Top San Sebastian Attractions
- Paseo de la Concha / Concha Beach Promenade
- Aquario / Aquarium
- Catedral del Buen Pastor / Buen Pastor Cathedral
- Playa de la Concha / La Concha Beach
- Museo de San Telmo / San Telmo Museum
- Paseo Nuevo / Nuevo Promenade
- Iglesia de San Vicente / San Vicente Church
- Palacio del Mar / Palace of the Sea
- Museo Naval / Naval Museum
- Paseo de Miramar / Miramar Palace
- Iglesia de Santa María del Coro / Santa María del Coro Church
- Palacio de Ayete / Santa María del Coro Church
- Monte Igueldo / Igueldo Mountain
Top Festivals
La Tamborada / Holy Week
January 20
Carnavales / Carnival
February
Festival Internacional De Jazz / International Jazz Festival
July
Semana Grande
Week of August 15
Festival Internaional De Cine / International Film Festival
September
Food & Drink
San Sebastian is famous for its excellent Basque cuisine, which incorporates everything from seafood from the coast to meats and cheeses from the mountains. The best way to try out all the local specialties is to order pintxos ("tapas" in Basque) accompanied by a glass of beer or wine.
Along with all sorts of traditional dishes is the nueva cocina vasca (new Basque cuisine), influenced by France's nouvelle cuisine and featuring less rustic, more innovative versions of traditional flavors and dishes.
Weather
San Sebastian has an oceanic climate with generally mild temperatures and uite a bit of rainfall. It's precisely this rainfall, common across nothern Spain, that provides this area with such stunning, verdant scenery. There is considerably less rain in the summer, when its warm-but-not-too-warm temperatures are a welcome refuge from the boiling hot temperatures of inland and southern Spain.
Year-round temperatures are mild and don't fluctuate into the extremes. The warmest month, August, has an average high temperature of 24ºC (75.4ºF) and the coolest month, January, has an average high temperature of 12ºC (53.6ºF).
Getting There
By plane
San Sebastian is very well served by several airports. The San Sebastian airport is located about 20 kilometers from the city center but is rather small. The Biarritz Airport, located 50 kilometers away in France, and has train and bus routes to San Sebastian. 100 kilometers away is the Bilbao Airport, which also offers good bus connections to San Sebastian. Finall, the Vitoria-Gasteiz airport is 114 kilometers away, also with bus connections to San Sebastian.
By train
San Sebastian's train station, the Estación del Norte (address: Paseo Francia), is a main connection hub for Euskotren, the Basque train company, TGV, the French train company, as well as RENFE, Spain's national train company.
By bus
Buses arrive to and depart from the San Sebastian Bus Station (address: Plaza de Pio XII). Buses are the most convenient way to get around in the Basque Country and you can catch frequent buses to an endless list of regional, national and even international destinations.
Getting Around
San Sebastian is, without a doubt, best explored on foot. There is, however, an urban bus network that covers the various parts of town as well as numerous taxi companies. Many of the city streets also have special bicycle lanes, so consider renting a bike and discovering the sights of San Sebastian upon two wheels.
Fast Facts
| Population | Approx. 184,000 (city proper) |
| Autonomous Community | País Vasco (Basque Country) |
| People | Donostiarra |
| Languages | Spanish, Basque |
| Location | Northern Basque Country on the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay at the mouth of the Urumea River. |
| Tourist Office | Puerta de Bisagra Tel: (+34) 925 220 843 |