Donostia - San Sebastian is the capital of the province of Guipuzcoa and is located 20 kilometers from the French border.
Its landscape, dominated by the Bay of La Concha, its "belle epoque" architecture, its gastronomy and the cultural events held here, such as the "International Film Festival", have given this city great fame, despite its small size.
This fame comes from long ago, beginning after the death of King Alfonso XII, in 1885, when his widow, Queen Regent Maria Cristina, moved the court to San Sebastian every summer. For this purpose, the Miramar Palace was built as a summer residence for the royal family.
Such an illustrious vacationer attracted other notables of the time, and this, together with the construction of the Casino in 1887, made San Sebastian become an exclusive summer resort for nobles and millionaires at the end of the 19th century.
During this period, numerous buildings were constructed and an important urban reform was carried out, which is why the buildings of this period are the most remarkable in the city, apart from the oldest ones that we find in the Old Part.
In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, San Sebastian became the most cosmopolitan city in Europe. In its Casino, famous people such as Mata Hari, Leon Trotsky, Maurice Ravel, Romanones, Pastora Imperio, as well as numerous bullfighters and bankers will meet.
These were the times of the "Belle Époque" and the French operetta company, Russian ballets, opera singers and many other famous artists performed in San Sebastian.
Tourist visit
Next to Ondarreta beach, and continuing to the end of the promenade that borders the bay, you will come to the Peine del Viento, a sculptural ensemble created by Eduardo Chillida.
Advancing along the promenade of La Concha to the west, is the Miramar Palace, built in English style as a summer residence of the Spanish Royal House. The palace gardens, now open to the public, offer spectacular views of the Bay, as does the early 20th century amusement park on Mount Igueldo.
Just at the other end of the Bay and below Mount Urgull we find the pier and the fishing district. Here we can visit the Aquarium, in whose auditorium the Txikiziklo Submarino, one of the most successful activities of CIMASUB, takes place.
In the center of the city, in the so-called "Romantic Area" of the belle époque, we find pedestrian streets along the river. Strolling through this area we pass numerous monuments such as the Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa (a building inspired by the Paris Opera), the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the Post Office, the Koldo Mitxelena Cultural Center and the old Casino (now the City Hall).
Next to the mouth of the river are the Victoria Eugenia Theater and the Hotel María Cristina.
Crossing the river on the Maria Cristina Bridge, the most attractive bridge in the city, are the Estación del Norte and the French-style villas on the river's edge.
Beaches
The city has three urban beaches: Ondarreta, La Concha and Zurriola, the first two located in the Bay of La Concha and the third on the other side of the Urumea River.
La Concha Beach has been an elegant summer destination since the 19th century. On the beach are the La Perla spa, the old Casa Real de Baños and the Real Club Nautico, buildings that, together with the famous railing, the elegant lampposts, two large clocks from the beginning of the century and the Miramar Palace, give this cosmopolitan and exclusive atmosphere for which San Sebastian is famous.
Ondarreta Beach is located between the Miramar Palace and Mount Igueldo. It is the smallest of the three beaches and somewhat more informal than La Concha. It is surrounded by a promenade and gardens.
In the center of the bay, 500 meters in front of Ondarreta, is the Island of Santa Clara, with a small beach that can be accessed by boat in the summer months.
Zurriola Beach is the beach most open to the sea and with the strongest waves, so it is the most frequented by young people and surfers. Nudism is allowed on this beach.
Festivals and culture
The San Sebastian International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the world. It is held every year in mid-September, bringing to the city the most outstanding figures of the celluloid.
Over the last 55 years, the Festival has hosted stars such as Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Luis Buñuel, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Francis Ford Coppola, Anthony Hopkins, Robert De Niro, Bernardo Bertolucci and Woody Allen.
Many of those mentioned, including Woody Allen, received the Donostia Award, the festival's annual prize in recognition of their film careers.
The San Sebastian Jazz Festival, held in July, is one of the main jazz festivals in Europe and the oldest in Spain.
The Quincena Musical of San Sebastian, started in 1939, is the oldest classical music festival in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. It is held in August and during the festival nearly a hundred concerts are offered in different venues in San Sebastian.
The International Underwater Film Series CIMASUB is the longest-running underwater film festival on the planet and has been held every November since 1975 at the Principal Theater located in the Old Part of San Sebastian. It brings together the best professionals of the underwater image.
These shows, along with a long list of other festivals and cultural events, make San Sebastian a privileged destination for lovers of culture and glamour.
Gastronomy
Another of San Sebastian's attractions is its gastronomy. It is said that San Sebastian is the city in the world with the highest number of Michelin stars per inhabitant. There are currently four restaurants that hold this award.
However, it is not only these restaurants that delight the palate, but at a much more modest price we can taste real delicacies by visiting the "pintxos" bars. These miniature works of culinary art are so varied that we could spend weeks enjoying an exquisite gastronomic sample without repeating a dish. The bars of the Parte Vieja are very popular for this.
It is worth mentioning the gastronomic societies: they are an important axis of social life in Donostia / San Sebastián, in which members meet in a local enabled with kitchen for lunch or dinner, however, often go far beyond enabling a meeting space for its members and organize cultural activities of depth in the social and leisure life of the city. Attending a gastronomic society for lunch or dinner is a full-fledged immersion in the culture of San Sebastian.
An example of this is the Basque Gastronomy Guild where, every year, the Cimasub celebrates its closing party together with those who visit the event.
20.3% of the urban core of Donostia are green spaces.
We have 21m2 of green spaces per inhabitant (double the average value recommended by the WHO).
We have 25 unique parks and more than 250,000 trees.
27.5% of our surface area is protected for fauna and as an area of geological interest.
You can enjoy 80 km of cycling routes.
Donostia is one of the best cities for cycling (OCU).
Walking distances between the main points of the city are within a radius of about 15-20 minutes on a flat surface.
The quality of the tap water is excellent, according to the sanitary qualification.
The quality of the bathing water at the three beaches is monitored weekly and has maintained the official sanitary rating of "excellent" for more than 15 years.
Air quality has been rated "good" or "very good" for 329 days in the last year (according to the European Air Quality Index).
San Sebastian is a silent city (only 11% of the population is exposed to noise levels higher than those recommended by the WHO).
The percentage of selective collection of urban waste is 41%.
More than 5,000 tons/year of organic waste are collected for composting.
Donostia - San Sebastian is the capital of the province of Guipuzcoa and is located 20 kilometers from the French border.
Its landscape, dominated by the Bay of La Concha, its "belle epoque" architecture, its gastronomy and the cultural events held here, such as the "International Film Festival", have given this city great fame, despite its small size.
This fame comes from long ago, beginning after the death of King Alfonso XII, in 1885, when his widow, Queen Regent Maria Cristina, moved the court to San Sebastian every summer. For this purpose, the Miramar Palace was built as a summer residence for the royal family.
Such an illustrious vacationer attracted other notables of the time, and this, together with the construction of the Casino in 1887, made San Sebastian become an exclusive summer resort for nobles and millionaires at the end of the 19th century.
During this period, numerous buildings were constructed and an important urban reform was carried out, which is why the buildings of this period are the most remarkable in the city, apart from the oldest ones that we find in the Old Part.
In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, San Sebastian became the most cosmopolitan city in Europe. In its Casino, famous people such as Mata Hari, Leon Trotsky, Maurice Ravel, Romanones, Pastora Imperio, as well as numerous bullfighters and bankers will meet.
These were the times of the "Belle Époque" and the French operetta company, Russian ballets, opera singers and many other famous artists performed in San Sebastian.
Tourist visit
Next to Ondarreta beach, and continuing to the end of the promenade that borders the bay, you will come to the Peine del Viento, a sculptural ensemble created by Eduardo Chillida.
Advancing along the promenade of La Concha to the west, is the Miramar Palace, built in English style as a summer residence of the Spanish Royal House. The palace gardens, now open to the public, offer spectacular views of the Bay, as does the early 20th century amusement park on Mount Igueldo.
Just at the other end of the Bay and below Mount Urgull we find the pier and the fishing district. Here we can visit the Aquarium, in whose auditorium the Txikiziklo Submarino, one of the most successful activities of CIMASUB, takes place.
In the center of the city, in the so-called "Romantic Area" of the belle époque, we find pedestrian streets along the river. Strolling through this area we pass numerous monuments such as the Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa (a building inspired by the Paris Opera), the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the Post Office, the Koldo Mitxelena Cultural Center and the old Casino (now the City Hall).
Next to the mouth of the river are the Victoria Eugenia Theater and the Hotel María Cristina.
Crossing the river on the Maria Cristina Bridge, the most attractive bridge in the city, are the Estación del Norte and the French-style villas on the river's edge.
Beaches
The city has three urban beaches: Ondarreta, La Concha and Zurriola, the first two located in the Bay of La Concha and the third on the other side of the Urumea River.
La Concha Beach has been an elegant summer destination since the 19th century. On the beach are the La Perla spa, the old Casa Real de Baños and the Real Club Nautico, buildings that, together with the famous railing, the elegant lampposts, two large clocks from the beginning of the century and the Miramar Palace, give this cosmopolitan and exclusive atmosphere for which San Sebastian is famous.
Ondarreta Beach is located between the Miramar Palace and Mount Igueldo. It is the smallest of the three beaches and somewhat more informal than La Concha. It is surrounded by a promenade and gardens.
In the center of the bay, 500 meters in front of Ondarreta, is the Island of Santa Clara, with a small beach that can be accessed by boat in the summer months.
Zurriola Beach is the beach most open to the sea and with the strongest waves, so it is the most frequented by young people and surfers. Nudism is allowed on this beach.
Festivals and culture
The San Sebastian International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the world. It is held every year in mid-September, bringing to the city the most outstanding figures of the celluloid.
Over the last 55 years, the Festival has hosted stars such as Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Luis Buñuel, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Francis Ford Coppola, Anthony Hopkins, Robert De Niro, Bernardo Bertolucci and Woody Allen.
Many of those mentioned, including Woody Allen, received the Donostia Award, the festival's annual prize in recognition of their film careers.
The San Sebastian Jazz Festival, held in July, is one of the main jazz festivals in Europe and the oldest in Spain.
The Quincena Musical of San Sebastian, started in 1939, is the oldest classical music festival in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. It is held in August and during the festival nearly a hundred concerts are offered in different venues in San Sebastian.
The International Underwater Film Series CIMASUB is the longest-running underwater film festival on the planet and has been held every November since 1975 at the Principal Theater located in the Old Part of San Sebastian. It brings together the best professionals of the underwater image.
These shows, along with a long list of other festivals and cultural events, make San Sebastian a privileged destination for lovers of culture and glamour.
Gastronomy
Another of San Sebastian's attractions is its gastronomy. It is said that San Sebastian is the city in the world with the highest number of Michelin stars per inhabitant. There are currently four restaurants that hold this award.
However, it is not only these restaurants that delight the palate, but at a much more modest price we can taste real delicacies by visiting the "pintxos" bars. These miniature works of culinary art are so varied that we could spend weeks enjoying an exquisite gastronomic sample without repeating a dish. The bars of the Parte Vieja are very popular for this.
It is worth mentioning the gastronomic societies: they are an important axis of social life in Donostia / San Sebastián, in which members meet in a local enabled with kitchen for lunch or dinner, however, often go far beyond enabling a meeting space for its members and organize cultural activities of depth in the social and leisure life of the city. Attending a gastronomic society for lunch or dinner is a full-fledged immersion in the culture of San Sebastian.
An example of this is the Basque Gastronomy Guild where, every year, the Cimasub celebrates its closing party together with those who visit the event.
20.3% of the urban core of Donostia are green spaces.
We have 21m2 of green spaces per inhabitant (double the average value recommended by the WHO).
We have 25 unique parks and more than 250,000 trees.
27.5% of our surface area is protected for fauna and as an area of geological interest.
You can enjoy 80 km of cycling routes.
Donostia is one of the best cities for cycling (OCU).
Walking distances between the main points of the city are within a radius of about 15-20 minutes on a flat surface.
The quality of the tap water is excellent, according to the sanitary qualification.
The quality of the bathing water at the three beaches is monitored weekly and has maintained the official sanitary rating of "excellent" for more than 15 years.
Air quality has been rated "good" or "very good" for 329 days in the last year (according to the European Air Quality Index).
San Sebastian is a silent city (only 11% of the population is exposed to noise levels higher than those recommended by the WHO).
The percentage of selective collection of urban waste is 41%.
More than 5,000 tons/year of organic waste are collected for composting.