Asturias Travel: A Visit
to Gijón, the Largest City in Asturias
On this gorgeous Tuesday morning, I had really
enjoyed my
local tour through Oviedo, the historic capital
of Asturias, one of Spain’s northern provinces.
My expert local guide Liliana Ausín had taken
me through the downtown and explained all the important
sights to me. On our walk downtown we had run into
the festivities of La Balesquida, also called "Martes
del Campo" (Tuesday in the Country) and followed
a series of musical groups from the cathedral to
the Campo de San Francisco Park. I had received
an introduction to Asturian bowling ("bolos"
-- where the balls are thrown through the air),
the famous spicy sausage rolls of Asturias and a
"carbayon", Oviedo's typical almond pastry.
The entire town was out celebrating on this special
holiday.
The festivities at La Balesquida
In the early afternoon I headed back to my hotel,
the Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes Hotel, to meet hotel
employee Paula Alvarez who was going to take me
on a personal tour through the hotel. This newly
constructed five-star property is among the top
ranked hotels in the city and was opened in 2007.
The Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes Hotel
The hotel features a variety of accommodations;
Deluxe rooms for example, feature two washbasins
and a jet shower while Deluxe Executive rooms have
a hydro-massage bath with glass walls as well as
a work area with a writing desk and a living area
with a sofa. Deluxe family rooms are composed of
two interconnected rooms which allow separate access
to each room. Junior Suites and Suites both feature
separate living areas and all rooms are equipped
with flat-screen televisions, mini-bars, work desks
and a safe.
Hotel room at the Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes Hotel
The décor at the Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes
Hotel is based on stylish combinations of browns,
beige and orange tones with neutral accents and
provides an elegant calm environment. Paula explained
that most of the guests currently come from Spanish
cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao. An
increasing number of travelers arrive from other
European countries while clients from North America
are still relatively few.
The Galatea Bar
We also saw some of the 12 state-of-the art meeting
rooms, fully equipped with high-tech audio-visual
facilities and high-speed Internet connections,
before Paula took me to the main floor that is anchored
by the “La Galatea” restaurant which
specializes in high quality Asturian cuisine. The
main floor Galatea bar welcomes visitors with its
lively pink and green lighting and provides a great
view out to the street. The Lobby Bar is another
comfortable place where guests come to order room
service and watch TV. Many of the hotel’s
guests like to gather here.
Cool seating in the Lobby Bar
After my personal tour through the hotel I briefly
retreated to my room to recharge my batteries, but
unfortunately my transformer shorted out. Considering
how much photography and videography I do, it is
absolutely vital for me to have a functioning charger
for both my laptop and my camera. At 4 pm I was
scheduled to meet my expert local tour guide Liliana
again, this time in Gijón, the largest city
of Asturias which is located about 20 minutes north
of Oviedo, right on the Atlantic Ocean. It became
a priority for me to find a replacement charger.
The Lobby Bar
The weather had progressively turned worse, and
a very dark sky was now looming overhead. I met
Liliana at our agreed meeting point and asked her
for her help in finding a charger. Unfortunately,
sightseeing had to wait for a while until I was
able to sort out my technical issues. Liliana was
eager to help and first took me to a big El Corte
Inglés department store. Unfortunately they
did not carry any travel transformers that would
be able to convert European current for North American
electrical devices.
Stylish bathroom at the Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes
Hotel
But Liliana, who is a native of Gijón, really
knows the area well and suggested another store,
an electronics store by the name if Edimar, where
I was able to buy a new functioning charger after
all. Thanks to Liliana’s help this saved the
day because I would now be able to download all
my photos and videos again. This was a huge load
off my shoulders and I was able to rededicate myself
to exploring Gijón.
Beautiful Asturian architecture
Gijón is Asturias’ largest city and
has been settled since early human history and was
an important regional city during ancient Roman
times. Its centre is built on a small peninsula
that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean and the city
has grown to a population of over 270,000 people.
During the 20th century Gijón became a very
industrial city, but following a decline in the
steel and shipbuilding industries, the city changed
its focus to become a centre of tourism, higher
education and services.
The entrance area of the Laboral City of Culture
Our destination for the early evening was indeed
an educational institution: the Universidad Laboral
de Gijón is a huge complex that was built
between 1946 and 1956. Local guide Miriam joined
Liliana and me and started to explain this fascinating
institution. With a surface area of 270,000 square
metres (almost 67 acres) it is the largest building
in Spain. The Laboral University has a fascinating
history: after a horrific mining accident in the
mid 1940s, the then Minister of Labour created an
orphanage for children that had lost their parents
in this accident. These children were also supposed
to receive educational training in a utopian, self-sufficient
city.
My two expert guides: Miriam and Liliana
Over the years, this university has trained thousands
of qualified tradesmen and engineers. However, after
an administrative reorganization the majority of
the facilities became obsolete and felt into disrepair
until 2001 when the government of Asturias started
to breathe new life into this important institution.
It repurposed the complex as the “Laboral
City of Culture” which today houses organizations
such as the Laboral Center for Art and Industrial
Creation, the Faculty of Commerce, a School of Dramatic
Arts and Vocational Dance, a church, a café,
a theatre, an auditorium, and the Escuela Universitaria
Jovellanos which teaches university programs in
public administration, social work and tourism.
The classical architecture of the Laboral City of
Culture
As Miriam took us through the huge complex of buildings,
I was absolutely amazed at the stunning architecture.
Although built in the mid 20th century, the buildings
have a distinct classical appearance and the original
architect borrowed themes from the Parthenon in
Athens. A gigantic square with dimensions similar
to those of the Piazza San Marco in Venice forms
the centerpiece that is surrounded on three sides
by three-story buildings with arcaded walkways.
The western side of the complex is highlighted by
a church and an enormous tower.
The 17-story tower and the Laboral Church
Miriam took us to a room with an elevator that
would whisk us to the top of the tower on the 17th
floor. Both the main floor and the room at the top
of the elevator are decorated with brightly coloured
hand-painted tile mosaics. When I stepped outside
on the 360 degree balcony, I was awed by the breathtaking
scenery that opened up in front of us. From high
atop the tower I could really take in the size of
this enormous complex. With a height of 130 m, the
tower is reminiscent of the famous Giralda tower
in Seville and provides the best vintage point in
all of Gijón. Indeed it is currently the
highest building in the Principality of Asturias.
What a phenomenal view from the Laboral Tower!
Back on the ground we visited the Laboral Church,
which is the world’s largest elliptical church.
The dome weighs approximately two thousand three
hundred tons and is supported by twenty pairs of
ribs without any columns. Measuring 31 metres in
diameter and 35 metres in height, the elliptical
dome was constructed in only two months during the
1950s. The floor is made of solid marble; four giant
columns of Pontevedra granite surround the altar.
During earlier years when the Jesuits were running
a boarding school here, 1500 students had to attend
mass here at the same time. What an amazing, awe-inspiring
structure…
The altar area in the Laboral Church
Then we went to the Laboral Theatre, a former assembly
hall that has been transformed into one of the most
magnificent theatre-auditoriums in northern Spain.
The dimensions of this performance venue are similar
to those of the Parthenon. We also visited several
meeting rooms that faced the courtyard and featured
floor-to-ceiling murals that illustrated the history
of this institution.
A great view of the Laboral complex
The mining accident is depicted on these wall paintings;
so are the orphans who are shown as children and
also as the educated professional adults that they
became. One of the murals highlights the battle
between good and evil, and all the figures have
highly realistic, individualized faces. I asked
Miriam who wins the battle in the end and reassuringly
she responded “the good guys”.
The murals at Laboral City of Culture
This concluded our visit to the Laboral City of
Culture and just as the sun started to set, Liliana
took me to one more interesting place: with a heavy
grey sky hanging overhead and daylight vanishing
quickly, Liliana and I drove to the Fishing Quarter
of Gijón. This used to be a fishing port
and today houses many pleasure craft that were swaying
gently on the waves. As a native of Gijón,
Liliana loves the city and indicated that in five
minutes on a bicycle she can be outside of the downtown,
enjoying nature.
The harbour of Gijón
My guide also mentioned that Gijón is a
big centre of music and culture: Tina Turner, Bruce
Springsteen, Prince and the Rolling Stones have
all had concerts here. With the International Festival
of Cinema every November and countless other special
events throughout the year, Gijón never gets
boring. And the city is even in the Guinness Book
of World Records for attracting the largest crowd
of cider-pouring enthusiasts: over 7200 people came
together to achieve the world record for simultaneous
pouring of cider, the famous regional drink of Asturias.
Another view of Gijón's Fishing Quarter
With my introduction to the two biggest cities
in Asturias completed, I was now looking forward
to exploring some of the magnificent nature experiences
that this mountain region has to offer. I had to
catch a good rest to get ready for my mountain
biking adventure that was scheduled for tomorrow.