You reach the Elogio del Horizonte, at the top of the Cerro de Santa Catalina in Gijón, on foot through Cimadevilla from the Plaza Mayor. There is no parking at the top: the closest car park is Cimadevilla, about 230 metres away as the crow flies, with Fomento, the Náutico and Jovellanos further away. By bus, line 4.
The Elogio del Horizonte stands at the very top of Cimadevilla, and the practical question is almost always the same: can you drive up? There is nowhere to leave the car at the top, so the answer is down below, in the car parks on the edge of the quarter, and in your legs. This is what you need to know to get there without going round in circles.
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Where exactly it is
Eduardo Chillida's sculpture, from 1990, stands on the Cerro de Santa Catalina, postcode 33201, according to the Gijón City Council page. The hill is the upper part of Cimadevilla, the quarter on the peninsula between the marina to the west and San Lorenzo beach to the east.
Around it is a park of just over 6 hectares, 61,100 square metres, designed by the architects José Luis Martín and Francisco Pol, which opened together with the sculpture on Saturday 9 June 1990. The summit was traditionally called L'Atalaya.
On foot, which is how you go up
The usual way is to walk from the Plaza Mayor, the gateway to the quarter, and climb through the streets of Cimadevilla to the open ground at the top. It is uphill all the way, with no difficult stretches. On the way up you pass the sculpture Nordeste, by Joaquín Vaquero Turcios, from 1994, which tells you there is not far to go.
From the marina, the Plaza Mayor is 450 metres away, according to the City Council. From the San Lorenzo promenade, you enter Cimadevilla by the church of San Pedro. A walk through the quarter in order, with what you find along the way, is in what to see in Cimadevilla.
By bus
City bus line 4 is the one given on the council's pages for Cimadevilla's monuments, such as the Torre del Reloj and the Plaza Mayor. From the stop it is the same climb on foot as from the square.
By car: where to park
The council's official map layer of short-stay car parks places four car parks nearby. The closest is the Cimadevilla car park, about 230 metres from the Elogio as the crow flies. Further away are Fomento, with 250 short-stay spaces, about 710 metres away; the Náutico, with 110 spaces, about 800 metres; and Jovellanos, with 340 spaces, just over a kilometre away. Distances are straight-line, measured on the council's coordinates: on foot, up the slopes, they are a bit more.
If you park on the street in the blue zone, the ORA runs Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00, and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 14:00. The council's file dates from 2019, so it is worth checking that each car park is still open before you go.
What else is on the hill
The hill was military ground: in 1898, during the war with the United States, the upper battery was built there. On 26 February 1982 the City Council bought the land from the Ministry of Defence for 25 million pesetas, and on 7 March that year the hill opened to the public, according to the council's leaflet for the thirty years of the Elogio.
In 2025 the upper battery and the area around the Elogio were restored, under a contract of more than 620,000 euros, and in October that year the local press reported that the lower batteries had already reopened and that a 20-metre trench had been found which was meant to open to visitors in the second half of 2026. We have found no confirmation that it has opened.
What you see from the top, why you hear the sea inside the sculpture and the Romans who lived below are told in our guide to the Roman baths and the Elogio del Horizonte.
Checked
Facts checked in October 2026 against: Gijón City Council (Elogio del Horizonte page, leaflet for the thirty years of the Elogio, short-stay car park map layer, ORA zone, marina and pages for Cimadevilla's monuments), Turismo Asturias (guide to visiting Gijón), Mi Gijón and RTPA (2025 works).
Quick questions
Can you drive up to the Elogio del Horizonte?
There is no parking at the top. The practical option is to leave the car at the Cimadevilla car park or at Fomento, the Náutico or Jovellanos and walk up.
When does the pay zone near Cimadevilla operate?
The ORA runs Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00, and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 14:00.
Which bus gets me close to Cimadevilla?
Line 4, the one given on the council's pages for the quarter's monuments; from the stop you walk up.