Eat your way through San Sebastian!
- adriennevolk
- Jul 31, 2015
- 2 min read
San Sebastian is a must see for foodies and winos! The culinary and wine scene in this seaside town is unreal.
Getting There:
San Sebastian is a peculiar place to reach. You can fly into three different airports- all within 105km. In my experience, Bilbao (BIO) was the most affordable (105 km away), then Biarritz (47 km away), but San Sebastian (EAS) is the closest (20km away from the city-center). If you can make it happen, fly into EAS. If price matters, save the money and go into BIO. It is very easy to hop on the shuttle bus from Bilbao to San Sebastian's city-center for a small bus fare. Be careful because the bus often does not take credit card- make sure to inquire in advance or have currency with you!
Train service, from major cities like Madrid and Barcelona, can also get you directly to San Sebastian.
The following website was very helpful for me when planning my trip:
Rest your Body:
The Hotel Londres y Ingletera was perfectly situated near the old town and centrally in San Sebastián. The old town is full of bars and restaurants for pintxos- famous northern Spanish finger foods.
Hotel Maria Christina, a Starwood property, is also quite lovely and in a great location.
Culinary Delights:
There are dozens of pintxo bars/restaurants throughout the old town but my personal favorite was Atari (there is a small sister restaurant just a door away from the cathedral that has amazing pintxos, service and 1€ wine). Explore and enjoy the wide variety of flavors!
San Sebastián has 3 Michelin star restaurants (equal to that of Paris), which are all worth checking out. Make sure to have your hotel get you a reservation in advance.
Adventure:
The Rioja region is a two hour drive from San Sebastián. Get a driver and explore the wine region. Marques de Riscal (producing 9.5 million bottles a year) is worth seeing for the sheer quantities they produce. The architect, Frank Gehry, who also designed the Guggenheim in Bilbao, recently renovated the winery and has created a modern masterpiece and worth seeing.
You must stop into the medieval village of Laguardia which was constructed atop a mountain around 500 AD. Walk around the picturesque town and consider climbing to the top of the bell tower for fabulous views of the entire region. Have a glass of wine and take in the history.
San Sebastián is also quite close to the French border. I hired San Sebastian Trips and took a "French Basque Country" tour (as well as his Rioja tour). We stopped in towns along the coast including Jean de Luz and ending in Biarritz for lunch and shopping. The tour guide, Alex, is knowledgable and chauffeurs you for the day. This makes the tour fun and avoids the stress of driving. His tours range in price depending on the number of people and what you choose to do. For three of us, we paid 630€ for two full day tours (about $675). His prices were considerably lower than any of the other tour companies I found in the area.
Hidden Gems & Not to Be Missed: Laguardia, Rioja region for wine tasting, Atari, San Sebastian Trips
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