San Sebastian Itinerary: 8 Best Things To Do

With the gorgeous azure waters of a curved bay at its centre, streets full of belle époque style architecture and a reputation for amazing food, you won’t be short of things to include in your San Sebastian itinerary. 

The combination of beach and city sights make San Sebastian ideal for a weekend away.  Its compact size makes it one of the best places to visit in Spain for first-timers.  Yet the variety of things to do means it’s also worth visiting for more experienced travellers. 

From taking a San Sebastian pintxos tour to feeling the wind in your hair on an old-fashioned rollercoaster, here are eight great ideas for how to have fun whilst you’re there.

San Sebastian Itinerary

1. Walk San Sebastian

First up on your itinerary must be to walk San Sebastian. The city is a compact size, ideal for a few hours’ walking tour.  Start off at Monte Urgull, to the east of the bay.  It’s deceptively steep.  Here you can visit the Cementerio de los Ingleses and stumble across old fortress walls and canons at Santiago bateria. You might also fit in a visit to the naval museum, Museo Marítimo Vasco.  Next, drop down to explore the narrow streets of San Sebastian Old Town (or parte vieja, as it’s known in Spanish). Don’t miss Constitución Plaza. You can still see the old box numbers on the balconies from its former incarnation as a bull ring.

Alternative options for walks on your San Sebastian itinerary would be to take in one of the city parks, like Cristina Enea, which houses the Cristina Enea Fundazioa. Check out the majestic peacocks strolling about the place.   Or you could visit Parque de Aiete, a large open space with a waterfall and grotto, a mansion and some interesting outdoor art installations.

2. Discover the Secrets of Santa Clara Island

As you walk around the city you may be intrigued by the island in the middle of the bay. A visit should definitely be part of your San Sebastian itinerary.  Santa Clara Island is only around 400 metres from Ondarreta beach and is easily reachable by kayak and paddleboard.  You could even join the locals and swim there if you’re up for the challenge.  Kayak and stand up paddleboard rental is available from Alo Kayak at San Sebastian’s Ondarreta beach. The journey takes about 15 minutes each way.  Alo Kayak closes at 1 pm from October to the end of May and at 8 pm in the summer months.  Once you get to the island, take a walk up to the lighthouse or stop for a rest on San Sebastian’s fourth beach before heading back.

3. Bike San Sebastian

San Sebastian is a great city for getting active in and taking your own bike tour is a wonderful way to do it.  The main beach, La Concha, is shaped like a large wine glass and offers the perfect opportunity to feel the wind in your hair as you cycle the esplanade from one end to the other.  It’s like a little piece of Rio de Janerio right here in Europe.  Stop off at Palacio Miramar, an English style former summer residence of the Queen of Spain. Admire the beautifully kept gardens located right in front of the beach.

For an easy trip, pick up a Dbizi city bike (similar to Santander bikes in London).  Complete registration in advance at the Dbizi website, or on the PBSC app, add credit, find an available bike using the app and away you go.  The electric bikes make it super quick to get around this cycle-friendly city. There are loads of cycle lanes for safer cycling.  

4. Surf San Sebastian

Given that the weather in San Sebastian is not that different from the UK for much of the year, surfing might not be the first thing that comes to mind when visiting.  So it may surprise you that there’s actually a keen surfing community here.  To the east of the main bay is the San Sebastian surf beach, la Zurriola. You’ll find plenty of surf enthusiasts, from early in the morning to sundown.  Waves are big enough to attract everyone from beginners to experienced surfers. 

If you’ve always wanted to have a go, join up with a San Sebastian surf school and head on out.  The sea here is pretty cold but once wetsuited up you won’t notice it. Mi Amor took his first lesson with a friend of ours. He didn’t manage to get properly upright on the board but had loads of fun trying.  It’s not often that you get the chance to surf on a city break so embrace the unusual. What could be more fun than a bit of extreme sport followed by chilling out in the evening with pintxos and a walk around San Sebastian Old Town. 

5. Go on a San Sebastian Pintxos Tour

San Sebastian food is world famous. So if you’re in town you have to include pintxo bars on your itinerary.  Huge displays of complicated and artful mini food mountains, held together with cocktail sticks, adorn many bars throughout the city.  Considered by some to be more gastronomically complex than their well-known cousin, tapas, these morsels of food loveliness originated here.

There are a range of San Sebastian pintxo tours available that you can join, or be your own guide and do it independently. Don’t settle into one place for the night. Instead, make like a local and order one or two pintxos in each bar then move on to the next.   This makes it a lively activity and you get to sample little pieces of food heaven from a bunch of different places.  It’s a brilliant way to try things you might not usually eat.  It’s also one of the great things to do in San Sebastian in the rain.

To accompany your pintxos there’s typically very cheap and decent wine on offer, we’re talking a couple of euros a glass.  Or you could opt for another local delight, Kalimotxo, which consists of red wine and Coke.   Hmm, no, me neither.

If you’re from the UK you might be surprised by the local payment custom.  The bar bill is settled when you leave, not as you consume, and often by counting up the number of cocktail sticks left on your plate.  Trust is a huge part of this so get in the habit and go with the laid-back flow.  But just don’t call them tapas. 

6. Explore Your Arty Side

Perched at the end of the promontory, west of Ondarreta beach, you’ll find Haizearen Orrazia/El Peine del Viento (The wind comb).  These three steel sculptures, by Spanish/Basque artist Eduardo Chillida, stick out of the rocks, like giant claws reaching out to each other and clambering towards the sea.  Directly before the sculptures, there are several mysterious holes in the ground.  Try to find them and let your playful side out, dodging the water as it spurts out of the floor whilst the sea crashes in below.  If you’re keen to see more, why not go on an art hunt to find the other works by Chillida dotted around the city:

• Homenaje a Fleming – to the west of La Concha, on the beach front, near to the road tunnel entrance.
• Torso Homenaje a Pedro Arana – at Monte Urgull, near the Cementerio de los Ingleses.
• Abrazo – in front of the Palacio Miramar, on the walkway that sticks out between Ondarreta and La Concha beaches.

If you fancy going a little further out, visit the Chillida-Leku Museum and sculpture park  at Hernani, 20 minutes by bus outside of the centre of San Sebastian.  Discover over 40 sculptures set in the natural surroundings of a country house.  Bus G2 from Okendo Plaza stops outside the museum, at the stop helpfully named Chillida-Leku.  

7. Visit a Vintage Theme Park With a View

A trip to Monte Igueldo is one of the more unusual things to do in San Sebastian. In fact, the journey to this old-fashioned theme park is all part of the fun.  Jump on the funicular Monte Igueldo, in operation since 1912, and slowly ascend the mountainside up to the park entrance. Tickets cost less than €4 for a round trip.

Once at the summit, enjoy typical theme park fayre of ice creams and too many sweets. Although you might want to leave that until after you’ve had a go on the wooden rollercoaster, which despite being vintage still manages to be scary. 

My favourite attraction is El Rio Misterioso, a log flume with stunning views out across the bay.  Tickets are reasonably priced, at around €2-3 per attraction, pay as you go.  It’s a great way to spend a few hours and re-live childhood memories.  Although if you don’t fancy the rides, do take a drink in the bar at the Hotel Mecure Monte Igueldo. Enjoy gazing out of the huge windows across the sea.  The view of the coast is spectacular and if you’re in need of inspiration for your Instagram feed, check out my article on Instagram captions and quotes for Spain.

8. Take a Day Trip From San Sebastian

Once you’ve finished having fun in the city centre why not take a day trip from San Sebastian to visit nearby Hondarribia.  This cute town on the border with France is full of houses with brightly painted balconies, in the Barrio de la Marina area.  The historic centre, around Arma Plaza, has several restaurants and there are plenty of places to stop for pintxos.  Much as I love pintxos, in fact, one of my favourite things to do in Hondarribia is to go down by the water’s edge and look across to France.  There’s something fascinating about being stood in one country whilst looking over at another.  To get here take the E21 bus from the San Sebastian Donostia bus station (“Donostiako Autobus Geltokia”), to Sabin Arana in Hondarribia. Journey time is approx. 30 minutes.

San Sebastian Itinerary Summary

Whether you only have one day or are lucky enough to have three days in San Sebastian, you should be able to fit in many of the activities mentioned. As can be seen from the flights, you can also easily plan your itinerary to include a day trip from San Sebastian to Biarritz or Bilbao. In fact, my original plan was to do both. However, a cancelled flight meant I spent three days enjoying the insides of Stansted and Manchester airports rather than Bilbao.  So the wonderful Bilbao Guggenheim Museum and the rest of the Basque Country will just have to wait until next time.

For help working out what to pack on your break to San Sebastian, check out my ultimate city trip packing list.

What other great things to do have you found in San Sebastian? Add your recommendations to add to this San Sebastian itinerary in the comments.

If you’re looking for more weekend break inspiration check out these articles:

• A Couples Weekend in Toulouse.
• 2 day Madrid Itinerary or 3 day Madrid Itinerary.
• Or for other fun activities, consider Places To Go In Malta & Gozo: 5 Wonderful Swimming Spots.