For a first visit, the easiest choice is to stay in the Centro or La Arena: between them lie Poniente and San Lorenzo beaches, calle Corrida and Cimadevilla, almost all on foot. Cimadevilla has a lot of nightlife; El Llano feels more local, and Somió, quiet and full of houses with gardens, calls for the bus or a car.
Gijón is a city best understood as the land between two beaches. In the middle sits the Centro; to the north, up on a headland, the oldest quarter; to the east, the nineteenth-century extension facing San Lorenzo; to the south, the most populous neighbourhood; and beyond the river Piles, houses with gardens. Where to sleep depends on what you want on your doorstep: sand, cider bars, quiet or a library open until eight in the evening.
The Centro: everything on foot, between two beaches
The Centro neighbourhood, in the district of the same name, is bounded to the west by Poniente beach and to the east by San Lorenzo. It had 31,507 residents in 2025. Many of its streets are pedestrianised, calle Corrida is the main shopping street and the so-called Barrio del Carmen is where the bars and restaurants cluster.
It is the simplest choice for a first visit, because almost everything can be done on foot from here. For anything further away, the El Parchís stop, next to the Biblioteca Pública Jovellanos, is served by lines L4, L10, L14, L20 and L25 of EMTUSA, the city bus company. Poniente beach has its own guide: how to get there and where to check the flag.
Cimadevilla: the old quarter, and its noise at night
Cimadevilla sits on the Santa Catalina headland, a peninsula with the Puerto Deportivo marina to the west and San Lorenzo beach to the east. It is the oldest part of the city, of Roman origin, and still looks like a nineteenth-century fishing quarter. It is also small: 2,701 residents in 2018, one of the least populated neighbourhoods in Gijón.
Staying here means sleeping inside the postcard, with the steep lanes, the Torre del Reloj and the Elogio del Horizonte up on top. But, as its Wikipedia entry puts it, the area has a great many bars and nightlife venues, so it is worth asking whether your window faces a street of bars, especially at weekends. A walk through its streets in order is in what to see in Cimadevilla.
La Arena: San Lorenzo across the road
La Arena, officially L'Arena, is in the Este district. It has San Lorenzo beach to the north and the Centro to the west, and its name comes from the sandbanks that once lay beside the beach. It was built under the nineteenth-century extension plan and today is a dense area of tall buildings, with 16,525 residents in 2018.
Its great asset is the Muro, the San Lorenzo promenade, practically pedestrian and almost three kilometres long according to the city council. The lifeguarded bathing season runs from 1 May to 15 October; outside it the beach is still there, and in autumn it changes use, as the guide to dogs on San Lorenzo explains.
For getting around, plaza de Los Campos is the neighbourhood's main bus hub, and the Fábrica de Gas stop, next to the La Arena municipal library, is served by lines L10, L14, L20 and L25. The library opens Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 20:00 from October to May.
El Llano: the most populous neighbourhood, with real local life
El Llano is both a neighbourhood and a district, and with 39,602 residents in 2018 it is the most populous part of the urban area. It began as an industrial area in the late nineteenth century, with housing for incoming workers, and today it is a residential neighbourhood of everyday shops and parks such as La Serena and Los Pericones.
For anyone staying several weeks, it has a little-known asset: the Centro Municipal Integrado de El Llano, opened in 2007, with a library that includes a 120-seat study room and opens from October to May, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 14:00. Its stops are served by EMTUSA lines L2, L12, L15 and L20.
Somió: houses with gardens and the eastern coast
Somió is a parish in the east of Gijón, separated from the city by the river Piles. Since the late nineteenth century it has been the local bourgeoisie's favourite place to live, and it is still an area of country houses, villas and chalets, with the largest concentration of single-family homes in northern Spain. Its coast includes the beaches of Estaño and Serín.
It is the choice for anyone after quiet who does not mind taking the bus or the car: EMTUSA line L20 starts and ends at Somió (La Pipa). It is also home to the Museo Evaristo Valle and El Rinconín beach, where the El Rinconín to La Ñora path begins.
The west: L'Arbeyal, between El Natahoyo and La Calzada
On the other side of the city, L'Arbeyal beach opened in 1995 and is the great beach of the west, between the neighbourhoods of El Natahoyo and La Calzada, with green spaces around it. The Casa del Mar stop is served by lines L1, L4 and L6.
For anyone staying a while in this area, the La Calzada library opens Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 14:00.
Checked
Details checked in October 2026 on the Gijón city council's pages (San Lorenzo beach, L'Arbeyal beach, the library network, the La Arena, El Llano and La Calzada libraries and the Biblioteca Pública Jovellanos, with their EMTUSA stops and lines) and on Wikipedia (El Centro, Cimadevilla, La Arena, El Llano and Somió) for the history and population of each neighbourhood. Library opening hours are those for October to May; they are shorter in summer.
Quick questions
Is Cimadevilla a good area to stay in?
It is the oldest quarter of Gijón and the loveliest to walk around, but it has a great many nightlife venues; it is worth asking whether your window faces a street of bars, especially at weekends.
Which Gijón neighbourhood is closest to San Lorenzo beach?
La Arena, which has the beach to the north and the Muro promenade, almost three kilometres long, on its doorstep. The Centro and Cimadevilla also touch its western end.
Which bus goes to Somió?
EMTUSA line L20, which starts and ends at Somió (La Pipa) and passes through the Centro at the El Parchís stop.