San Sebastian
Basque Coastal City On The Shell Shaped Bay Of La Concha, A Nineteenth Century Royal Summer Resort, With One Of The Highest Concentrations Of Starred Restaurants Per Head Of Population In The World · San Sebastian, Basque Country
A shell-shaped bay with a belle epoque town wrapped around it, and per head of population one of the densest concentrations of starred restaurants anywhere in the world. San Sebastian became fashionable when the Spanish court started summering here in the nineteenth century, which is why a small Basque fishing port has grand hotels, a formal promenade and wrought-iron balustrades along the sand. La Concha is the beach and it is genuinely one of the best urban beaches in Europe, enclosed almost completely by headlands with an island in the mouth. But the food is why most people come, and the everyday version matters more than the famous restaurants: in the old town, bars put out counters covered in pintxos and you move between them, eating one or two at each. Do that rather than sitting down anywhere for three hours. It rains a great deal, in August as much as in November, and the town is beautiful in rain, which is just as well, because you will see it that way at least once.
Alderdi Eder, San Sebastian, Basque Country, 20003, Spain
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED, and the town has none: the beaches, the promenade and Monte Urgull are public and open. What has a schedule is the eating, and it is later than most visitors expect: pintxos bars fill from about eight in the evening, many close in the afternoon between services, and Monday is the commonest closing day for the better ones. The MONTE IGUELDO FUNICULAR keeps limited hours with a reduced winter timetable. Santa Clara boats are summer only.