San Sebastian

Introduction

San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián, is a city and municipality in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. It sits on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, close to the French border, and serves as the capital of the province of Gipuzkoa. Locals call themselves donostiarra, a term used in both Basque and Spanish. The city also forms part of the Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián.

Before you go

Getting there

By train, San Sebastián has two main stations: the RENFE station, used by national and local Cercanías trains, and Amara Donostia station for Euskotren services. They sit on opposite sides of the Urumea river, about a 15-minute walk apart. From Spain, RENFE runs direct intercity trains to Madrid, Barcelona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, Valladolid, Pamplona, Zaragoza and Tarragona, and these are often quicker than the bus and cheapest if booked in advance. From within the Basque Country, the bus is usually quicker, though Euskotren runs scenic routes from the surrounding area and from Bilbao. Coming from France, no mainline trains cross the border, so take a TGV or TER to Hendaye and change onto an Euskotren train; connections are frequent and run until late. Watch out when booking, as there is a French town also named Saint-Sébastien. From Irun, change to a RENFE Cercanías train.

By plane, the closest airport is San Sebastián's own small airport, next to Hondarribia, with a bus from Plaza Gipuzkoa running roughly hourly. Biarritz airport is further away but connected by bus and train: take an SNCF train to Hendaye, then the Euskotren from the station just outside, or a coach via Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Bilbao airport has good bus connections run by PESA, and Vitoria-Gasteiz airport also has buses to its central bus station, from where Pesa or La Burundesa continue to San Sebastián. By bus, services arrive at the station at Plaza de Pio XII in Amara Nuevo, operated by companies including Pesa, La Burundesa, Continental Autos, ATCRB and Roncalesa; buses are the only way to reach some parts of the region and often run more frequently and cheaply than trains, with overnight services to Madrid, Barcelona and Milan. By car, downtown parking is costly and mostly underground, left turns are rare and unpredictable, and a driving map is essential; some free parking exists in the west of the city.

Getting around

San Sebastián is compact enough that you can see much of it on foot, and the two main train stations are only about a 15-minute walk apart, on opposite sides of the Urumea river. If you need wheels, taxis are a practical option, but they only pick up at designated taxi stops or when booked by phone - they are not permitted to take passengers who hail them on the street, so plan to use a rank or call ahead. Bicycle lanes run throughout the downtown, and in summer you can hire bicycles from strategically placed locations around the city; at certain times they are free. Beyond private hire companies, the town hall runs a bike service across the city that is open to tourists: get a bike card at the Tourist Information Center on Boulevard, 8, which requires a deposit and should be returned the day after purchase so you can recover it. With the card you can use any of the bikes around the city for a maximum of four hours non-stop, and leaving 30 minutes between uses allows you to cycle for a further four hours. There are several bike-service spots around the city, so bikes can be picked up and dropped off at different points.

The city bus network, D-Bus, runs a number of routes across San Sebastián, with single journeys to any destination on the network charged at a flat rate. For longer stays, the MUGI card is the useful option, available from various locations throughout the area, with an associated app you can use to recharge it; if you have come from Bilbao, the Barik card can also be used. It is also possible to buy and top up a tourist card - touch it against the electronic card reader as you get on the bus, once per passenger. For travel beyond the city, the Basque Country is generally easier to get around by bus than by train, with buses arriving and departing at the San Sebastián bus station at Plaza de Pio XII in Amara Nuevo. If you are driving, note that parking downtown is costly, most parking spots are underground, and finding your way to them can be nerve-wracking; left turns are rarer than rights and can be unpredictable, so having a driving map is essential. The biggest underground parking lots are in the city centre, and the easiest way to find a place without wasting time is to follow the road that goes by the river and follow the signs. There are some free parking lots in the west of the city, marked on some tourist maps as a "Controlled parking zone".

Where to stay

San Sebastián's sleeping options are spread across the centre, the Old Town (Parte Vieja) and the surrounding hills. For budget travellers, there are several hostels: Green Nest Hostel Uba Aterpetxea and Urban House Hostel on Alameda del Boulevard are popular choices, while Hostel Aida sits in the Gros quarter and Olga's Place is a minute's walk from the beach with clean rooms, free internet and friendly staff. Camping Igueldo, up in Igeldo, is open all year, very international, and has free Wi-Fi across the whole site, lockers, a bar, a small shop and a bus straight to the beach and centre; you must book at peak times or be lucky, and it looks out over the green foothills of the Pyrenees.

Mid-range places cluster in the centre and Old Town. Pension Goiko on Calle Puerto puts you close to the beaches, bars and restaurants, while Pension Edorta on Portu Street has rooms in a single design but varying sizes, a shared bathroom that is unoccupied most of the time even in high season, and helpful staff. Also in the Old Town are Pension Ira Flor, Pensión San Juan, Hospedaje Irune, Pension La Perla and Pension Urkia, the last two run by sisters and both clean and friendly with en-suite bathrooms. Elsewhere you'll find Hotel Anoeta in Amara, Hotel Avenida on the road to Igeldo, Hotel Europa in the centre, Hotel Niza on Zubieta Street and NH Aranzazu next to Ondarreta beach. At the top end, Hotel Mercure Monte Igueldo sits on the mountain with sweeping views over the city and La Concha, the Arima Hotel and Spa is in Miramón, and the belle époque Hotel Maria Cristina, a Luxury Collection hotel, is the choice of many actors during the film festival, with a hotel bar, an underground gym and an internet library.

Food & drink

Basque cuisine is the draw here, and much of its reputation rests on San Sebastian's bars and restaurants. Tapas were invented in Andalucia but were perfected in San Sebastian, and a walk through the old town before lunch shows why: each bar is bursting with delicate-looking tapas. The local way is to have one tapa and a glass of wine or a small beer in one bar, then move on to the next. Tapas work well as a substitute for a meal, since you pay for each one you eat, so you can have as many as you want. In the Basque Country these are called pintxos, and the etiquette differs from elsewhere in Spain. Cold pintxos sit displayed on the bar: ask the barman for your drink and pick them yourself, asking for a plate if you need one. Hot ones must be ordered from the barman and take a short time to cook; a hot tapas menu usually hangs on the wall. When you finish, ask for the bill and tell the barman what you ate - honesty matters, as it is a long tradition, and locals will be upset by anyone eating and not paying. Don't arrive starving or you'll treat it like a buffet and the cost will rack up; take a couple at a time, since what looks appealing may have been sitting out all day. Locals traditionally have one or two pintxos in the early evening to stave off hunger before a later sit-down meal rather than making a meal of many. Most pintxo bars cluster in the old town, particularly on the streets running parallel to Boulevard, with plenty more in Gros and Centro. Jamon Iberico, often hanging from the ceiling in whole legs, is ubiquitous and equally good almost everywhere; the calamari seems the same at every bar, so don't order it again elsewhere if you didn't like it the first time.

If you want a proper meal, San Sebastian does that well too, with Chinese, German, Galician, Italian and of course Basque cooking on offer. In and around the harbour you'll find the freshest seafood, from simple harbour taverns to restaurants with Michelin stars if you have money to spare. Note that this is not a city for vegetarians or vegans unless you catch the fresh produce markets in the morning and cook for yourself; pescetarians get along fine given the abundance of seafood. A healthy breakfast, even an omelette, is hard to find in cafes, which typically offer sandwiches or a breakfast variety of pintxos. Along the waterfront there are many cafes and bakeries. Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia holds its annual conference and competition in November, including nominations for pintxos bars and restaurants.

What to see and do

Start at the western end of Kontxa/La Concha bay, where Mount Igeldo rises above the water. A funicular runs up and down the mountain, and the top rewards you with a sweeping view over the town, plus the aging Mount Igueldo Amusement Park with its quaint rides. If you make your own way up, expect a small toll at the summit. Back at sea level, the Miramar palace and its park sit above Loretope/El pico del Loro, a good spot to sit on the lawn. In the old town you'll find the Iglesia San Vicente, Artzain Onaren Katedrala, Santa María del Coro, the Castillo de la Mota, the Casa consistorial, the old town hall, the Victoria Eugenia Theater and Plaza de la Constitución. The San Telmo Museum, partly housed in a 16th-century Dominican convent with a modern extension, covers a wide range of subjects and keeps a top-floor gallery of Basque artists. The Kursaal congress centre and auditorium is a landmark in its own right. Further out, the Faro de la Plata lighthouse and Mount Ulia, a small hill with views over the bay area, are worth the trip.

For beaches, you have two main choices on either side of the river. Kontxa/La Concha, on the west side, is the larger and calmer of the two, sheltered from the sea with an island and boats in the bay; Ondarreta shares the same bay but is split off by the rocky outcropping of Loretope/El pico del Loro. Both have umbrellas, tents and lounge chairs, free WCs, showers and changing rooms, and lifeguards on duty during the day. Zurriola, east of the old town and river, is the surf beach and the better pick if you want waves or beach sports. Surfboards and bodyboards can be rented on Zurriola, and you'll probably want a wetsuit too; both the Zurriola Surf Eskola and the longtime Pukas Surf Eskola offer lessons, and Pukas has a surf shop. For a short easy hike, walk up to the statue of Christ on the mountain between the beaches — roughly an hour at a leisurely pace, with a bar on the way up for refreshments and views. For something longer, head up Zemoria St from the east end of Zurriola and follow the long stairway to the hiking path, then the red-and-white markings toward Pasai San Pedro; the green stripes divert halfway, and a local bus can bring you back. You can also hire kayaks on Ondarreta beach, try water skiing in the Kontxa/La Concha bay, visit the aquarium by the Kaiko pasealekua at the far right of the beach, play tennis or squash on the courts between El pico del Loro beach and the foot of Mount Igeldo, or take the tourist land train from Zubieta street in front of Kontxa/La Concha. Football fans can catch Real Sociedad at Anoeta Stadium on the south edge of the city, with the Basque Derby against Athletic Bilbao the biggest fixture; the women's team plays at the Zubieta training facility southwest of the centre.

When to go

San Sebastián has an oceanic climate: warm summers, cool winters, and cloudy or overcast skies much of the year, with rain fairly evenly spread. Summer is the exception — drier and noticeably sunnier than the rest of the year, making it the most reliable stretch for outdoor time. That reliability comes at a cost, though: summer also brings the densest crowds and the highest prices.

• Summer: Warm, drier and sunnier than any other season — your best bet for time outdoors, but also the busiest and most expensive.
• Winter: Cool and cloudy, with regular rain and overcast days. Expect wet streets rather than snow.
• Spring: Mild and changeable, still cloudy or overcast much of the time with regular rain. Quieter and cheaper than summer.
• Autumn: Temperatures ease back from the summer warmth and rain returns to its year-round pattern. Overcast conditions are common and the summer crowds thin out.

Three days in San Sebastian

Day one: Start in the Old Town, known in Basque as Parte Zaharra and in Spanish as Parte Vieja, where the streets are dense with pintxos bars and the atmosphere is unmistakably Basque. Wander the Boulevard and the lanes around it, then cross the Urumea to Gros, a neighbourhood with a younger, surf-facing character. If you arrive by train, RENFE and Cercanías services stop at Amara Donostia, and Euskotren also connects the city; from Spain's bigger cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, Valladolid, Pamplona, Zaragoza and Tarragona, the journey is straightforward. Expect warm and humid summer days and cool, often wet winters.

Day two: Give the day to the Bay of Biscay. San Sebastián, or Donostia, sits on the bay in Gipuzkoa, within the Basque Autonomous Community, and the water shapes daily life here. Locals and visitors alike move between the beaches and the promenades, and the views across the bay are the reason many come. In the evening, return to the Old Town for pintxos, or head to Erdialdea for a quieter meal away from the busiest lanes.

Day three: Look beyond the city. San Sebastián is part of the Basque Eurocity Bayonne, and the French border is close, so a day trip toward the French side or into the surrounding Gipuzkoa countryside is easy. If you prefer to stay local, spend the morning in Gros and the afternoon drifting between the Old Town and Erdialdea. From Spain's interior, connections via Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona or Zaragoza make the city a natural stop on a longer Basque itinerary.