San Sebastián, Donostia in Basque, is a city of about 187,000 people wrapped around a shell-shaped bay, and almost everything a visitor wants is within walking distance. The Parte Vieja, the old town packed between the port, Monte Urgull and the Boulevard, is the pintxo district. Beside it, the Centro is the Belle Époque grid of shops and hotels behind La Concha. Across the River Urumea, Gros has the Kursaal and Zurriola, the surf beach, while to the west the Antiguo and Ondarreta lead to the funicular up Monte Igueldo.
The city is also the base for the hills and coast of Gipuzkoa. Inland, the cider houses of Astigarraga and Chillida's sculpture garden in Hernani are a short bus ride away. To the east, Pasaia and Hondarribia sit on the way to France; to the west, the fishing ports of Getaria and Zumaia face the flysch cliffs of the Basque Coast Geopark.
Ride the Igueldo funicular up to its 1912 amusement park
Monte Igueldo (Plaza del Funicular, Ondarreta)
2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed
Ride wooden cars up Monte Igueldo for the bay of La Concha below and an amusement park that opened in 1912.
What it is
The wooden cars of the Monte Igueldo funicular have climbed from the Plaza del Funicular, near the western end of Ondarreta beach, for more than a century, and leave every 15 minutes from both stations. Up top is the old amusement park, opened in 1912 and declared a Conjunto Monumental together with the funicular in 2014.
How to do it
A return ticket costs €5.50 and includes entry to the summit grounds, which the park bills as the best view of the city and La Concha bay. Rides are paid one by one, from €2.50 for the Río Misterioso boat ride to €3 for the Montaña Suiza roller coaster, and they close on rainy days. Arriving by road, entry is €3 a head and parking is free.
Good to know
Hours change with the date, so check the official calendar first. The funicular is not adapted for wheelchairs.
Climb Monte Urgull to the Mota castle and its cannons
Monte Urgull (Parte Vieja)
Up to half a dayFree
Climb from the old town to a 12th-century fortress, then come down past cannons to a promenade where waves jump the wall.
What it is
Monte Urgull rises straight out of the Parte Vieja, and four paths climb it. The summit is the Castillo de la Mota, a fortress first built in the 12th century and topped since 1950 by the 12-metre Sagrado Corazón statue. Inside, the Casa de la Historia is a small museum on the city's 800 years, run by San Telmo; check its seasonal opening before you climb.
How to do it
Start at Plaza Zuloaga, opposite the San Telmo Museum, where a paved path climbs gently past lookouts over the old town and the bay. Come down the far side past the cannons of the Batería de las Damas and the English Cemetery to the Paseo Nuevo, where waves jump the wall on rough days and Jorge Oteiza's Construcción Vacía faces the sea.
Good to know
The park closes at night: 08:00 to 21:00 from May to September, to 19:30 the rest of the year.
Time needed
Up to half a day
Best time
Before 21:00 from May to September, 19:30 the rest of the year
Visit San Telmo Museoa, free for everyone on Tuesdays
Plaza Zuloaga (Parte Vieja)
No booking needed
The oldest museum in the Basque Country, in a 16th-century convent with Sert's huge canvases, free for everyone on Tuesdays.
What it is
San Telmo, opened in 1902, is the oldest museum in the Basque Country and the one that explains Basque society, from prehistory to the present, through a collection of more than 26,000 pieces. It fills a 16th-century Dominican convent at the foot of Monte Urgull, with a modern wing set under the hill for temporary exhibitions. Do not rush the old church, hung with Josep Maria Sert's huge canvases, or the cloister.
How to do it
Entry costs €10, or €4 reduced, and it is free for everyone on Tuesdays and for under-25s every day. When you leave, the easiest path up Urgull starts across the square.
Good to know
San Telmo opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 20:00 from April to October and 10:00 to 19:00 from November to March, and closes on Mondays (except holidays), on 1 and 20 January and on 25 December.
Walk among Chillida's sculptures at Chillida Leku in Hernani
Hernani
Book ahead
Touch more than 40 monumental steel and granite pieces by Chillida across meadow and woods, and step inside some of them.
What it is
Chillida Leku is the museum Eduardo Chillida, the San Sebastián sculptor of the Peine del Viento, created for his own work on a hillside in Hernani. More than 40 monumental pieces in steel and granite stand across an 11-hectare garden of open meadow and beech, oak and magnolia woods, and you are allowed to touch them and even step inside some. At its heart is Zabalaga, an old farmhouse that Chillida restored as if it were one more sculpture, keeping the stone walls outside and opening up the space within.
How to do it
Lurraldebus line BU05 runs every half hour from San Sebastián and stops at the gate, and there is free parking. Buy tickets on the official site before you go; guided tours cost extra.
Good to know
The museum opens 10:00 to 18:00 and closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Learn to surf on an 800-metre beach that faces the open Atlantic and works at every tide, with board and wetsuit included.
What it is
La Concha is for swimming; Zurriola, across the River Urumea in Gros, is where San Sebastián surfs. The 800-metre beach between the Kursaal and Monte Ulía faces the open Atlantic, works at every tide and has a local surf club and four surf schools, which is why the tourism board calls it ideal for complete beginners.
How to do it
A beginner lesson usually lasts about 90 minutes, with board and wetsuit included, so you only bring a towel. The schools pick the spot and the hour to suit the swell; the right-hander at Monpas, at the Ulía end, is the most powerful wave on the beach and best left to experienced surfers.
Good to know
In summer the sand is split into zones for bathers and surfers, so follow your instructor and the lifeguards. Afterwards, Gros has its own pintxo bars a few streets back from the promenade.
When the cider maker shouts txotx, get up, queue at the barrel and catch a short pour of the new season's cider.
What it is
From mid-January to the end of April, the cider houses (sagardotegiak) of Astigarraga, Hernani, Urnieta and Usurbil serve the new season's cider straight from the barrel. You pay a fixed price for the classic menu, salt-cod omelette, cod with green peppers, a grilled txuleta steak, then Idiazabal cheese with quince and walnuts, and drink as much cider as you like. When the cider maker shouts "txotx!", you get up, queue at the kupela (barrel) and catch a short pour in your glass.
How to do it
Book a table in season. Lurraldebus lines BU12 and BU13 run from San Sebastián to Astigarraga, and some houses, such as Petritegi, also run cider tastings with a guide.
Good to know
The old-style houses still serve standing and are cold inside, so bring a warm layer; newer ones seat you at long shared tables.
Book a three-star dinner at Arzak, Akelarre or Berasategui
San Sebastián and Lasarte-Oria
About 3 hours at the tableBook ahead
Three of Spain's three-star restaurants in and around San Sebastián: Arzak, Akelarre and Martín Berasategui, if you plan around their closures.
What it is
Three of Spain's three-star restaurants sit in and around San Sebastián: Arzak in the east of the city, Akelarre on the slope of Monte Igueldo and Martín Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria, 7 km away.
How to do it
Arzak's online calendar shows only opening days, not free tables: you send a request and it confirms within three days, and for less than 72 hours ahead you must phone as well. Arzak and Berasategui charge for cancellations under 48 hours.
Good to know
Plan around their closures before anything else. Arzak's tasting menu is €315 without drinks; it closes on Sundays and Mondays, and from 1 to 25 November 2026. Akelarre is shut from 19 December to 26 February. Martín Berasategui serves two €395 menus, admits no children under seven, asks for long trousers and closed shoes, and closes from 13 December 2026 to 9 March 2027.
Cook Basque classics in a class or a gastronomic society
Parte Vieja (meeting at the tourism office, Boulevard)
2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hoursBook ahead
Cook tortilla, bacalao al pil pil and Basque cheesecake in the Parte Vieja, or eat at a gastronomic society, a private members' club.
What it is
San Sebastián's chefs buy at the La Bretxa and San Martín markets, and its private gastronomic societies, clubs where members cook for each other, have always been closed to outsiders. The city tourism office sells two ways into that kitchen culture.
How to do it
Its Basque cooking class, in a kitchen in the Parte Vieja, starts at 17:45 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from the tourism office by the Town Hall: 2 hours 45 minutes making tortilla de patata, bacalao al pil pil, txuleta and Basque cheesecake, eaten with wine, txakoli or cider, for €130, over-12s only. The gastronomic society meal, Monday to Thursday at 12:00 or 18:00, takes at most eight people for three hours of pintxos, starters and a main course, for €185.
Good to know
Book early: neither can be cancelled less than 48 hours ahead.
Hike over Monte Ulía to Pasaia and cross the harbour by motora
Monte Ulía, from Zurriola beach to Pasaia
About 4 hours walking, plus lunch in Pasai DonibaneFree
Follow Victor Hugo's 1843 route over the clifftops of Monte Ulía, then cross to Pasai Donibane by little ferry for lunch.
What it is
The path over Monte Ulía is the city's best walk, part of the GR 121 coastal trail and the coastal Camino de Santiago, and the route Victor Hugo took to Pasaia in 1843.
How to do it
Start at the eastern end of Zurriola beach and climb onto the clifftops, past the old Kutraia fountain and the ruins of an aqueduct, to La Plata lighthouse above the harbour mouth. A steep stairway drops to Pasai San Pedro, past the Albaola sea factory, where a replica of the 16th-century whaling ship San Juan is being built. In San Pedro, take the motora, the little ferry of Itxas Zerbi, across to Pasai Donibane for lunch. Bus E01 returns from Donibane to Plaza Gipuzkoa every 20 minutes on weekdays.
Good to know
The official stage is 11 km with 663 m of climbing, about four hours.
Time needed
About 4 hours walking, plus lunch in Pasai Donibane
Walk Hondarribia's walled town and La Marina fishermen's quarter
Hondarribia
Half a dayFree
Climb the walled old town to Charles V's castle, then go down to the painted fishermen's houses of La Marina for an aperitif.
What it is
Hondarribia sits at the mouth of the Bidasoa, facing France, and it is two towns in one. Enter the walled old town, a protected historic monument, through the Puerta de Santa María in the south wall and climb Kale Nagusia (Calle Mayor), past the baroque town hall and houses carved with coats of arms, to the Plaza de Armas, where the castle of Emperor Charles V is now a Parador hotel. Then walk down to La Marina, the old fishermen's quarter outside the walls: San Pedro street is lined with painted, balconied houses and pintxo bars, the place for an aperitif.
How to do it
Lurraldebus line E21 runs from Plaza Gipuzkoa in San Sebastián, and a small passenger boat crosses the bay to Hendaye in France in under ten minutes.
Good to know
The Alarde parade fills the old town in early September.
Taste the young white wine named after this fishing port, from vineyards that run down to the sea, then eat grilled fish by the harbour.
What it is
Getaria, a fishing port about 25 km west of San Sebastián on Lurraldebus line UK10, gives its name to the Getariako Txakolina designation: a young, fresh white of 9.5 to 11.5% made mostly from the Hondarribi Zuri grape, on vineyards that run down to the sea.
How to do it
Its producers open their wineries for tastings, served with salted anchovies and bonito; book ahead, and come in late September or early October to catch the harvest. Lunch is grilled fish by the port, and Elkano, a family asador since 1964 with a Michelin star, has no tasting menu, just fish and seafood fresh from the market.
Good to know
Leave time for the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum, honouring the couturier born here: €14, entry by time slot, and free at the desk from an hour before closing until the last entry, if there is room.
Time needed
A full day
Best time
Late September or early October, for the grape harvest
Thin layers of cliff rock that record more than 50 million years of the Earth's history, seen from a boat below.
What it is
Between Zumaia and Deba, the Basque Coast Geopark protects cliffs of flysch, thin layers of rock that record more than 50 million years of the Earth's history, above one of the largest wave-cut platforms in Europe. Rockfalls over 100 metres high and hidden coves show only from the sea.
How to do it
The best view is from the water. The Geopark's round trip, about an hour, leaves from the Txomin Aguirre pontoon in Zumaia port from April to December, costs €22 and has an audio guide in English, French and German. On foot, the waymarked GR 121 runs 14 km along the clifftops from Deba to Zumaia.
Good to know
It sails only if the sea allows; if your boat is cancelled, you can switch to the walking tour or move the date. Stay on the path: at the foot of the cliffs the tide can cut you off, and rescues are common.
Eat your way through the Parte Vieja one pintxo at a time
San Sebastián
2 to 3 hours, four or five barsNo booking needed
San Sebastián's old town works as one long bar crawl: one or two pintxos and a drink per bar, then on to the next.
What it is
The Parte Vieja is packed between the port, Mount Urgull and the Alameda del Boulevard. Cold pintxos sit on the counter and you can take them yourself, but the best are often the hot ones cooked to order from the blackboard. Drink txakoli, the local dry white poured from height, or a zurito, a small beer.
How to do it
Read the board before you reach for a plate. The city tourism office points to Txakolina Taberna and Ganbara in the old town; start with a Gilda, the anchovy, olive and guindilla pepper skewer.
Good to know
Keep track of what you eat and tell the bar staff when you pay at the end.
Swim at La Concha and take the boat to Santa Clara
San Sebastián
Half a dayFree
A city beach with calm water in an almost closed bay, the old town at one end and a car-free island offshore.
What it is
La Concha is more than 1,300 metres of fine sand. In summer a floating platform with slides and diving boards is moored offshore. The white railing along the promenade dates from 1916.
How to do it
Plan the swim for low water, using the tide table linked from the city's site. In summer a motorboat runs from the port to Santa Clara island, which has no cars and a small south-facing beach. Afterwards, walk west past Ondarreta to Chillida's Peine del Viento sculptures at the end of the bay.
Good to know
The tide decides how much beach you get: at high tide the sand shrinks a lot. Toilets and showers work all year; lifeguards, lockers and changing rooms are summer services.
San Sebastián airport (EAS) is in Hondarribia, 20 km from the centre, with flights to Madrid and Barcelona; Lurraldebus line E21 links it with the city all year, and line E30 in summer. For international flights, Bilbao airport is 100 km away, with a shuttle bus to San Sebastián, and Biarritz in France is 40 km. Renfe long-distance trains from Madrid and Barcelona arrive at the Adif station, with the Donostia Geltokia bus station next door. Euskotren's narrow-gauge line runs to Hendaye on the French border, where SNCF trains leave for Paris.
Getting around
The city is made for walking, with more than 30 km of cycle lanes on top. Dbus runs the city buses, plus Búho night buses from the Boulevard on Friday and Saturday nights, and one Mugi card works on all public transport. For day trips, Lurraldebus covers Gipuzkoa and Euskotren trains run along the coast to Zumaia. Do not drive into the centre: it is a low-emission zone and foreign vehicles must be registered in advance, so leave the car at the Illunbe park-and-ride. Taxis do not stop in the street; go to a rank or phone.
How many days
In must30's view, three full days cover the city: one for the Parte Vieja, Urgull and San Telmo, one for La Concha and Igueldo, one for Gros, Zurriola and the walk over Ulía. Add a day for each trip out: Getaria and Zumaia to the west, Pasaia and Hondarribia to the east, Chillida Leku and, from January to April, a cider house dinner inland. Bilbao deserves its own nights rather than a rushed day trip.
When to go
Summer is beach season, with Jazzaldia in the second half of July and Semana Grande, the week of 15 August from Saturday to Saturday, when fireworks light up the bay at night. The film festival takes over the Kursaal in September (18 to 26 September in 2026). Winter has its own draws: the Tamborrada fills the streets with drums for 24 hours from midnight on 20 January, and the cider season runs from mid-January to the end of April. Check restaurant closures before a winter trip: Akelarre shuts from 19 December to 26 February.
Where to base yourself
The Parte Vieja puts you on top of the pintxo bars, and stays busy late into the night. The Centro, between the old town and the Urumea, is calmer and close to La Concha and the San Martín market. Gros suits surfers and anyone who wants the Kursaal and a second pintxo district, and the Antiguo and Ondarreta, at the west end of the bay, are the quietest and closest to Igueldo. For August and the film festival, book well ahead.
Questions travellers ask
How many days do you need in San Sebastián?
Three days cover the city itself: the Parte Vieja and Urgull, La Concha and Igueldo, Gros and Zurriola. With five, add day trips west to Getaria and Zumaia and east to Pasaia and Hondarribia, all reachable by bus or train.
When is cider house season near San Sebastián?
The txotx season runs from mid-January to the end of April, when the cider houses of Astigarraga, Hernani, Urnieta and Usurbil pour the new cider straight from the barrel with a fixed-price menu. Some cider houses stay open all year, but the barrel ritual belongs to the season.
How far ahead should you book Arzak or Akelarre?
As soon as your dates are fixed. Arzak's online calendar shows only opening days: you send a request and it confirms within three days, and for less than 72 hours ahead you must also phone. Check closures first: Arzak shuts from 1 to 25 November 2026 and Akelarre from 19 December to 26 February.
Do you need a car in San Sebastián?
No. The city is walkable, the centre is a low-emission zone where foreign vehicles must be registered in advance, and buses or trains reach Hondarribia, Pasaia, Astigarraga, Hernani, Getaria and Zumaia. A car only helps if you want several coastal towns and wineries in one day.
What is the Tamborrada?
San Sebastián's biggest fiesta, on 20 January, the day of its patron saint. At midnight the city flag is raised in the Plaza de la Constitución, and for the next 24 hours companies of drummers march through the streets until it comes down again at midnight.
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