Our trip to Aviles: hotel, restaurant, sightseeing ideas

[Charolette]

My husband and I are in the process of planning a June 2009 trip to Aviles. I'm hoping some of you might be able to give me some tips. We plan to fly into Madrid and then on the Asturius. We will rent a car when we get there.We would like a hotel in Aviles.I like the location of the NH Palacio Ferrera, but not the cost!
My Mother, Father, Uncle and cousin will be meeting us in Aviles for about 1 week. Tom and I will spend about 2 weeks +/-.
My Mother and Uncle speek very good Spanish, but not Tom and I. Will we find many English speaking people in Aviles?
Thanks for any help or ideas that you can give me
Charolette

[Ron Gonzalez]

Charolette
You are in for a treat. Asturias is a gorgeous place to visit, just beautiful. A lot of the people speak English. You won't have any trouble.

Here are some photos of Aviles.

[Charolette]

Ron
How did you find out where your Grandmothers house had been?
Charolette

[Ron Gonzalez]

Charolette
I had a little help from my cousin that lives in Naveces. The house is gone. Just a wall on one or two sides is about it. I would love to make the trip this year. You will find the people very friendly. They make you feel at home. When you're in Aviles, go to the park. It's just gorgeous.

Here are some photos.

[Charolette]

Actually, I was in Aviles in 1991, but I was with my parents and at that time, my Mother did not want to know anything about her ancestors! We only spent a couple hours in Aviles and overnight in Salinas. Now she has had a change of heart. My main reason for this trip is to see if I can find out more about my ancestors
Charolette

[Charolette]

Ron
I would really like to find where my Great-grandparents lived. All I know at this time is the name of the street.
Charolette

[Art]

What's the name of the street?

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¿Cuál calle era?

[Charolette]

Av. de Lugo, La Maruca

[Art]

Have you seen it on Google Maps? I found them by searching on either: "la maruca, aviles, asturias, spain" or "avenida de lugo, aviles, asturias, spain".
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
(Be careful... you could end up spending a lot of time there!)

I'd bet that the area looks very different from what it looked like 100 years ago.

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¿Lo has visto en Google Maps? Lo he encontrado en una búsqueda tanto para: "la maruca, aviles, asturias, espana" como para "avenida de lugo, aviles, asturias, espana".
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
(Ten cuidado ... ¡Puedes gastar mucho tiempo en eso!)

Apostaría a que la zona aparece muy distinta de la que existía hace 100 años.

[Charolette]

I have lfound it on Google Maps and yes I have spent a lot of time there!
I know that the building is probably gone by now, but both of my Great Grandparents death records show that street as where they lived. He died in 1926 and she died in 1959, so it must have been there 50 years ago! I can't even imagine what massive changes must have been made there in the last 50 years!

[Bob]

Hotel Luzana is only a few hundred feet away (on calle la fruta), but quite a bit less expensive. Try to get one of the second floor rooms overlooking the street (or the whole suite). You can park your car (why not reserve it it be picked up at the airport?) a short walk away. There are also less expensive accommodations nearby.

[Charolette]

This hotel looks great! Thank you.

[Anuska]

Hi everybody!

They're restoring the Luzana hotel right now. But in the same street (La Fruta) there's the Hotel Don Pedro (nice and cosy, not very expensive).
www.hdonpedro.com

Then you can also try:

Hotel Magistral www.magistralhoteles.com
Hotel Luzana (just in case) www.hotel-luzana.com

Regarding the place where your great-grandparents lived: La Maruca (the name of that neighbourhood) still exists (I did my First Holy Communion in this parish). It's on the main road (Avda. de Lugo) from Avilés to Salinas. There was a row of really old little houses that is now being demolished as they were so deteriorated they're falling down.

In this neighbourhood (the last of county Avilés before arriving to Castrillón county) is located the glass manufacturing plant Saint-Gobain.

If you need more info on hotels or anything for your trip you can e-mail me. You can also e-mail the staff of the tourism office: their email address is on this page. No problem if you write in English. Try also this link where you'll find interesting info on where to sleep, eat, leisure, etc. in the Avilés region (Avilés, Castrillón, Illas and Corvera).

http://www.avilescomarca.info/index.asp?MP=10&MS=93&MN=1

Best regards,
Ana

[Art: I replaced the email adddress with a link to their site where you can see the address. We avoid putting emails on the site so we don't attract spambots and contribute to the spam problem.]

[Charolette]

Ana
Thank you so much for your help. I had tried to contact the Hotel Luzana but couldn't get thru. On your suggestion I have contacted the Hotel Don Pedro and plan on staying there.
Thank you also for the other links, they are very informative.
We are very excited about our trip and hope we can find more information on my family while we are there. It has been nearly 100 years since my grandparents left Aviles, so I know it wont be easy.
Is there a local museum that might have information on the area in the early 1900s?
Thank you again
Charolette

[Anuska]

Hello Charolette,

You're welcome. If you need more info just tell me. Unfortunately, there isn't any local museum on the history of the city. The thing is it's being built right now, but I'm not sure when it will be finished (I've seen no workers there lately). It will be located next to the Ceramic school, and in front of the Franciscanos church (Plaza Carlos Lobo).

I'll check some books I have at home about the history of the city and tell you if there's some info about La Maruca. You can also try to talk to Raíces and La Maruca priest (I think Juan is still the priest).

Best regards,

Ana