San Sebastián

San Sebastián in two days, from La Concha to the Parte Vieja

Two days give you San Sebastián's essentials: La Concha, the Peine del Viento, Monte Igeldo and a pintxo crawl in the Parte Vieja on the first, then Monte Urgull, the San Telmo Museum and the surf beach at Zurriola in Gros on the second. Add a third for Bilbao or Hendaye.

Start with an early walk along the La Concha promenade and its white railings to Ondarreta, then on to the Peine del Viento, Eduardo Chillida's iron sculptures clamped to the rocks at the end of the bay. Ride the funicular up Monte Igeldo for the classic view, with Santa Clara island sitting in the middle of the water. Spend the afternoon on the beach, and at dusk head into the Parte Vieja for a pintxo crawl through the lanes around Plaza de la Constitución, one bite and one drink per bar.

On day two, climb Monte Urgull from the old town through the woods to the Castillo de la Mota, then come down to the San Telmo Museum for Basque history and art in a 16th-century convent. After lunch, cross the Urumea to Gros for a surf lesson or a swim at Zurriola, and walk out past the glass cubes of the Kursaal along the seafront. Finish with a sit-down dinner of grilled txuleta. A third day could go to Bilbao, about an hour by bus, or over the border to Hendaye on the Euskotren.

Pintxos, cider houses and txakoli in San Sebastián

Eat pintxos in the Parte Vieja, the gilda skewer that was first made in the city, a grilled txuleta for a sit-down dinner and the burnt-topped Basque cheesecake from La Viña, then drink txakoli, the sharp coastal white. From January to April, the cider houses around Astigarraga add a txotx meal.

The bar counters of the Parte Vieja are loaded with pintxos at lunchtime and again in the evening, and the routine is simple: point at a cold bite or order a hot one from the blackboard, drink a small glass of wine or a zurito of beer, pay and move on. Staff trust you to say what you ate. Signature bites include the gilda, a skewer of olive, anchovy and pickled guindilla chilli first made in the city, and a wedge of tortilla de patatas, often still runny in the middle. Gros, across the river, has a younger and slightly more local bar scene.

Sit-down meals lean on the grill: txuleta, a thick beef chop charred outside and rare within, and whole fish such as turbot. The baked, burnt-topped Basque cheesecake made famous by La Viña in the old town is now copied around the world. From January to April, the cider houses in the hills around Astigarraga open for the txotx season, when diners leave the table to catch cider straight from the barrel between courses of salt-cod omelette and steak.

To drink, order txakoli, a sharp, lightly sparkling white from the coast around Getaria, poured from a height. Young locals favour kalimotxo, red wine mixed half and half with cola.

Beach weather, rainy months and the drumming festivals of Donostia

June to September brings San Sebastián's best beach weather, with summer highs of 25°C to 26°C, though rain falls in every month and even August can turn grey. November to March suits people who come to eat, and festival dates from January's Tamborrada to September's film festival fill hotels fast.

The Atlantic sets the rhythm here. Rain falls in every month, from about 92 mm in July to 227 mm in November, the wettest, so a waterproof is never optional. Temperatures stay mild all year: winter days around 13°C to 14°C, summer highs of 25°C to 26°C and nights that seldom approach freezing. June to September brings the best beach weather, but even August can produce a grey day.

The calendar is packed. On 20 January the Tamborrada fills the city with drummers for 24 hours, midnight to midnight, as companies dressed as cooks and soldiers march through the streets. July brings Jazzaldia, the jazz festival, with free concerts on stages along the seafront. Mid-August is Semana Grande, with an international fireworks contest over the bay each night. In early September, rowing crews race traditional boats across the bay for the Bandera de la Concha, and later that month the international film festival takes over the Kursaal and the Victoria Eugenia theatre.

Hotels fill and prices rise for all of these, so book early. The quiet months, from November to March, suit people who come to eat, and the cider houses open their doors from January.