Narón is a municipality in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia. It belongs to the comarca of Ferrol.
Geographically, the town is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Ferrol is 5 km away. The nearest airports are located in the cities of A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela.
Narón has a train and bus connection to Ferrol as they form an urban continuum.
Climate
Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the Oceanic climate is predominant, with many rainy days, not having extreme oscillation in its weather conditions neither in winter nor in summer.
Entertainment
Narón has two cultural centres, one big theatre with more than 1000 seats and another smaller auditorium. Also there is a 12 screen cinema within the Centro Commercial Odeón, one of the two big shopping centres of the comarca (a new shopping centre opened in Ferrol in October 2013). The town also has 2 nightlife areas: Carretera de Castilla and A Gándara, near the shopping mall, with both places full of pubs, music and traditional bars, restaurants and inns.
Festivities
In the month of May, May Day is celebrated on the 1st along with the Galician Literature Day, on the 17th. An Oenach is celebrated in August, remembering Celtic origins. The Día de Narón is celebrated every year on the 23 November. Narón celebrates the National Day of Galicia on the 25 July with concerts and several parties at the main square in the town, the Galician Square.
In addition to all the local fiestas, Narón also observes the national Spanish fiestas.
Parishes (Parroquias) The municipality includes 13 parishes: Castro Doso San Xiao de Narón (San Xiao) Pedroso Sedes San Mateo de Trasancos O Val Nosa Señora dos Desamparados - Piñeiros (Narón urban area) San Martiño de Xuvia - O Couto (Narón urban area) San Xosé Obreiro - Outo do Castiñeiro (Narón urban area) Santa Icía - A Solaina (Narón urban area) Santa Rita de Xuvia (Narón urban area) Santiago Apóstolo - A Gándara (Narón urban area)
However, six of them (Pinheiros, O Couto, A Gándara, Outo do Castiñeiro, Xuvia and A Solaina) belong to the city center and now they are known as neighbourghoods. There are a total of 195 localities, the most prominent being A Gándara, A Solaina and Piñeiros, each of which has a population higher than 6,000. Narón town hall is located at Outo do Castiñeiro (also known, in Spanish, as Alto del Castaño).
Education
Narón is home to four public Infant Schools, two Public Secondary High-Schools, six public Primary Schools and fourteen private schools.
Languages
Both Castilian and Gallego are spoken in this area although statistics on the use and comprehension of both is not known at present. Tourists and travellers arriving to this area will most probably notice that there isn't much information or official notices either in English or in Spanish; most information and leaflets provided will be in local Galician. School children are taught in the Galician language, although many speak Castilian as their first language.
Economy
The most important economic sectors are the tertiary and the secondary (services and industries) sectors, which employ 49.9% and 31.2% of the working population, respectively. Narón is a suitable place to build small industries because of its good potential for industrial development. The industrial estate, Río do Pozo, is being built and will become one of the largest business parks in Galicia, Spain. A Gándara is the place where another important industrial estate is. MEGASA and POLIGAL, two of the most prominent enterprises of the Galician iron and steel subsectors, are present in Narón. There are also other enterprises in such diverse industries as dairy, thermal insulation, electricity, electronics, construction materials, foodstuffs and distilling.
The industrial development of the borough, began in a few centuries ago, and consisted in different factories devoted to the leather tanning, textile mills and the use of water mills. Later, tile factories were stabilised in the region, together with shipyards and sawmills. Nowadays, and more recently, other industries flourished like traditional woodwork, stone, leather and ceramics workshops which in some cases can still be found.
The primary sector is the least important, comprising 5.7% of the working population. It produces cereals, potatoes, vegetables and cattle, and constitutes a complementary economic activity.