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Like a local
The real spots and the timing — from locals, not guidebooks. The stuff a top-10 list will never give you.
How to actually eat pintxos
📍 Parte Vieja
Don't camp at one bar — order one signature pintxo and a small drink (a txakoli poured from height, or a zurito beer), then move to the next. Ask for the bar's speciality rather than grabbing from the counter; the best things are cooked to order. Gilda (olive, anchovy, guindilla pepper) is the original, invented here.
Gros for the younger, cheaper scene
📍 Gros
Cross the river to Gros for pintxos that are just as good and a few euros cheaper, with a surf-town crowd and Zurriola beach at the end of the street. Locals drift here when the old town gets too packed.
Cider house season
📍 Astigarraga
From mid-January to April the sagardotegi (cider houses) just outside town open for txotx — you catch cider straight from giant barrels between courses of cod omelette, txuleta steak and Idiazabal cheese. A raucous, very local night out; go with a booking and a taxi.
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One of the most beautiful city beaches in the world — a perfect golden crescent inside a sheltered bay, framed by hills and the island of Santa Clara. Swim, walk the famous white railing promenade, and watch the whole city come down to the sand.
The reason many people come — a bar-to-bar crawl through the Parte Vieja, one perfect small plate and a glass of txakoli at each. From the original gilda to seared foie and grilled prawns, it's the best casual eating in Spain.
Ride the creaky 1912 funicular up the western hill for the picture-postcard view down the whole bay, with a charmingly old-fashioned amusement park at the top. The classic San Sebastián photo, best at sunset.
The green headland behind the old town, topped by a castle and a giant statue of Christ — a short leafy climb to cannon batteries, a small history museum and a 360° view over the bay and rooftops. Free, uncrowded and lovely.
The handsome old town itself — narrow streets, the baroque Santa María basilica and the arcaded Constitución square, once a bullring (the numbers over the balconies were the seats). The stage for the pintxos and the fiestas.
Eduardo Chillida's famous 'wind combs' — rusted-steel sculptures bolted into the rocks at the western tip of the bay, where the Atlantic blows spray up through stone vents. A moving, elemental spot, especially in a swell.
The city's surf beach on the Gros side — an open, Atlantic-facing stretch with reliable waves, a young crowd and surf schools for beginners. Livelier and less genteel than La Concha; the place to catch a wave or watch one.
Rafael Moneo's pair of glowing glass cubes on the Gros seafront — the city's congress hall and the home of the film festival, lit up like lanterns at night. Striking modern architecture against the old-world bay.
The Basque museum, set in a former convent under Monte Urgull with a bold modern extension — Basque history, society and art, plus striking Sert murals in the old church. The best place to understand where you are.
Queen María Cristina's English-style summer palace on the rise between the two beaches, with lawns rolling down to the bay — the finest free view of La Concha, and a favourite local picnic and sunset spot.
The city's neo-Gothic cathedral, its slender spire the tallest thing in town and a landmark from every hill. Worth a look inside for the calm and the modern organ; the square around it is the heart of the shopping grid.
The elegant white-railed promenade curving the length of the bay — the city's catwalk, perfect for a slow evening stroll from the old town to Ondarreta, with the sea on one side and Belle Époque façades on the other.
The city's food markets — La Bretxa on the edge of the old town and the bustling San Martín below the centre, where the pintxos chefs shop. Basque cheeses, seafood, pimientos and jamón; a tasty, local half-hour.
The little green island in the middle of the bay — a five-minute boat hop in summer to a tiny beach, a lighthouse and a walking trail, with the whole city framed behind you. A lovely, cooling escape on a hot day.
At the foot of Monte Urgull, the old fishing port strings together bobbing boats, seafood shacks and a good aquarium with a walk-through ocean tunnel. A pleasant, easy stop, especially with kids or on a rainy afternoon.
Prices are relative to Spain, a mid-range country.
Old town
The centreThe dense, atmospheric old quarter between the port and the river — the pintxos heartland, packed with bars, the fish market and the grand Constitución square. Loud and brilliant at night, central for everything; the classic (if not the quietest) base.
What’s here
Centre & the bay
3 min · 0.6 kmThe elegant 19th-century grid behind La Concha — Belle Époque avenues, the cathedral, good shops and the promenade on your doorstep. Refined, central and a touch calmer than the old town; the smart all-round base.
What’s here
Surf & local
5 min · 1 kmAcross the Urumea river — a laid-back, younger neighbourhood built around Zurriola surf beach and the Kursaal, with excellent, cheaper pintxos. More local and relaxed, a 10-minute walk to the old town; great value.
What’s here
Western beach end
8 min · 2 kmThe quieter western end of the bay — Ondarreta beach, the Igueldo funicular and Chillida's wind combs, backed by the residential Antiguo district. Calm, family-friendly and green, a short bus or bay-side walk from the centre.
What’s here
Worth knowing: The whole city is small and flat enough to cross on foot in 30 minutes, so you don't need a base 'near' anything — pick by vibe. There's no need for a car; the airport and French Basque coast are a short bus ride away.
1.2 hrs away
The Basque capital an hour west, transformed by Frank Gehry's titanium Guggenheim — the museum, the revived old town and its own great pintxos make an easy, brilliant day trip.
Bus / car
45 min away
Cross into France for glamorous Biarritz, the surf and seafood of the French Basque coast, and pretty St-Jean-de-Luz. A different flavour of the same coastline, half an hour up the road.
Bus / car
30 min away
A gorgeous walled Basque fishing town on the French border, with a flower-decked old quarter and a marina lined with pintxos bars in the Marina district. A lovely, low-key half-day.
Bus / car
Best time to go
June to September — the warmest, driest window, when the beaches and the promenade come alive. This is an Atlantic city, so even summer sees the odd grey day.
Cheapest: May, June and September — pleasant weather without August's peak prices and crowds. Winter is cheap and moody, and cider season (Jan–Apr) is a local secret.
Pick your dates above and we’ll tell you exactly what the weather does then.
August
25° / 17°C
Some rain
Good time to goSan Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is Spain's most elegant beach city — a Belle Époque resort curled around the flawless shell-shaped bay of La Concha, ringed by green hills and two headlands. It's a food pilgrimage as much as a beach break: the Parte Vieja (old town) is wall-to-wall pintxos bars, and the hills around hold more Michelin stars per head than almost anywhere on earth. Compact, walkable and effortlessly stylish, it pairs surf beaches and a grand promenade with Basque grit and some of the best eating in Europe, all a short hop from the French border.
First things first
Tap the day you arrive.
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Last updated 31 August 2026. Cities are refreshed, not written once.