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Bigger, grittier and gutsier than Oviedo, seaside Gijón (khi-hon) – Asturias’ largest city – produces iron, steel and chemicals, and is the main loading terminal for Asturian coal. But Gijón has emerged like a phoenix from its industrial roots, having given itself a thorough face-lift with pedestrianised streets, parks, seafront walks, cultural attractions and lively eating, drinking and shopping scenes. It’s a surprisingly engaging city, and a party and beach hot spot too, with endless summer entertainment. Though it’s no quaint Asturian fishing port, Gijón sure knows how to live.
Gijón’s ancient core is concentrated on the headland known as Cimadevilla, the old fishermen’s quarter. The harmonious, porticoed Plaza Mayor marks the southern end of this promontory. To the west stretch the Puerto Deportivo (marina) and the broad golden Playa de Poniente. South lies the busy, 19th- to 20th-century city centre, bounded on its eastern side by Playa de San Lorenzo.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Gijón.
Museum
Trains have played a big part in Asturias' story and Gijón’s excellent railway museum, housed in a 19th-century former station, has a fascinating collection of 50 locomotives and carriages and all sorts of other weird and wonderful machinery, much of it once used in the region's ports, mines, foundries and power stations. There's a good dose of other railway paraphernalia too. Remember when train tickets were little rectangles of cardboard?
Public Art
The 1990 Elogio del Horizonte ('In Praise of the Horizon') is a bold, sea-facing concrete sculpture by Basque artist Eduardo Chillida that has become a symbol of the city. Standing in the grassy Parque del Cerro de Santa Catalina, at the top of Cimavilla (the ancient core of Gijón), it was designed to be admired from the inside.
Architecture
Constructed as a Jesuit-run universidad laboral (vocational training centre), the austerely grand 1940s-vintage ‘Laboral,’ 5km southeast of the centre, is now a dynamic arts and education centre housing part of Oviedo University. You can visit the impressive main courtyard for free, join a Spanish-language tour or head up the 130m, Giralda-inspired tower (6pm Wednesday to Friday, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 4pm and 6pm Saturday and Sunday). It’s best visited alongside the adjacent botanical gardens.
Square
An enticing web of narrow lanes and small squares wraps itself around the landward side of Cimadevilla, though the area was significantly damaged during the civil war. The Plaza de Jovellanos is dominated by the home of Gijón’s most celebrated scion, the 18th-century Enlightenment politician Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, now the Museo Casa Natal de Jovellanos. A section of Gijón’s Roman walls has been reconstructed stretching west from the plaza.
Gardens
This verdant botanical garden – featuring 2000 different species – offers a lovely break from the chaotic city centre and is an excellent introduction to the flora of Spain’s north coast and other territories fringing the Atlantic Ocean. It's 5km southeast of central Gijón: buses 1 and 18 (€1.25) run here from the centre. The gardens are usually visited in conjunction with Gijón’s Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, located opposite.
Park
It's well worth wandering up through Cimavilla to this grassy, breezy, cliff-top park with great views. It's home to Eduardo Chillida's 1990 sculpture Elogio del Horizonte, which has become something of a Gijón symbol, as well as some fortifications from the 18th to 20th centuries.
Beach
Playa de Poniente, to the west of Cimadevilla, has imported sand and is much broader than the east-side Playa de San Lorenzo. During Gijón’s famous late-August cider festival, it’s the site of an annual attempt to beat the world-record number of simultaneous cider pourers.
Archaeological Site
About 12km southwest of Gijón lie the excavated remains of this 4th-century Roman villa. The main building was transformed into a church in the Middle Ages and some original Roman mosaics have survived. Hourly buses run from Gijón to Veranes (€1.50, 15 minutes). It’s 1km north off the ASII to Oviedo.
Museum
This museum, 2.5km east of the Plaza Mayor, is devoted to traditional Asturian culture, with exhibits on bagpipes, cooking, carriages and even 19th-century silk dance-party dresses. Its grounds contain various typical buildings, including grain stores and some quirky shepherds’ shelters.