Spain Guide
Cantabria and Asturias
Gijón
With 275,000 inhabitants, the port of GIJÓN (Xixón) is the largest city in Asturias. Despite its industrial reputation, it remains largely surrounded by open green countryside, and it's a genuinely enjoyable place to visit, with its dynamic old core flanked either side by a huge curving beach and a vibrant pleasure port.
Gijón fans back along the coast in both directions from the stark rocky headland known as Cimadevilla, with the modern marina of the pretty Puerto Deportivo to the west (and the commercial port out of sight beyond that), and the town beach to the east. War damage has left little to see on Cimadevilla itself, though high up at the tip of the promontory a grassy park enjoys great views of the Cantabrian Sea.
The epicentre of today's city lies at the narrow "neck" of the peninsula, on the south side of Cimadevilla. To the west, the Plaza del Marqués holds a statue of Pelayo, the eighth-century king who began the Reconquest, but is dominated by the eighteenth-century Palacio de Revillagigedo (July & Aug Tues– Sat 11am–1.30pm & 4–9pm, Sun noon–2.30pm; rest of year Tues– Sat 10.30am–1.30pm & 4–8pm, Sun noon–2.30pm; free). Built in a splendid mix of neo-Baroque and neo-Renaissance styles, it houses a gallery of twentieth-century art and hosts music, theatre and other cultural events. Just behind it, the Torre del Reloj, a modern tower erected on the ruins of a sixteenth-century one, holds interesting displays on local history, but is mainly worth climbing for the view across the city.
The sands of the Playa de San Lorenzo, a lengthy golden beach reminiscent of the one at San Sebastián, curve 2km westwards. In the summer, the whole city seems to descend here on afternoons and weekends – which makes things pretty crowded when the strand dwindles at high tide – while it's the focus of the evening paseo year-round.
At the weekend, a lively nightlife scene kicks off around the area known as La Ruta, a grid enclosed by c/Santa Lucía, c/Buen Suceso and c/Santa Rosa, a few hundred yards east of Plaza del Carmen.