well set with most of our trip: Elceigo/Laguardia(5nts); San Sabastian(6nts), Bilbao(1nts), Santander(4nts);Ribadesella(4nts);Leon or Gijon?(1nt);Madrid(2nts). My questions:
1-On the way to Madrid should we stop at Leon or Gijon? Leon would break up the trip somewhat & allow us to explore that city. Gijon would allow us to spend more time west of Gijon that day and/or explore Gijon.
2-If Gijon, should we take a day off of Ribadesella and spend 2 days in Gijon?
We would appreciate any perspective that would help us decide. Thanks.

I have only visited Gijon as a day trip from Oviedo but didn't find enough there to interest me past a few hours. Between those two choices I would recommend definitively
Leon. I'll never forget looking at the Cathedral from the outside around midnight , when they turn the streets lights off and turn on the lights inside. The stained glass looked magical. we stayed 2 nights in Leon.

You could also consider taking a couple of nights from Ribadesella or somewhere else and staying in Oviedo prior to going to Leon, which is not too far from Coastal towns of Luarca and Cudillero. Oviedo is a lovely city in it's own right.

I second the recommendation of 2 nights in Leon. I'd take a night rom Ribadesella or Santander to make 2 nigthts. I also agree that Oviedo is well worth a couple of nights. I stayed for 1 night in 2002 and immediately regretted not planning to stay longer.

Joining the chorus here -- in my opinion, Leon wins hands down over Gijon, but Leon vs. Oviedo is a much harder choice! I think Oviedo is one of the most beautiful small cities in Spain, lovely downtown pedestrian core near the cathedral, some beautiful grand boulevards with lovely architecture. And an added bonus -- it's very close to lots of amazing 6th-9th century architecture if that's your thing (I realize that's a pretty narrow band of the population). So if it were me, I'd try my hardest to spend time in both of those cities.

It sure sounds like without making any other changes we should stick with the plan to stop for at least one night in Leon on the way to Madrid. This would mean, again without other changes, that if we want to explore the coast from Luarca and Cudillero it would have to be a day trip from Ribadesella.

Before addressing the question of whether we should steal time from Ribadesella or Santandor to stay at Oviedo or another night at Leon, I guess a fundamental question is if I have had some quality time to explore and enjoy the coast from San Sebastian to Ribadesella, will I lose much by not having quality time on the coast beyond Gijon (eg Luarca,Cudillero and points further west)? You perspective would be helpful.

I have spent a lot of time along that entire northern coast, and you could spend weeks and weeks there and enjoy every minute. A large number of very pretty small towns, spectacular scenery, lots of lovely coastal walks. You do have 4 nights in Santander and 4 in Ribadesella, so I think you wouldn't be shortchanging that part of the coast by taking a day/night out of the eight in Oviedo. If you've got your itinerary pretty well set, one possible option would be to leave open a day trip possibility from Ribadesella to Oviedo. It's about an hour drive and you could easily have a nice full day in Oviedo and get a good flavor for it. The city's touristic core is compact, and there are many parking garages close by. I personally think a night in a city like that is a lot of fun, it's a place with a real dedication to the nighttime stroll, people of all generations. I would just find some google imags of Oviedo, its cathedral, its plazas, its streets and parks, and see if it appeals to you.

I don't know if this will help you but I'll give you my "must see" list of towns on the northern coast between Ribadeo and Santander, maybe that will help you decide how much time you want in the two coastal cities. Santander itself is beautiful, I LOVE it, so I wouldn't shortchange it for anything. Then going west: Santillana del Mar (though very touristy), Comillas, Llanes, Ribadesella, Lastres (also very touristy in summer at least), Cudillero, Luarca, Tapia (gorgeous coastal walks here), and maybe Ribadeo, at which point Asturias ends and Galicia begins, I think.

This sounds like a wonderful trip!

Thank you for your recommendations of coastal places to visit and the attributes of Oviedo. We will now strongly consider stopping in Oviedo at least for a day trip from Ribadesella along with some of the coastal village you mentioned to the west and the mountains. Staying in Oviedo a night or two requires another hotel change that we have been trying to minimize. How would you prioritize Oviedo vs those coastal village and Picos de Europa?

+++How would you prioritize Oviedo vs those coastal village and Picos de Europa?+++

We cannot. It is all down to personal choice. You will have to drop something that is the trouble with vacations; too little time too much to see!

I agree ribeirasacra, it is a personal choice and we can't see it all. Our thinking for this trip is that we will spend some quality time in each area selected to experience and enjoy the surrounding area in a relaxed manner. We are not trying to see all the "sights" in that area. We like to make a list of what might interest us in an area to use as a guideline, knowing we will only experience a subset of that list. From Ribadesella we were planning to focus on Picos and the seaside but after the overwhelming endorsements of Oviedo we are trying to decide if that should be on our list as well. We are just trying to get anyone knowledgeable with all three possibilities to give us their perspective of how and why they would prioritize each.

Ok, with the big caveat that I'm not presuming to know the right answer or that there even is a right answer, here's how I would look at it. You've got 6 nights in San Sebastian, 1 in Bilbao, and 4 in Ribadesella. Those places are all on the coast. That's 11 nights on the northern coast. If you subtract how ever many you want for the Picos, that's how many you have left for the coast (not to mess things up further, but if you want quality time in the Picos, my preference would be to spend two or three nights IN the Picos. The roads in and out are small and winding, and as a result speeds are low -- Potes and Panes are are good bases for day trips in the Picos, Cabrales wouldn't be bad, Fuente De's parador is great but not a good spot for day trips).

Depending on how you like to travel, that number left for the coast may be large enough to slice off a day or two for Oviedo. Oviedo and Leon are very different from each other and from all the small town fishing places you will be visiting on the coast, so I think all you can do is make an educated guess about whether you're likely to have enough of coastal scenery and villages if you cut off a day or two for Oviedo. It's a tough choice, no doubt about it.

Agree with ireynold's analysis, however, just want to point out that in addition to those 11 days, the OP has 4 days in Santander, for a total 15 days on Northern Coast. My limited experience in the area was using public transport. I visited the Picos area ( Covadonga and lakes of Enol and Ercina)from Cangas de Onis (stayed at the Parador for 2 nights) and another time visited Liebana, Fuente De and Potes as a day trip from Santander.

I would probaly skip the hotel change for Bilbao (very easy to visit from SS) and cut a day from Ribadesella and put those two days either on Oviedo or inland in the Picos area.

lreynold1, cruiseluv & CathyM, thanks for your perspectives and suggestions. We will stop overnight in Leon on the way to Madrid. Oviedo is now definitely on our list of potential places to visit before leaving the coast for Leon. Staying a night or two will require more consideration. Our current plan gives us a great deal of flexibility which we would like to maintain. Your help has accomplished what is great about this forum. It has broadened my understanding and added some valuable options. Now, as ribeirasacra said, we have to make some personal choices since we can't do it all. Thanks.