Motorcycle Tour to Spain: How to Pronounce Place Names in the Picos de Europa
- Natalie
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
If you are travelling through northern Spain, recording a voiceover, or simply trying not to mangle the local place names, a few small pronunciation tweaks make a big difference. Around the Picos de Europa there are names that English speakers often say in a very English way, and that usually lands somewhere between charming and completely wrong.
This is a practical guide to some of the most common names on this route, with a few useful Spanish pronunciation patterns along the way.
Start with a few useful Spanish sounds
Before getting into the names themselves, it helps to know a couple of rules that come up again and again.
The letter H is silent at the beginning of Spanish words.
The letter Z is not pronounced like an English hard z. In Spain, it is usually closer to a soft th sound.
The letter Ñ, the n with the little squiggle over it, is pronounced like ny.
Mirador is a very handy word to know. It comes from mirar, meaning to look, and a mirador is a viewpoint. You will see that word everywhere on beautiful Spanish roads.
Picos de Europa
One of the big destinations in this part of Spain is the Picos de Europa, and people often head there for good reason. It is staggeringly beautiful.
The key thing here is to keep it sounding Spanish rather than anglicised. If you are saying the region name aloud, keep the vowels clean and simple rather than flattening them into English sounds.
Santander and Bilbao
Many trips into this region begin by arriving in Santander on the ferry. Another common arrival point is Bilbao.
And yes, it is Bilbao, not Bilbo. The ending has that open ao sound, so it comes out roughly as Bil-bah-o.
Bilbao is also well worth a visit in its own right. It is a beautiful city, not just a transport stop on the way to the mountains.
Mirador Asomada del Rivero
One of the useful names on this route is Mirador Asomada de Rivero. Since mirador means viewpoint, you already know what sort of stop it is.
The final word, Rivero, can tempt English speakers into hearing “river”, but that is not the meaning here. It refers more to a bank or a slope, so do not expect an actual river just because the word looks familiar.
It's a tricky one, but good practice for the sounds. As a pronunciation guide, keep it flowing and light: mee-rah-DOR ah-soh-MAH-dah del ree-BEH-ro.
La Garganta de la Hermida
From there the route leads to La Hermida, and specifically the gorge known in English as The Hermida Gorge.
This is a good example of the silent Spanish H. So Hermida is not pronounced with an English h sound at the front. It comes out more like er-MEE-da.
Garganta means gorge, and it also means throat in Spanish, which makes sense when you see the landscape. It is the narrow throat of the valley, a dramatic cliff-lined passage that perfectly suits the name.
So the full name is pronounced roughly as la gar-GAN-ta de la er-MEE-da.
How to pronounce Potes properly
This is the one people struggle with all the time.
The town is Potes. Not Pots, not Poh-tez, not rhyming with 'goats' Poates and definitely not anything with an apostrophe - they don’t exist in the Spanish language.
The easiest way to say it is POH-tess, with the ’s’ at the end sounding like a snake.
In Potes, the e is a short, clear Spanish eh sound, like the e in met or pen, so keep both vowels distinct: POH-tess.
Mirador del Oso and the monument to the brown bear
There is another lovely viewpoint reached by a small turn-off in the road out of Potes: Mirador del Oso.
Oso means bear. The place is associated with the Monumento al Oso Pardo, the monument to the brown bear.
Pronunciation-wise:
Mirador sounds like mee-rah-DOR
Oso sounds like OH-soh
Pardo means brown
It is a simple one once you know the key word. If you hear oso, think bear.
Mirador del Corzo
Another famous stop is Mirador del Corzo, known for the deer or stag statue that people often stop to photograph. Legend has it that it is the law!
This name is useful because it shows that Spanish z sound again. In Spain, that final letter is not a hard English z. It is softer, closer to th.
So Corzo is said more like KOR-thoh than KOR-zo.
Put together, the viewpoint name comes out roughly as mee-rah-DOR del KOR-tho.
Vega de Liébana
As the road climbs, the landscape opens into superb valley views around Vega de Liébana.
Here, vega refers to the valley and Liébana is the local area. It is a name worth recognising because it appears not just on maps and signs, but also on menus.
If you spot cocido lebaniego or a local stew associated with Liébana, it is a very good sign. The area is proud of it, and rightly so. It mostly consists of an assortment of beans and cured meats, such as chorizo.
For pronunciation, the stress sits neatly in the middle: VEH-gah de lee-EH-bah-nah.
Riaño and the sound of Ñ
Eventually we reach Riaño, which is absolutely stunning.
This is where the letter ñ matters. That little wavy mark changes the sound completely.
It is not a plain English n. It becomes a ny sound.
So Riaño is pronounced roughly ree-AH-nyo.
Once you know that rule, lots of Spanish names become easier. Any time you see ñ, blend in that ny sound.
Columpio de Riaño
Near the lake at Riaño there are a couple of viewpoints worth knowing by name. One is the Columpio de Riaño.
Columpio means swing, and that is exactly what it is: a swing with an incredible view over the water and surrounding landscape.
Pronounced simply, it is ko-LOOM-pyo de ree-AH-nyo.
El banco más bonito de León
Another stop nearby is El banco más bonito de León.
This is presented as the most beautiful bench in León, with the beauty really coming from the spectacular view across the lake and mountains.
Banco here means bench, though in other contexts it can also mean bank. In this case, it is definitely the bench.
The name is slightly trickier to get your teeth around and is pronounced roughly as el BAN-ko mas bo-NEE-to de leh-ON.
Why getting the names right matters
Place names carry the landscape with them. Once you understand words like mirador, garganta, oso, or vega, the map starts making more sense. You are no longer just repeating sounds. You are hearing what the place is telling you.
And if you are travelling through the Picos de Europa, those names come attached to some of the most gorgeous roads, viewpoints, valleys, and lakes in Spain. It is worth saying them properly; you will find people more eager to engage and you can ask if you are on the correct road to your destination!
Other words you may find useful in the Picos mountains
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