Gijón
The Congress will be celebrated in the city of Gijón (Asturias, Spain).
Where is Gijón?
With a surface area of 181.7 sq.km, the Concejo (municipality) of Gijón is located in the centre of the Asturias coast. It opens up to the sea with a double bay between 43o2”30″ and 43o34”18″ Northern latitude and 1o 52 ” 29 ” and 2o 8” 0″ Western longitude from the Madrid Meridian. The city is 2000 years old and is located 477 kilometres from Madrid (5 h), 384 kilometres from the French border (4h.40 min.) and 432 kilometres from the Portuguese border. It takes three and a quarter hours to get to Bilbao and four and a quarter to get to Santiago de Compostela. A 2 hours flight separates it from London.
How many people live in Gijón?
It is the most populated municipality in the Principality of Asturias. About 280,000 people live in its municipal district, 90% of whom live in the city of Gijón, whilst the remaining 10% are spread over the superb rural medium that surrounds it.
Is the city safe?
One of the safest of the country, with an extremely low accident rate. One of the attractions of its lively nightlife is that you can enjoy yourself without any problems until very late at night. Just take the same basic precautions as for any other trip.
What is the weather like in Gijón?
The Gijón climate, in the area of Atlantic Spain, can be defined in this sense as being warm, with an average annual temperature of 15o and gentle oscillations between the maximum and minimum average annual temperatures. In summer the average temperature is 19.5oC and in winter 9.5oC
It receives 800 to 1000 mm rainfall each year, which is distributed quite evenly, that is, without any very dry periods and also without heavy rain at certain times of the year.
Tips
Always bring informal and warm clothes and footwear. If you have the chance during your stay to attend an “espicha” you will be grateful. The Espicha is a festivity in an apple press where the people from Asturias go with informal clothes and solid shoes. The presses are always cool and permanently impregnated with the smell of apples. Your feet will not get warm until you have drunk sufficient cider and danced to the sound of the bagpipes.
Text and photos courtesy of http://www.gijon.info