Villaviciosa to Gijón
Xixón
- Distance
- 29.8 km
- Climb
- 560 m up, 560 m down
- Ground
- 0 to 290 m
- Time
- 7 to 9 hours
- Difficulty
- hard
- Underfoot
- forest, mountain, paved, dirt, urban
Where this day sits on the Camino del Norte
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 34 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
Gijón is the largest city in Asturias — a Roman port that became an industrial port that became a post-industrial beach town. Playa de San Lorenzo is 1.5 km of beach in the middle of the city, with the old town (Cimadevilla) on a rocky headland at one end. The Universidad Laboral is worth seeing on the outskirts — a Franco-era monument that is both beautiful and uncomfortable history. Like Bilbao, Gijón is a rest-day candidate.
What pilgrims often meet here
- The long climb out of Villaviciosa through forest
- First sight of Gijón and the Playa de San Lorenzo from the ridge
- The Universidad Laboral's scale — the largest building in Spain
- Cimadevilla old town on the rocky headland
Roman port, Franco monument, post-industrial beach. What is the right way to walk through layered history in a single afternoon?
The ground
Climbs over the Alto de la Cruz and the Monte Areo ridge (~300 m) before descending to Gijón. Mostly forest and farmland with a long suburban approach to Gijón. The urban entry is through Deva and the Universidad Laboral — the largest building in Spain, built under Franco as a trade school.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Villaviciosa depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, Xixón, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.