Things to do
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Albaola
In a shipyard on the Pasaia harbour, carpenters spent more than ten years building a full-size replica of a sixteenth century Basque whaling ship by hand. The San Juan is now afloat in the harbour, and the workshops and timber sheds stay open to visitors. It sits a short boat ride from Pasai Donibane.
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Basilica of Santa María del Coro
Baroque and richly carved, the front of this basilica closes the end of Calle Mayor, framed against the green slope of Monte Urgull behind it. From its doorway, Calle Mayor runs straight to the Buen Pastor Cathedral at the far end of the Centro. Entry is ticketed outside service times.
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Buen Pastor Cathedral
Neo-Gothic and tall, with a needle spire, this cathedral rises over the grid of the Centro district at the end of a long pedestrian street from the old town. Inside, the stained glass is at its best in the morning light. It is the seat of the bishop, and services run every day.
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Castillo de la Mota
On the summit of Monte Urgull, the old castle walls hold a small museum on the city's past, the Casa de la Historia. Climb the stairs to the terrace below the Sagrado Corazón statue for the widest view in town, across La Concha to Igueldo and out to sea. Opening days are limited outside summer.
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Chillida Leku
Eduardo Chillida's huge steel and granite sculptures stand in the meadows and beech woods around a restored farmhouse in Hernani, a twenty minute bus ride from the centre. Opening days change with the season, and it is always closed on Tuesdays. Book a timed slot before going and wear shoes for wet grass.
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Church of San Vicente
Thick Gothic walls and a square tower make the oldest church in the city look like a fortress at the edge of the old town. Inside, look for the gilded altarpiece filling the far wall of the apse. A Pietà made from Jorge Oteiza's sketches stands on the front of the church.
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Cristina Enea Park
Peacocks and ducks wander the lawns of this hillside park beside the river, laid out around a mansion that now houses an environmental foundation. Paths climb through tall trees to a pond and a lookout over the Urumea. Mornings here are quiet, with few visitors and plenty of birdsong.
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Gros
Across the Urumea river from the old town, this grid of apartment blocks behind Zurriola beach is where surfers, students and families eat out. Its pintxo bars are less crowded than those of the Parte Vieja, and rooms here are often easier to find in summer. A ten minute walk over the bridge leads back to the centre.
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Hondarribia
Walled and set on a hill above the Bidasoa estuary, this border town has a fortified old quarter and a fishermen's district of brightly painted houses below it. Small ferries cross the river to Hendaye in France in a few minutes. Buses from San Sebastián take about forty minutes, and the airport sits beside the town.
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Kursaal
Two tilted glass cubes by Rafael Moneo stand at the mouth of the river by Zurriola beach, holding the concert halls where the September film festival shows its premieres. They glow from inside after dark. Walk past at night for the light, or check the programme for a concert during the jazz festival in July.
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La Bretxa Market
Below an arcaded hall on the edge of the old town, the fish and meat stalls of this market sell to restaurant cooks early in the morning. Go before ten to see the day's catch on ice and the vegetable sellers from the farms of the hills. Several pintxo counters nearby buy straight from it.
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La Concha Beach
Curved like a shell between Monte Urgull and the Miramar Palace, this city beach shelves gently into a bay sheltered by Santa Clara island, so the water is usually calm enough for long swims. The white railings of the promenade run its full length above the sand. At high tide the beach narrows sharply, so arrive at low water for space to spread a towel.
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Miramar Palace
Built as a summer house for the Spanish royal family, this English-style mansion sits on the low hill dividing La Concha from Ondarreta. The house is used for courses and events, but the lawns around it are a public park open every day. From the slope, the whole bay opens out with Santa Clara island in the middle.
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Monte Igueldo
A wooden funicular from 1912 still carries passengers up this hill at the western end of the bay, from a station behind Ondarreta beach. At the top an old-fashioned amusement park keeps a small roller coaster on the cliff edge and boats on a tiny lake. Go late in the afternoon, when the light falls across the whole bay.
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Monte Ulia
Starting above Zurriola, a coastal path climbs over this wooded hill and follows the cliffs east to the harbour of Pasaia, about two and a half hours on foot. Expect steep sections, many steps and little shade. At the end, a small boat crosses the harbour mouth to Pasai Donibane, and a bus runs back to the city.
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Monte Urgull
Wooded paths climb from the old town and the harbour to the top of this headland in about forty minutes, past old gun batteries and the cemetery of the English soldiers. A stone fortress and a large statue of Christ stand on the summit, with views over the whole bay. Paths are free and shaded, and good on a hot afternoon.
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Ondarreta Beach
Past the Miramar Palace, La Concha continues as a quieter stretch of sand below the tennis club and the gardens of the Antiguo district. Families favour it for the calm water and the shade of the tamarisk trees behind the beach. At its western end a short walk along the rocks leads to the Peine del Viento sculptures.
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Parte Vieja
Packed between Monte Urgull and the Boulevard, the grid of narrow streets holds the city's densest run of pintxo bars, two old churches and the arcaded main square. Eat standing at the counter, one or two pintxos and a small drink per bar before moving on. Many bars close one day a week, and each picks a different day.
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Pasai Donibane
Strung along one narrow street at the edge of the Pasaia harbour, this fishing village has painted houses with wooden balconies standing over the water. Victor Hugo lodged in one of them, now a small museum. A launch crosses the harbour to Pasai San Pedro every few minutes, and seafood restaurants line the waterfront.
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Paseo Nuevo
Below the cliffs of Monte Urgull, this seafront walk loops round the headland from the aquarium to the river mouth. On stormy days waves break over the wall and soak the path, and the council closes it. In fair weather, walk it at sunset with Jorge Oteiza's steel sculpture Construcción Vacía facing the open sea.
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Peine del Viento
Three rusted steel sculptures by Eduardo Chillida grip the rocks at the very end of Ondarreta, where the city stops and the open sea begins. Vents in the granite terrace send up spray and air when big waves come in. Watch it on a rough day at high tide, from a safe distance back from the edge.
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Plaza de la Constitución
Numbers above the balconies around this arcaded square date from its years as a bullring, when each window was rented as a box seat. Today café terraces fill the arcades and bars open onto all four sides. At midnight as 20 January begins, the Tamborrada drummers start a full day of parades from here.
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San Sebastián Aquarium
At the far end of the harbour, under Monte Urgull, a walk-through glass tunnel carries visitors beneath sharks and rays in the largest tank. Upstairs, a maritime museum covers the whaling boats and fishing fleets of the Basque coast. It makes a good plan for a rainy morning with children.
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San Telmo Museoa
Housed in a sixteenth century convent at the foot of Monte Urgull, with a modern wing grown over with plants, this museum covers Basque society from carved gravestones to fishing and art. The chapel walls carry gold and sepia murals by José María Sert. Closed on Mondays, except on public holidays.
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Santa Clara Island
From June to September small boats leave the harbour every half hour for this rocky island in the mouth of the bay, a crossing of a few minutes. A path climbs through the trees to a small lighthouse, and a ladder by the jetty leads into clear water. The island bar opens in the same months.
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Tabakalera
A former tobacco factory beside the railway station now holds free contemporary art exhibitions, a cinema, a library and a rooftop terrace. Take the lift to the top floor for a view over the river and the city to the sea. On a wet afternoon it is a good place to spend a few hours.
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Zurriola Beach
Open to the Atlantic on the Gros side of the river, this beach catches the swell the bay keeps out, and surf schools rent boards and run lessons along the sea wall all year. Swimmers should stay between the flags when the waves are up. Across the promenade, the Gros bars serve pintxos to a younger, local crowd.
