Cimadevilla is the original settlement of Gijón, a rocky headland that juts into the Bay of Biscay at the eastern end of Playa San Lorenzo. The Romans built here — the Campo Valdés baths are at the headland's base — and after them the medieval town occupied the promontory for the same reasons of defence and harbour access. Today it's the historic quarter of the city: a dense grid of stone streets, whitewashed houses with green shutters, cider bars, seafood restaurants, and small squares where older residents sit in the sun while the evening bar crowd fills in around them.
The neighbourhood rewards wandering rather than ticking off sights. The streets climb to the headland's tip at Santa Catalina Hill, where Eduardo Chillida's sculpture "Elogio del Horizonte" stands against the open sea — follow any uphill street from the fishing harbour side and you'll find it. The fishing harbour at the headland's base still has working boats alongside the restaurants that cater to visitors; the catch comes directly off the boats and into the kitchen, which shows in the quality of the fish served in the simple restaurants along the harbour wall. Cimadevilla fills up on weekend evenings when the cider bars open their doors and the smell of cider being poured from height drifts into the street.