El Franco

El Franco is a municipality in western Asturias, the westernmost Asturian coastal municipality before the border with Galicia. Its name, meaning the Frank or the free, may relate to the settlement of Frankish or northern European communities along the pilgrimage and commercial routes of medieval Iberia, or to a land tenure status granting certain freedoms to residents.

The municipality encompasses both the exposed Atlantic clifftop terrain and the enclosed green valleys of the coast hinterland. The Camino del Norte passes through El Franco territory on the final Asturian stages before crossing the Eo river into Galicia at Ribadeo.