10 Things to do in San Sebastian, Spain

San Sebastian is a picturesque beach town located in northern Basque country. It has its own unique history and culture from the rest of the country which adds to its character.  Most people visiting Spain hit up the favorites like Madrid or Barcelona, but to be honest, my favorite spots in Spain are the less touristy destinations; the ones that take a little extra effort to get to.  I will say though, I personally prefer medium sized cities over huge metropolitan ones. Barcelona will forever have my heart, but if I were to go back and live there again (fingers crossed), I would probably choose a smaller city.

When my family added San Sebastian to our grand Spanish vacation, I was so excited.  Not so much because I knew a lot about the city or anything, but I LOVE traveling through the smaller spots of Spain. San Sebastian definitely gave me a new side of Spain that I had not seen before. Being from southern California, I’m sure you could already guess that I was most looking forward to sinking my bare feet in the sand and soaking up that Spanish sun.

I will tell you though, my first impression of the place made me feel like I was in France more than in Spain. Maybe it’s because it gave me the feeling that I was back in Nice in the South of France, but San Sebastian was more low key and less ritzy. Regardless what it reminded me of, I still fell in love with this city. Here the mountains meet a perfectly secluded bay, with endless pintxo bars in between, what’s not to love?

Here’s a little background on the city before we get started:

San Sebastian is quite different than what you might think of as a stereotypical Spanish city. In fact, they even have their own language called Euskera (Basque) that is spoken by the locals alongside Spanish and some English. To Basque natives, San Sebastian is actually called Donostia, both names mean “Saint Sebastian” (shocking, I know) in basque and in spanish.  Something that might surprise you is the #1 food that Spain is known for, tapas, has a completely different name in the Basque country.  Here it’s all about the pintxos, and if you try to call them tapas, I’m sure you will quickly be corrected.

When I finally got to see this city first hand, I found that it was VERY different than what I’ve been exposed to in the Catalunya region. That is honestly what I love most about Spain though, every region is completely different from one another.

How to get there:

The two closest international airports to this city are in Barcelona or Madrid. If you are planning on doing a Spain vacation and hitting several spots, I would highly suggest flying into a closer airport after spending a few days in one of the larger cities. I flew into Bilbao and took a rental car from there, which I would recommend. You can always fly into San Sebastian’s airport, but you will be paying much steeper prices since it is such a tiny airport and there seems to be a lot fewer flight options. For more detailed information on transportation check out this website!

So what should you do when you visit this not so popular Spanish city? My number one recommendation is to just relax, don’t have a set schedule. While there is plenty to do, I say take full advantage around the beach and its food, everything else will fall into place. Here are ten recommendations to give you a few ideas on how to spend your time in San Sebastian!

1. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry:

San Sebastian’s food scene is unlike anything you will find. Their claim to fame is their authentic pintxo bars in “el Parte Vieja” neighborhood. Spend your nights bar hopping and indulging in an endless variety pintxos. When it comes to the drinking, don’t leave San Sebastian without trying their local sparkling dry wine called Txakoli.

Pintxos + Txakoli = an evening well spent

If you want to learn more about the pintxo scene in San Sebastian, check out my “whats a pintxo?” post here!

2. Early Morning Beach Run:

Since you will be spending the majority of your time eating and drinking to your hearts content (as you should be), start your morning with a beach run/ walk along its scenic promenade. Starting early lets you have the beaches of San Sebastian all to yourself, without the distraction of other tourists or locals. You will be able to properly appreciate its subtle beauty.  My favorite way to get acquainted in a small city is going for a run and getting lost in its back narrow streets.  Getting lost seems to be a habit of mine, so thats why a small city like San Sebastian is a great place to do it!

3. Hike Monte Urgell:

This was my favorite view in all of San Sebastian. There are several different walking paths that meander through the trees as it mazes all the way to a giant Jesus statue, keeping a watchful eye over its citizens below. I spent my 30-minute walk passing old ruins while picking flowers along the trail. There are perfect view points around every corner, so take your time exploring.  Once at the top, there is a small museum to walk through before getting to the highest point.

4. Soak up the sun at Playa de la Concha:

This is the poster child for perfect European beaches. The sandy bay highlights calm turquoise waters with a small island (isla de Santa Clara) right in the middle that you can actually go and visit. It really is such a unique view with the mountains blockading the rest of Spain on one side, and the endless sea in the opposite direction. Oh and just so you know… Bathing suites are optional, so you do whatever floats your boat.

5. Take a Day trip to Surrounding Cities:

While San Sebastian itself is small enough where you wouldn’t need a car, I would suggest renting one so you could do a day trip outside of the city. Not only does it give you the freedom to go and do what you want, but you also will have transportation from the airport covered! That’s a win- win situation. Driving through Spain is a beautiful experience all on its own.

There are several different day trip options. You can pretend to do the running of the bull’s path in Pamplona, go wine tasting in the Navarre or La Rioja region, check out the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, or even cross the boarder to France and spend a day in Biarritz.

6. Satisfy your late-night cheesecake craving:

Cheesecake in Spain? Who knew! While it is slightly different than what you might find in the states, a restaurant called La Vina is notoriously famous for their incredible cheesecake. This is the spot to go after a night of Pintxos. This place was overflowing with locals every night, and the cheesecake itself is out of this world. Warning: when you ask for an order of cheesecake, they are going to give you two slices.  We found this out the hard way.

Cheesecake not your thing? Stroll on over to Gelateria Boulevard. They have endless flavors of gelato and it was definitely the best gelateria in town!

7. Surf at Zurriola Beach:

You can find many surfers flocking to this beach for their early morning shred sesh. It’s only about a 15-20 minute walk from the main playa de la concha beach, and is by far less crowded.  Surfing is a huge part of San Sebastian’s culture, so regardless if you are going to get out there yourself or not, at least go and watch the professionals.

8. Take in the views at Monte Igueldo:

Ride on a 100-year old cable car funicular to yet another picturesque view.  In just three minutes, this old school funicular will take you right to the top of Monte Igueldo. This is another great location to see the bay from a different perspective!

9. Find Plaza de la Constitution:

For some reason, we had the hardest time finding this square, even though it’s right in the middle of all the action.  Like I said before, I will never be good at directions.

Every balcony in the entire square has a number, which used to symbolize seating for different events that would take place in the middle of the square at ground level. Most popularly noted, bullfighting was a well known past time in this very spot. Even though the bull fighting might be long gone, there are many bars and restaurants here with a great view.

10. Picnic in front of the Miramar Palace:

What used to be Queen Elizabeth II’s summer holiday escape, is now a timeless building overlooking la Playa de la Concha. The palace has now been converted into a music school, but their gardens are the perfect place for a nice picnic or just to relax under the afternoon sun. With a symphony of trumpets playing in the background and a clear view of the Bay of Biscay, this is the ideal spot to spend an afternoon.

If you are planning a trip to Spain, get off the beaten path and include San Sebastian in your itinerary. It’s easy to see why so many people fall in love with this unique hidden gem.  For me, being back at a small surfing community with a lowkey beach made me feel like I was right back in California.

Thanks Donostia for showing me a great time.

What I’ve learned is to come for the beach and stay for the Pintxos!

Happy travels!