After crossing the Col d'Orio the road descends to Zarauz, a little town on the flat and sandy coast, at the west end of a plain surrounded by hills; it was a summer residence of Queen Isabella II in the 19th century. With its long and beautiful beach it is still a popular holiday resort. In the 16th Century Zarauz was famed for its shipyards;
among the ships built here was the "Victoria", in which Juan Sebastián Elcano, the companion of Magellan, carried out the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519-22. In the picturesque streets of the town are a number of handsome old buildings, including the 18th century Casa Consistorial (Town Hall), the 15th Century Palacio del Marqués de Narros, with a beautiful park, and the massive Torre Lucea (15th C.).