Playa de San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo beach is the largest and most traditional beach in Gijón, visited by bathers at any time of year. Presided over by the church of San Pedro, it is shell-shaped and stretches from staircase 0, just behind that church, to staircase 16, at the mouth of the Piles river. Its promenade, almost three kilometres long, is busy at any hour, and the city council ranks it among the best urban beaches in the world for surfing or taking one’s first steps in the sport.

El Muro, the emblematic seafront promenade that runs alongside it, was built between 1907 and 1916 to a design by municipal architect Miguel García de la Cruz, and in 1933 La Escalerona, a monumental concrete staircase, was inaugurated. Every July since 2006, the beach has hosted the Festival Aéreo de Gijón.