I love Spain. I associate it with fabulous, carefree childhood holidays in the sun with my parents and three siblings. Dad ran his own business, but back then you could completely escape by jumping on a plane. No-one could contact you – you could have been on the moon! And hotel buffets meant unlimited portions of chips, ice cream and fizzy pop. Paradise for the whole family!
Grown-up me still loves the sunny, chilled-out vibe of España but I’m pleased to say that my tastes have matured a lot, so obviously the tapas and vermouth play a big part too. We try to visit a different part of Spain each year for a slightly nuanced experience. Today I’m taking you to San Sebastian up on the northern coast in Basque country.
Originally a fishing village, San Sebastian rose to fashionable prominance in the 19th century when the Spanish royal family came here to escape the Summer heat of Madrid. The crowds followed and the seafront was soon sprouting a host of elegant art nouveau buildings.
The city has a knockout location along two beautiful bays, both with immaculate crescents of sand. Playa de la Concha lies to the west of the centre and Playa de Gros stretches east with rocky outcrop of Monte Orgull jutting out between them. It’s quite simply stunning. But I have to admit that I’m not really here for the scenery. It’s the food…
San Sebastian is a foodie heaven, with more Michelin stars than Paris. But it really excels in the art of the pintxo, the Basque version of tapas. Mostly based upon a small piece of bread or baguette, a pintxo is a towering concoction of delicious flavours held in place with a wooden toothpick.
There are countless pintxo bars in the Parte Vieja, or Old Town, between the bays. The counter will be filled to tipping point with all varieties of snacks – point to what you want and enjoy with a glass of local wine. I guarantee you will make more than one visit to the bar! The trouble with pintxos is that they’re just too tasty.
After a few days of pintxo scoffing, the husband pointed out that he’d had enough of what were basically sandwiches. ‘I have sarnies every day at work’ he complained. I didn’t concur – comparing these succulent Spanish savouries to cheese and Branston on Hovis is pretty much sacrilege if you ask me. However, compromise is the secret to successful travel, so we went to a spectacularly bad Chinese restaurant for a change. My advice is to stick to the local specialty!
Needless to say, we don’t just eat and drink during our trip. We’re lucky enough to get excellent weather in December, so we put on sensible shoes as always and walk for miles. Either bayfront makes for a great stroll, joining the locals for a constitutional and enjoying the lovely views out to sea.
Playa de Concha is longer and busier, overlooking the Isla de Santa Clara 700m out from the beach. It claims to be one of the best city beaches in Europe and who am I to argue? This is the place to be in the Summer months, although it’s not quite sunbathing weather for us. Playa de Gros is the quieter of the two beaches, popular with surfers. Both have wide seafront promenades which make for easy ambling.
Another nice walk, although a lot more strenuous, is the climb up Monte Urgull to the north of the Old Town. The views from the lookout are amazing and there’s a castle and an impressive statue of Christ at the top, so you can take some time to hang out and recover.
Following family tradition, I manage to find a cannon I can pose with up there. Old habits die hard!
The Old Town itself is really enjoyable to wander around, with its narrow streets and myriad bars should you need a breather (we do). The whole area is pedestrianised with some lovely buildings, including the 18th century Basilica de Santa Maria del Coro.
The Centro Romantico to the south is the commercial centre, with a grid of wide avenues and plenty of hotels, shops and restaurants. It’s separated from the Old Town by a wide tree-lined boulevard and has a completely different atmosphere.
This part of the city was carefully planned in the 19th century after the old walls were demolished. This is where you’ll find the City Hall, originally a casino when it opened in 1887, and the gothic Good Shepherd Cathedral.
San Sebastian is spectacular by night when the lovely old buildings such as the City Hall and Cathedral are lit up. If you’re visited Spain you’ll know that the people are night owls, so walking around town late in the evenings is not a problem, it’s busier than lunchtime.
There’s one thing we find a bit unusual – the many mannequins in nativity scenes set up in Gipuzkoa Park in the centre of town. They’re lovingly made and rather sweet, but I’ve never seen anything quite like them before.
Apparently these elaborate depictions of Bethlehem are common in Spain around Christmas time, but San Sebastian is known for putting on a particularly detailed representation. So now we know. Don’t you love the pigs?
Practicalities? We travel to San Sebastian with BA via Bilbao airport and take a bus to the underground bus station in the centre of town. Easy. We stay at the Silken Amara Plaza Hotel which is perfectly acceptable, albeit a bit of a stomp from the Old Town. The husband informs me several times that his choice would have been the historic Hotel de Londres e Inglaterra overlooking Concha Bay. It’s pricey, but on this occasion he’s right and I should have coughed up the extra cash. You live and learn…
For food and drink, the Old Town is where most of the action takes place but we also find a strip of bars and restaurants we like in Reyes Catolicos Kalea behind the cathedral, further south on the trek back to our hotel. Just don’t bother with the Chinese restaurant!
Steph's Travels 