Oviedo Cathedral

Oviedo Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Oviedo Cathedral stands on the Plaza de Alfonso II el Casto in the old town of Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, northern Spain, and a ticket is required for visitors, including an audio guide, covering the cathedral, the Holy Chamber, the cloister and the museum. It is an important stop on the Camino de Santiago, as the starting point of the Primitive Way, the original route taken by King Alfonso II in the ninth century.

Walking tours of Oviedo combine the cathedral with the pre-Romanesque churches of Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo on Mount Naranco, UNESCO sites, the Fine Arts Museum, the market and the cider houses of Calle Gascona, where cider is poured from a height. Oviedo is about an hour from Gijón and Santander by train. The cathedral is active, and visiting pauses during services. Pilgrims starting the Primitive Way can get their first stamp in the cathedral.

Visiting Oviedo Cathedral: what to see

The cathedral was built mainly between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Gothic style, on the site of a pre-Romanesque church of the ninth century, and its tall tower, eighty metres high, completed in the sixteenth century, dominates the city. The Holy Chamber, the Cámara Santa, is the most important part: a pre-Romanesque chapel from the ninth century, rebuilt in the twelfth, part of a UNESCO site, it holds the cathedral's treasures, including the Cross of the Angels and the Cross of Victory, jewelled crosses that are symbols of Asturias, and the Holy Ark, a reliquary chest, and the Sudarium of Oviedo, a cloth believed to have covered the face of Christ, shown three times a year.

The high altar has a huge Gothic altarpiece carved with scenes from the life of Christ. The cloister is Gothic, and the museum displays religious art. The cathedral's cloister holds tombstones and a garden. The chapel of King Alfonso II, the Chaste, holds his tomb and the tombs of other Asturian kings. The museum displays religious art, including silverwork and paintings. The Holy Chamber's apostle statues, carved in the twelfth century, stand in pairs on the columns. The tower's bells ring for services. The cathedral's facade has a large Gothic porch with three arches. The Holy Ark is covered with silver plates showing biblical scenes. The cathedral's stained glass windows date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Oviedo Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily except Sundays for tourist visits, with shorter hours in winter. Asturias has a mild, rainy climate, and summer is the most pleasant season. The Sudarium is shown on Good Friday, on 14 September and on 21 September. The San Mateo festival in September brings concerts and celebrations to Oviedo. The cider houses are lively in the evening. Allow about an hour for the cathedral and the Holy Chamber, and take a taxi up to Mount Naranco for the pre-Romanesque churches. The Fine Arts Museum of Asturias, a short walk away, holds works by El Greco, Goya, Picasso and Dalí, and is free to enter.