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Study in Gijón, Spain


Study in Gijón, Spain

Study in ".$city.", Spain
Waterfront in Gijon

Sometimes known as Xixón, Gijón is the largest city and municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in the country of Spain. Early medieval texts sometimes mentioned the region as "Gigia." Gijón is situated on the magnificently beautiful Bay of Biscay, roughly 12 miles (20 km) north of the city of Oviedo, the capital of the Asturias community.

During the early years of the 19th century, the then very small town of Gijón was best known for its college or high-school known as the "Real Instituto Asturiano," which was founded by Jovellanos.

Today in Gijón, the sports and culture programs in the city, offered by city hall, are very popular among the region’s citizens. Among other great programs the city now sponsors is the innovative Abierto Hasta el Amanecer Program (literally Open Till Dawn). This nocturnal program, which tries to involve teens in late night cultural and sporting activities, serves as an alternative to less productive weekend nightlife activities.

Gijón has 13 libraries in its Cultural City Centers, which feature a wide network of swimming pools and gyms. One of the most important cultural events in the city is the International Film Festival, recognized as one of the best in Spain. There is also a literary festival, known locally as Semana Negra.

Things to Do and See in Gijon, Spain

Cimadevilla

The ancient core of Gijón is concentrated on the headland known as Cimadevilla. At the top of this, visitors will find the grassy Parque del Cerro Santa Catalina, a park which contains an early-20th-century gun battery; a mock sailing ship for small kids looking to scramble around; and the Elogio del Horizonte, a brutal concrete sculpture by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida that has now become a symbol of the city.

Wrapped around the landward side of Cimadevilla is an enticing web of narrow lanes and small squares. Plaza de Jovellanos is dominated by the home of Gijón's most celebrated scion, the 18th-century Enlightenment politician Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, which now functions as a museum known as the Museo Casa Natal de Jovellanos. A section of Gijón's Roman walls and towers has been reconstructed stretching west from this plaza.

To the east, underneath Campo Valdés, are the town's Termas Romanas, constructed between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. To the west of Campo Valdés opens the harmonious, Plaza Mayor, a popular gathering place in the city.

Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura

Constructed in the 1940s as a Jesuit-run vocational training center, the grand Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura—or simply “the Laboral”—has been reborn as a dynamic arts and education center.  It now houses part of Oviedo University, a conservatory, drama college, broadcasting studios and performance and exhibition spaces. For a small admission fee, visitors here can take the comprehensive Spanish-language tour, which includes a trip up the center’s 130m tower. Guests can also visit the impressive main courtyard and oval-shaped church (now a gallery) at no cost.

Mount Deva

Mount Deva is a nature area located at an elevation of 400 meters above sea level and situated between the parishes of Deva, Caldones and Santurio, where you can find many spots that offer spectacular views of Gijón.

Mount Deva offers guests a number of things to do and see, including sports activities; recreational areas with children’s playgrounds; a walk through an archaeological site containing ancient burial mounds; a nature interpretation center; and the extremely popular Mount Deva Astronomical Observatory.

The Astronomical Observatory is a facility operated by the Omega Asturian Astronomical Society. Guests to this attraction can observe the sky in general, paying special attention to relevant current phenomena, such as an opposition of a planet, the passing of a comet, an eclipse of the sun or moon, and more.