By Annick Dournes
Gijon beach
Gijon is an appealing seaside town of Asturias in northern Spain. With its beautiful crescent beach, rich architectural heritage, active cultural life, great gastronomy and welcoming inhabitants Gijon gathers many assets to seduce you.
With direct flights landing in the close by Asturias international airport Gijon is easily reached from many European cities in less than two hours making it an ideal city break destination. It also is a convenient starting point to discover Asturias’ beauties if you have more time. Local people have recently created a new concept called Gijonomia a single word to describe all the reasons why they enjoy living in Gijon and their will to share them with tourists. Lets find out more about Gijonomia or as locals say “Vivir bien tiene su ciencia”! (Good living has its science).
Charming-Gijon
Reason 1: A city open to the sea
Just like Brittany, Cornwall or Ireland, Asturias has a rich Celtic culture. All together they compose an Atlantic arc sharing a common brotherhood mixing music, bagpipe, ocean voyage, granite megaliths and crosses, colourful costumes, tasty hearty food and… cider! Gijon is no different. Ever since the Roman colonization in the second half of the first century BC its port has been the beating heart of the city. Your path will first lead you to the seafront where you will have a long walk on the 2-mile long San Lorenzo Beach. On one side are the crescent golden beach where locals and tourists can swim, surf and sunbath, the fishing port and the marina. On the other side you will get a first glance at the eclectic architecture of the city. A collection of contemporary sculptures such as the “Letronas Rojas Gijon” (huge red letters spelling the name Gijon) or the Cider Tree made with 3,200 empty bottles of cider, stand next to the 18th century Rivillagigedo Palace, timber houses and modern glass buildings. Not to forget the successful food-truck selling delicious churros the local sweet fritter.
A-city-by-the-sea
You can then continue your walk toward Cimavilla the oldest district of Gijon. You will first pass the ancient Roman thermae and the Mayor de San Pedro church before going up the Santa Catalina Hill that used to be a military zone closed to the public. It has been turned into a quiet park where locals go to walk their dogs. On the northern most point stands an impressive concrete sculpture called “Elogio del Horizonte” (Praise of the Horizon) made by Eduardo Chillida in 1990. You are supposed to stay inside the sculpture to hear the sea and the wind blow through the high concrete structure. Don’t miss going up and down the small streets of Cimavilla and make your own discoveries.
Art-Deco-in-Gijon
Reason 2: an amazing Art Nouveau heritage
To the South of Cimavilla district is the modern part of Gijon. In the early 20th century the city went through a period of prosperity like never before thanks to the coal mining and steel industries. There were also Indianos who were migrants from Asturias that had made a fortune in America. They came back to their homeland and like other local nouveaux riches they intend to show their success by building spectacular houses.
Gijon-Art-Deco
Get a city map and look for Jovellanos, Instituto, Cabrales, Corrida, Munuza, Los Moros, Trinidad and San Bernardo streets as well as Europa Square. Among buildings dating of different periods you will discover real Modernist treasures. Some of them are obviously inspired by Catalan Modernism and Antoni Gaudi while others are typically Art Nouveau. There are also cafés and theatres showing beautiful architectural elements of that time. All these streets are very lively and offer plenty of shopping opportunities.
The-impressive-Laboral
Reason 3: Amazing Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura
The Laoeral is the largest building in all Spain (270,000 sq m). It was built in only 8 years in the late 1940′ s and early 1950’s. It was one of the 20 boarding schools built in Spain at that time to welcome gifted boys and girls from all over Spain. They were meant to educate the future elite of the country. The buildings renovated in 2007 are still very impressive. Some of them still welcome students from Gijon others have been turned into exhibition and show spaces.
Laboral-the-city-of-culture-in-Gijon
Guided tours will take you to the theatre, the elliptical church, the huge kitchen, huge corridors covered with beautiful blue tiles and the former sport area with a swimming pool, a rarity in Spain at that time. There is also a 130-metre high belvedere that used to be open to the public to get a panoramic view over Gijon and its area. Unfortunately due to the Covid pandemic the elevator has been shut down and we don’t know yet when it will be back on service.
The Laboral is 3 miles away from Gijon city centre but you can easily get there by bus or taxi.
Reason 4: Fantastic food
In Asturias you will hardly be served minimalist nouvelle cuisine. Here you will have delicious hearty food from the sea and from the close by mountain. Here are our favourite places in town:
The-creative-Chef-of-Zascandil-restaurant
Zascandil: Cervantes St, 9 Gijon
This is one of the best tapas restaurants in town. Everything is home made, fresh and delicious. Hot chorizo mini sandwiches, scorpion fish paté, home-made smoked salmon, “home style” vitello tonato, spicy squid, grilled tuna… Perfect with a glass of red or white Spanish wine. For desert have a turon ice cream made with the famous local nougat.
The-famous-beef-tenderloin-of-Ciudadela-restaurant
Restaurante Ciudadela
Set on the waterfront this restaurant proposes a typical Asturian cuisine. The plates come from a local pottery and all look different and the decoration makes you feel like being in an old cellar. Fried croquettes, tuna carpaccio, monkfish and giant shrimps, perfectly cooked beef tenderloin… Everything is both beautifully served and delicious. One of Gijon inhabitants favourite!
La-Gijonesa-restaurant-a-dream-for-cheese-and-beer-lovers
La Gijonesa, San Bernardo St
This place set in the heart of the old district of Gijon is a restaurant, a bar and a grocery store all in one place. They propose fantastic cheese and beer tasting that you will only get here. It’s a good way to discover local cheese such as Cabrales or Gamoneu. They serve local beers made in small breweries that change according to the seasons. They also have an online shop to buy cheese, beers and a vast range of canned seafood. www.lagijonesa.com
At-La-Galana-restaurant-enjoy-delicious-cuisine-paired-with-great-ciders
La Galana, Claudio Alvargonzalez St
This restaurant is one of the best places in Gijon to drink cider. Cider is the true authentic drink in Asturias. They have a very special way to serve cider. In Asturias waiters have to go through a special training to be able to serve cider the proper way! They are named escanciadores. Holding a glass in one hand just above the knee they succeed to poor cider without looking at the glass from a bottle held high above their head. A real feat! Do try this Asturian cider that tastes like no other. It has much less bubbles than most ciders and is very low in sugar, almost bitter. You will enjoy your cider with seafood or meat grilled “a la plancha” on your table.
The-first-buiding-on-the-right-is-the-Tourism-Office-of-Gijon
Gijon Tourism Office: really helpful, really nice people
Gijon Tourism Office is worth a visit. It is set on the waterfront next to the big sculpture made with cider bottles. They propose “Gijon Gourmet” packages including lunch or diner with wine pairing in carefully selected restaurants for a very good price. All menus include two starters, two main dishes and desert. (Euro 45 per person except in Auga Michelin stared restaurant where you can enjoy the same offer for Euro 70).
Pastry-shops-are-part-of-Gijon-food-culture
Gijon Tourism Office also proposes a yummy tour of the city that will take you to the best cake shops of Gijon. For a few Euros you will have a list of 15 different shops and five or seven vouchers for a tasting of local specialities. Master confectioners, master chocolate or ice cream makers are all renowned pastry cooks. This is a very smart way to get to the best places in Gijon without loosing time and money trying to find a good place to eat.
Numa-the-new-4-star-Boutique-Hotel-of-Gijon
Where to stay in Gijon?
We had a very nice stay at the Numa Boutique Hotel a newly opened 4-star hotel ideally located in Carmen St, close to the beach and the main places of interest in Gijon. The rooms are vast and nicely decorated. A hearty breakfast is served in a lounge but the hotel has no restaurant for lunch or dinner. More and booking at www.bluehoteles.es/numa/en
Don’t forget to visit the Gijon Tourist office at Casa Paquet, Plaza Fermin Garcia Bernardo.
Text & Photos ©Annick Dournes
