DESTINATION
How to get to Gijón
By bus
- From Madrid: ALSA offers direct services from Estación Sur and T4 (~5h 30 min–6h).
- From Barcelona: ALSA from Estación Nord (~11 – 12 h).
By train
- From Madrid: High-speed train (AVE) to Asturias (Oviedo/Gijón) in 4 – 4.5 h.
- From Barcelona: AVE to Madrid + connection to Gijón (~8 – 9 h).
By plane
- Asturias Airport (OVD), 30 min from Gijón.
- From Madrid: Iberia, Air Europa, Vueling (~1 h 15 min).
- From Barcelona: Vueling and Volotea (~1 h 30 min).
Venue
How to get Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura
From Asturias Airport (OVD)
Located about 4 km from Gijón (30–35 minutes by car or taxi). There is also an ALSA bus line to Gijón Bus Station every hour. From there, Laboral can be reached by taxi or by city buses 1, 2, 18 or 26.
From Gijón Train Station (Sanz Crespo)
Located about 4 km from the venue. Approximately 10 minutes by taxi or by city bus (lines 1, 2 or 18).
From Gijón Bus Station (Calle Magnus Blikstad)
10–15 minutes by taxi or about 20 minutes by city bus (lines 1, 2 or 26).
Accommodation
Official Housing Agency
Hotel accommodation for congress delegates is coordinated by FITSPAIN.
Pilar Benavides García is the main contact person and will assist delegates with their accommodation needs, providing personalized support and handling reservation requests.
Contact:
- Pilar Benavides García
- Email: p.benavides@fitspain.es
- Tel.: +34 659 962 630
Recommended Hotels (Managed by FITSPAIN)
Budget Accommodation
Gijón offers a range of affordable accommodation options, including hostels, youth hostels, residences and tourist apartments. These options may be suitable for students, young travelers, pilgrims, surfers and congress attendees looking for functional lodging with basic services, either in the city centre or close to the beach.
Hostels, Youth Hostels & Other Affordable Options
VENUE INFORMATION
Asturias
Asturias is a place with incredible landscapes of sea and mountains, being a sustainable, friendly and welcoming destination with a strong cultural identity and a unique landscape cuisine.
GIJÓN
It is the most populated municipality in Asturias. About 280,000 people live in its municipal district, 90% of whom live in the city of Gijon.
Jardín Botánico Atlántico de Gijón
It's the first botanical garden in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and is notable for its modern, non-generalist approach, based on specialized collections of flora.
LABORAL
Creation, art and education in the monumental complex of the Old Labor University
VISA REQUERIMENTS
A valid travel document is required to travel to Spain to attend to the 68th IAVS Symposium. Spain is a member state of the Schengen Area, so that citizens of the Schengen Area only need a valid passport or ID document.
There are also countries whose nationals are not required to obtain a Schengen visa in order to enter any member country of the Schengen Area for tourism or business purposes for stays up to three months. The list of those countries can be found at www.schengenvisainfo.com/who-doesnt-need-a-visa/
The citizens of the rest of the countries (www.schengenvisainfo.com/who-needs-schengen-visa/) need to request a Schengen Visa, which is the most common visa for Europe. It enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries.
The Schengen Visa can be requested at the Spanish embassies and consulates with territorial competence for the country in which the IAVS Symposium participant resides (www.exteriores.gob.es/en/EmbajadasConsulados/Paginas/index.aspx).
If you need a personal letter of invitation for visa application to attend the Conference, please contact IAVS Symposium (sending an email to iavs2026@azulcongresos.com indicating in the subject “IAVS Symposium Letter of Invitation”). It will be issued only after you have successfully completed your conference registration, so that, please, register as early as you can to make sure you have enough time to get your visa. Your name should be listed exactly in the registration as it appears on your passport in order to avoid a delay/denial of the visa. Please, note that such an invitation letter is not a certificate of participation or certificate of attendance.
