Welcome to my blog, Templeseeker, a popular solo female travel blog with a historical and cultural focus. My name is Amy and I’ve recently returned from a 10 day trip around the Basque country, including Donostia-San Sebastian and Bilbao. If you are heading to San Sebastian, in the North of Spain, you will be pleased to know that it is great for sightseeing, sports, eating out and architecture. Yes, there are some great things to do in San Sebastian! There is so much to see and do, and to be fair, you will probably need all that walking to burn off the calories from eating all the amazing pintxos! I spent 4 full days in San Sebastian, I can’t wait to share my ideas with you! My personal favourite things to do in San Sebastian include the old town, Saint Mary’s Basilica and Petritegi Cider house.
The best things to do in San Sebastian
Many of the Churches and tapas bars are found in and around the old town, but it’s also a good idea to spend some time exploring Gros, the neighbourhood on the other side of the river and also heading out to the Jai Alai stadium or one of the cider houses on the outskirts.
#1 Walk Around the Old Town
The Old town of San Sebastian, at the foot of Mount Urgull, is full of historical Churches and winding streets lined with pintxo bars. Plaza de la Constitución is the main square in the heart of the Old Town, which dates back to 1817.
#2 Little Paris – Oquendo Plaza and Gipuzkoa Plaza
San Sebastian is a great place to enjoy historical architecture. Make sure that you head the Oquendo Plaza, with the Vitoria Eugenia statue theatre on the one side and the Hotel Maria Cristina on the other. This is the area known locally as ‘Little Paris’ and the architecture will show you why!
After visiting Oquendo Plaza, next head to Gipuzkoa Plaza on foot. You will see a beautiful Neo-classical building here called the ‘Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa‘ and in front of it some beautiful gardens with a pond that has ducks and swans.
#3 Visit St Marys Basilica
The Basilica is my favourite Church in San Sebastian due to it’s stunning gothic facade. It’s full name is ‘Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Coro’. The Basilica is considered to be the oldest Church in the city (older than the Cathedral) and inside it has a religious museum where you can see Renaissance religious art and Baroque statues. Current entrance fee (summer 2024 at the time of writing) was just €3 – well worth it to see both the Church and the Museum.
#4 Visit the San Telmo Museum
The San Telmo Museum gives access to an old church and convent and also contains exhibitions on old Basque traditions, and fine art. The walls of the Church contain 16th century paintings, many of which were added canvasses, which then deteriorated over time, and you can watch a video about the restoration of the Sert paintings.
Another really interesting thing to see in the San Telmo museum is the display of ‘Steles’ or funerary monuments. They are circles or discs made of sandstone, limestone or marble that marks where a death or burial took place. San Telmo museum has a collection of over 80 of these which span from pre-Roman times to the end of the 19th Century.
The museum is free entry on Tuesday and so this is the best day to go!
#5 Relax on La Concha Beach
La Concha beach is one of the most beautiful urban beaches in the whole of Europe. As it’s a bay, this makes swimming much safer and the water warms up in the summer months. There is a sand art guy who comes to draw in the sand on a daily basis and it’s pretty mesmerising to watch.
#6 Walk across Maria Kristina Zubia Bridge
There are four fantastic bridges in Donostia San-Sebastian and Maria Kristina Zubia bridge is my favourite. It was inspired by the architecture of the Pont Alexander III in Paris and is an important landmark in the city with some fantastic sculptures.
#7 Take a Spa at La Perla Talasoterapia
This is something that I missed out on in San Sebastian, but would love to do next time I return – take a Spa at La Perla Talasoterapia! The gorgeous indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi spa are extremely relaxing and they also have a pool that utilises the healing Cantabrian sea water, with fantastic views of the bay.
#8 Hike up to Mount Urgull
There is a nice and easy hike up to Mount Urgull which takes about an hour. You will be rewarding with fantastic views over La Concha bay as well as a small castle (La Mota Castle) including some fortifications and cannons. You will also find the Sacred Heart statue…
#9 Explore the Gros neighbourhood
Cross over to the North East side of the river to explore the hipster Gros neighbourhood. It’s the up and coming area in San Sebastian that is home to numerous artists, musicians and surfers. There are some great independant shops, pintxo bars and cafes. I recommend EsCafé and Pistacho Coffee Brunch Gros. I stayed this side of the river, and don’t regret it!
#10 Miramar Palace
If you have enough time, head round to the other side of the bay to visit Miramar Palace. It was built in 1893 commissioned by the Spanish royal family, and based on a project by an English architect (Selden Wornum). Miramar palace was original built as a summer palace for Queen Maria Christina of Austria. Although you can’t access the inside of the paloace, you can pay €6 to visit the grounds and gardens.
#11 Surfing on Zurriola Beach
Zurriola beach is the beach on the opposite side of the river to the old town, and this is the surfers beach as it has great waves in comparison to the much calmer La Concha Bay. There are plenty of surf schools and hire shops in the area between Gros and the Kursaal centre. If you want to learn how to surf, expect to pay around €40-50 per lesson. I recommend Zurriola Surf Eskola.
#12 Visit the Kursaal Centre for an event or conference
The Kursaal centre is a conference centre built out on a peninsular that juts out into the sea. Many locals originally thought it was an eyesore due to it’s contrasting modern architecture, but the Kursaal centre has become a feature of the coastline and a well used cultural and business hub. I attended TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange conference) at the Kursaal centre and it was an excellent conference venue.
#13 Eat Pintxos at Gandarias
In San Sebastian, you really are spoilt for choice regarding pintxos, but one of my favourite pintxo bars is Gandarias. I loved the anchovy pintxos! I also recommend Txepetxa, Karrika Taberna and La Cuchara de San Telmo. Remember to wash your pintxos down with a glass of Txakoli, the Basque sparkling wine.
#14 Watch a Game of Basque Pelota (Jai Alai)
I was lucky enough to be able to watch a game of Basque Pelota at Galarreta, courtesy of TBEX (the Travel bloggers exchange conference). These guys hit a ball against a wall (fronton) using claw-like baskets. The speed of the ball can reach and even exceed 300 kilometres an hour. Are you ready to witness the most dangerous racket sport in the world?
#15 Visit the Cathedral
A visit to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in San Sebastian is well worth it, with the added bonus of being free of charge! Constructed between 1888 and 1897, the cathedral was designed by Basque architect Manuel de Echave. It was officially inaugurated on 30 July 1897, with presence of the Spanish royal family and was elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1953. It was built in a Neo-Gothic style, taking its inspiration from German Gothic cathedrals such as Cologne Cathedral.
Features include sharply pointed arches, decorative gargoyles, pinnacles, and extensive stained-glass windows. The stained-glass windows, designed by Juan Bautista Lázaro, depict the Twelve Apostles and the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Built using sandstone ashlars from Monte Igueldo, the tower is 75 metres tall and the Cathedral has a capacity for up to 4000 worshippers. The pipe organ inside the Cathedral has a massive 9535 pipes, and was the largest in the whole of Spain at the time it was inaugurated, in 1954.
#16 Go to Petritegi Cider House
As well as drinking the famous Basque drink ‘Txakoli’, head to the Petritegi cider house for an amazing three or five course meal plus cider. You might be lucky and have them open a barrel of ‘Txiri’ for you. The trick is to catch it in your cup and continue to ‘chase’ the stream upwards until the next person has their glass ready to catch the next bit of the stream. If you do it well as a team, no cider will touch the floor and be wasted!
They also serve a phenomenal menu includes spanish omlette, t-bone steak and Idiazabal cheese with quince jelly.
#17 Eat Cheesecake at La Viña
Get there for evening opening times or expect a big queue – there was literally a queue every time I walked past this place. And once you’ve tried it, you will know why. It’s the creamiest, sweetest (without being sickly) cheesecake I have ever tried. Could Viña cheesecake be the best cheesecake in the entire world? It could actually be! I would completely fly back to San Sebastian just to eat this again!
#18 Check out the Street Art
Finally, there is plenty of street art to be found in San Sebastian. I found this frog on a garage door on the other side of the river in a residential area past Gros. Some of the most famous pieces of street art are found in Calle Juan de Bilbao in the Old Town.
Further Reading on the Basque Country
As you can see, San Sebastián is widely considered one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in Spain, and many travelers find it absolutely worth visiting. It’s a food haven with stunning scenery and architecture. If you enjoyed this article, and you’re planning to visit San Sebastian, you might also like to read…