This museum was free on the day of our visit - mid-week, mid-October which came as a nice surprise. I recommend that you begin your visit on the top floor in the main building with artifacts from the late 1800’s, and, then, go down to the other 2 floors with artifacts ending in the 20th century. Use either the stairs or the elevator. The displays on each floor relate to 1 century and each floor follows the same pattern of displaying items. I rather liked this method as I could then compare as well as see a progression of how objects used in everyday life by Asturians changed over time. The displays focus on many household items, clothing, traditional crafts, and a few religious items. Each floor had a wall information board which gave an overview of the time period in English, Spanish, and the Asturian language which these people are trying to revive. I’ll just mention a few of the many items on display on the top floor that I liked. One notable display compared kitchens for the rural poor and the nobility. On one side, the kitchen used by rural, poor folks displayed wooden carved spoons and wooden carved plates while, on the other opposite side, the much grander kitchen of the nobility showed silverware, fine china, and crystal drinking goblets. Mannequins were dressed in traditional men and women's clothing for the time period. What a contrast to those garments Asturians wear today shown on the bottom floor! Other interesting displays related to household items showed how technology changed from spinning and weaving to a simplistic sewing machine and, then, to a treadle sewing machine. Even the display of clothing irons was fascinating! The ones used in the late 1800's were so heavy and bulky! After an hour enjoying the indoor displays, we headed outside to see 2 traditional family homes and 2 nobility homes. Inside the nobility homes were displays of musical instruments like bagpipes and accordions and photographs. The rural home looked like today's rancher, but very dark inside due to lack of windows. Agricultural tools and carriages were housed in a shed. A photographic display showed their use in the fields where crops were grown. There also were 2 granaries on stilts, a mill, and an apple cider shed with photographs showing how the apples were pressed, fed into a kiln, and the cider stored in barrels. We walked around the big pond to view 2 shepherds’ huts. We had seen such conical stone huts in the fields on drives and wondered what they looked like inside. These outdoor displays took us about 20 minutes as we skipped seeing the musical instrument and photograph displays in the noblilty houses. This informative museum with indoor and outdoor displays is located opposite Parque Isabel de Catolica. We caught the Line 10 bus from Plaza Carmen to the museum (paid cash to the driver), and, then, walked back along the sea promenade to the old town. It was a wonderful way to spend our time in Gijon.

Staying in Gijon, we thought we would take a look at this museum as it was only a 1/2 hour walk away. It was effectively empty so we took our time and enjoyed the exhibits. Lots of old stuff and the museum includes full scale houses of yesteryear. The bagpipe display was a highlight.