Cimadevilla Old Quarter
Perched on a rocky headland between the beach and the harbour, Cimadevilla is Gijón's oldest neighbourhood — a dense tangle of whitewashed houses, cider bars and Roman ruins that feels like a village grafted onto a city.
History Underfoot
The Romans built a settlement here called Gigia in the 1st century AD, and excavations beneath the Campo Valdés baths — open to visitors — reveal mosaic floors and hypocaust heating systems in remarkable condition.
The barrio was later a fishing community, and its steep, narrow calles still carry names like Calle del Horno (Oven Street) and Calle de los Pescadores (Fishermen's Street), telling you exactly who lived here.
Eats and Drinks
Cimadevilla holds the highest density of sidrerías (cider houses) in Gijón — try El Patio de Gascona's satellite bars or the tiny Sidrería El Campanu on Calle Santa Rosa, where the waiter pours Asturian cider from shoulder height without looking down.
The neighbourhood also hides excellent pintxos bars around Plaza Mayor; order the morcilla with caramelised onion on toast and a small glass of Estrella Galicia before moving on.
The Elogio del Horizonte
At the very tip of the headland sits Eduardo Chillida's monumental concrete sculpture Elogio del Horizonte (Eulogy of the Horizon), 1990 — a hollow cube open to the sky and the sea that frames the Atlantic in a way that feels genuinely profound rather than merely photogenic.
Come at dusk when the light drops behind the water and the sculpture's rough concrete glows warm grey; locals bring wine and sit on the grass around it as an informal ritual.
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