Things to do in Donostia-San Sebastian

San Sebastián is built around a bay shaped like a shell, with a hill at each end. British and Portuguese troops burned the town in 1813. What stands now went up after that, much of it for a royal court that came to bathe.

The bay, the hills and the beaches

Three beaches sit inside the city. The two hills are climbed for the view, and one of them has kept an old fairground on top.

• La Concha. The main beach, with an island offshore and a wrought-iron railing that became the city's badge.
• Monte Igueldo. Reached by a funicular running since 1912, with a small amusement park at the summit.
• Monte Urgull. The old fortified hill over the harbour, topped by a statue of Christ.
• Peine del Viento. Three steel combs bolted into the rocks at the western end, set there by Eduardo Chillida in 1977.
• Zurriola. The surf beach on the far side of the river, next to the Kursaal cubes.

Eating standing up

Pintxos are the local form of tapas and the reason many people come. Counters in the old town are covered in them. The method is to eat one thing, drink a small glass and move to the next bar.

The city holds around seventeen Michelin stars for 190,000 people. That density is unusual. It coexists with bars charging four euros for bread with an anchovy on it.

Practical

• It rains. This is the Atlantic coast, not the Mediterranean. Reckon on drizzle in any month, heaviest from November to January, and summers around 23C.
• Bar etiquette. Order one pintxo at a time and tell the barman what you had when you leave. Nobody writes anything down.
• What is sold here. Guided tours are thin on the ground. Self-guided walking routes and puzzle trails through the old town cost a few euros and fill the gap.
• Cider houses. From January to April the sagardotegis outside town open their barrels, and you catch the stream in a glass.
• September. The film festival has run since 1953 and takes every room in the city.
• Prices. A pintxo is three to four euros, a glass of txakoli about two and a half.
• Trips out. Bilbao and the Guggenheim are an hour west, and the Rioja Alavesa vineyards an hour south.