Where to go after to relax

[LisaWalker]

Last year made the mistake of travelling after the 500k walk to Porto and Barcelona and Cadaqués then the UK.(All amazing) but I was too tired to make the most of it. So this year I’m lucky enough to be able to go again. This time will be in Tuscany (birthday party) first and now looking for somewhere interesting where I can relax afterwards and not do a lot of walking but still feel like I’m enjoying the culture. Any suggestions for an interesting small town to stay a few nights to absorb things before heading back to Australia. Considering Asturias somewhere maybe

 

[davejsy]

If you are talking small towns, in Asturias, then you are probably best looking towards the coast. The interior is full of beautiful villages and scenery, but the towns not much so - unless you upgrade to a city in which case the beautiful Oviedo is the standout.

Much will depend on how far you're wanting to travel, and where from (Santiago?) and where you are needing to get back to?

 

[dbier]

Lugo?

 

[WalkingPlaylist]

If it's summer, head to the beach in Finisterre!

 

[Molly Cassidy]

If you want somewhere authentic and non-touristy, with little to do, you could go to Pola de Laviana, where I lived for 8 months. Nice town with a lovely square, cafes and restaurants. There are regular buses to Oviedo and other small towns and villages if you get bored. Good market on a Thursday. There is at least one hotel in town and another about a mile out of town.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

If Asturias is where you want to rest, there are three of my favorite towns there: Oviedo, Lugo and Mieres. No need to say anything about Oviedo and Lugo. They are magical. And plenty of people watching, which is something we like to do after long camino walks.

I mention Mieres because it's smaller, truly the heart of Asturias in many ways, including as the cider center, and the home of Jose Andres, the world famous chef who established World Central Kitchen, an amazing program to feed the starving, wherever they are. If you decide on Mieres, watch the late Anthony Burdain's show when he went there with Jose. Great fun.

 

[davejsy]

Lugo is beautiful - but it is in Galicia, not that that should make any difference to the OP. A lot of people seem to think it's in Asturias though for some reason.

 

[David]

You go directly to Italy for the birthday party when you finish and then want somewhere after? Or you go to Camino after Tuscany and want somewhere after Camino?

 

[wynrich]

We spent 9 days in Gijon after our 2019 camino and it was lovely. Not touristy at all but the center is wonderful and alongside a very long beach with no car traffic. Lots of walking by locals there. It would be a great place to live, I think. This is a blog post I wrote about it: https://crowley.pw/cdn2019/2019/05/07/living-in-gijon/
And some more photos:

April 30 to May 2: Gijón

View from our sun room Post by Wynette: We rented an airbnb apartment in Gijón. It is on the top floor of an eight story building that has two apartments per floor. We have a sun room with large wi…

crowley.pw

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

A Coruña. Small, quiet, attractive, Costal , easy to get to from Santiago, good food….

 

[BRSmith13]

We are taking the train (less than 1 hr) from Santiago to Ourense to enjoy the thermal baths and see the historical sites.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

A Coruña. Small, quiet, attractive, Costal , easy to get to from Santiago, good food….

And fabulous Pohutukawa trees, especially along the beach frontage.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

And they should bloom anytime from now onwards with luck ( between March- May, depending on temperatures)