Luarca, a summertime secret on Spain’s cooler northern costa

Spanish holidays needn’t mean battling crowded beaches and blistering heat. In this small fishing village, flanked by green hills and some of the nicest beaches in Asturias, the pace of life is slow even in summer

Spain’s love-hate relationship with tourism reaches boiling point on its costas each summer. It’s scorching, the beaches are packed and the mood can be frantic. Tourists from Spain and abroad flock to the seaside to relax, but can soon resort to mild aggression when it comes to scoring a decent spot on the beach or a parking space. Workers suffer through long, sweaty shifts and struggle to find decent accommodation in many hotspots during peak season.

Meanwhile, in cities such as Barcelona, locals spray water guns at lunching visitors while chanting “Tourists go home!” Even on Spain’s rainier, less visited north coast, grumpy locals are often heard moaning about the madrileños who come north to escape the summer heat. But the Spanish coast still holds some secrets, even in the middle of summer: places where tourists can unwind without any hassle and locals seem genuinely happy to host them. One such place is Luarca, a small fishing village in Asturias.