Donostia-San Sebastian and its Concha

Sea & Viewpoints

As I mentioned in the article about Bilbao, I reached San Sebastian during a small road trip that started from Bilbao, where Madrid was the final destination.
We (me and my husband) left Bilbao early in the morning and drove directly to Getaria, a small and super nice village on the Basque Coast, famous for the Balenciaga Museum.
We were not so lucky, because that morning that was hustle and bustle due to an Iron-man competition that would start in a couple of hours.
So we made a quick walking tour, reaching the top of the village, and go back to our rented car to escape from the traffic stop.

Basing on what I’ve seen, Getaria is worth a stop if you’re traveling in the Basque coast. Here some photos that were taken there, with the typical morning sky of the Bay of Biscay.

After this stop, we made it to San Sebastian. This touristic town surely has that je ne sais quoi that makes it full of charm, reminding in a certain way to some French coastal cities. Indeed, it has been occupied by France for some years at the beginning of 1800. Anyway, it is filled with wonderful ancient buildings, and it has a very enjoyable seaside walk that runs for the entire length of the main beach of the city, “La Concha”.

We spent the day between the 3 main attractions (in my personal opinion): the Aquarium, Urgull and Monte Igueldo.

The Aquarium has a high number of visitors each day, so be prepared to make a little bit of queue to enter. Once you’re in, you can try the sensation to walk under the sharks, thanks to the surprising glass tunnel that is the main attraction of this place.

Directly from the Aquarium, you can make the climb to Monte Urgull, where there is also an ancient fort on top, to have a spectacular view of San Sebastian.

Returning from the climb, before reaching the last stop, we crossed on our path a kind of “dessert festival” where we indulged a little bit, tasting some delicious dessert served directly from the market stalls. Heaven on earth.

Last stop in Donostia: Monte Igueldo. This is another hill on the opposite side of La Concha. You can reach the top with a very funny ride on the old (but perfectly working) funicular, and there you will find an amusement park – also this quite old-style. Also if you are not interested in carillons, I suggest visiting this place for the breathtaking view (in my opinion even better than from Urgull) and to try the funicular experience.