Centro de Visitantes 'Pedro Pidal'
Visitor centre of the Picos de Europa National Park beside the Lagos de Covadonga, with staged displays of ecosystems and audiovisuals.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The centre is named after Pedro Pidal, Marquess of Villaviciosa, the driving force behind the National Parks Act of 1916 and the main promoter of the declaration of the Montaña de Covadonga National Park in 1918, Spain’s first national park and the origin of today’s Picos de Europa National Park.
The route is organised into seven spaces: reception (with a corner devoted to Pedro Pidal’s life), Los Picos de Europa, Humans in the Picos de Europa, an audiovisual room, The National Parks Network and a bookshop and shop. The section on the Picos recreates the main ecosystems with a staged display, with limestone relief, caves, beech and oak woods, more than fifty species of fauna and sound and visual effects. The section on human presence explains, with panels and interpretive tables, mountain livestock farming, the huts, farm tools and cheese-making.
Two audiovisuals of around 15 minutes are screened alternately. Outside there is an arboretum of native species, a shepherd’s hut, a model of the park and the Museo de la Minería de Buferrera, which recalls the mining past of the Lagos de Covadonga. In the first half of 2026 the centre was affected by refurbishment and improvement works.
Highlights
- Staged display of the ecosystems of the Picos de Europa
- Section on Pedro Pidal and the origins of the national parks
- Two alternating audiovisuals of about 15 minutes
- Arboretum, shepherd’s hut and model outside
- Museo de la Minería de Buferrera (mining museum)
Permanent exhibition
- Los Picos de Europa y el hombre en los Picos de Europa – Permanent exhibition with a staged display of the park’s ecosystems, a section on Pedro Pidal, panels on mountain livestock farming and cheese, audiovisuals and a space on the National Parks Network.
- Operated by
- Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Free admission.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Bus to the Lagos de Covadonga (tickets on the website buslagoscovadonga.es).
By car
Parking available
Buferrera car park, beside Lake Enol; the pedestrian access to the centre starts at the end of the upper platform.
In 2026, from 28 March until the Constitution Day long weekend in December, access to the Lagos de Covadonga is regulated: visitors arrive by bus (tickets on the ALSA website) and private vehicles are not allowed, except authorised ones.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | From this centre visitors can pick up the “Pasaporte de los Picos” (Picos Passport), a programme (2026–2027) that invites people to visit the National Park’s visitor centres and walk its routes, rewarding them with gifts and with the titles “Senderista Premium” and “Embajador acreditado del Parque Nacional”. Pets are admitted inside, always on a lead (one dog per person). |
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