San Sebastian Attractions

San Sebastián's rise to become a resort of worldwide reputation began in the 19th Century, when Queen María Cristina chose it as her summer residence. Since then it has developed into an international resort where the boulevards, restaurants and cafesstill preserve something of the fashionable atmosphere of the 19th century, attracting visitors from all over the world with a summer program of major events such as the International Film Festival, the Jazz Festival and the Semana Grande in August. San Sebastián has practically no old buildings, since a great fire in 1813 destroyed much of the town.

At the far end of the Playa de Ondarreta is the Royal Tennis Club, from which a funicular and a winding road go to the top of Monte Igueldo (184m/604ft). Here there is a terrace restaurant, an amusement park, an observatory and an outlook tower, from which there are magnificent views of the town, the sea and the Basque mountains.

7km/4.5mi east of the town center Monte Ulía (230m/755ft) rises above the outlying district of Gros. A road winds up to the top of the hill, where there are a garden restaurant and three outlook terraces.

From the Aquarium the Paseo Nuevo encircles Monte Urgull, above the rocky shore, to the mouth of the Río Urumea, affording fine views. The river is spanned by the Puente Zurriola, beyond which a seafront promenade runs east to just before Monte Ulía.

The hub of San Sebastián's life is the tamarisk-shaded Alameda del Boulevard with its shops, restaurants and cafes. At its west end are the fishing harbor, the Club Náutico and the Town Hall, the west front of which overlooks the Bahía de la Concha with its beach.

Below the south side of Monte Urgull, to the west of the old town, is the harbor, from which a boat can be taken to the island of Santa Cristina.

In the southern part of the new town, beyond the busy Calle de San Martín, stands the Neo-Gothic Cathedral of the Buen Pastor, which was begun by Manuel de Echave in 1880 and completed in 1897. Its 75m/246ft high tower is a city landmark.

Several events in San Sebastian are of interest to visitors.

The International Film Festival, held annually in September, has been an annual tradition for over 50 years.

From the west end of the Paseo de la Concha the Miraconcha continues through a tunnel under the Palacio de Miramar, formerly a royal summer residence, to the district of Antiguo with its beautiful Playa de Ondarreta.

To the east of the Paseo de la Concha and the south of the Alameda lies the new town of San Sebastián, with the Avenida de la Libertad, its main street, and the Plaza de Guipúzcoa. On the west side of this square is the Palacio de la Diputación (1885), which has busts of notable figures on the facade. It contains pictures by Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1945), and the library has a large collection of books on Basque literature and history.

To the south of the Town Hall is the Parque Alderdi-Eder (''beautiful place''), from which the Paseo de la Concha encircles the bay to the large bathing beach of La Perla and the royal bathing pavilion, the Caseta Real.

The San Sebastian drum festival is an all night event, with groups of drummers parading through the streets. Festivities begin on the evening of January 19th at the Plaza de la Constitution.

From Oñate a narrow road leads up to the shrine of Arantzazu (alt. 800m/2,625ft), where a shepherd is said to have discovered a figure of the Virgin in 1469. The original 16th century chapel was replaced in 1950 by a modern church decorated by contemporary artists. From the church there are magnificent views of grand mountain scenery.

From Fuenterrabía there is a very attractive road up the bare sandstone ridge of Jaizquibel (584m/1,916ft), with the pilgrimage church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the commandingly situated Hostal Provincial de Jaizquibel (alt. 448m/1,470ft).

From just beyond Zumaya, on the Cantabrian Corniche, C 6317 runs south through the Urola valley, between wooded hills, to Azpeitia (alt. 85m/279ft), a small industrial town with handsome old patrician houses. The Gothic church of San Sebastián, in which St Ignatius of Loyola was baptized, has a fine portico by Ventura Rodríguez (1767).

N 634 continues, with many bends, to the little resort of Deva, at the mouth of the Río Deva. The beautiful 14th century church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, which was restored in the 17th Century, has a fine 13th century doorway and contains Romanesque bas-reliefs, also of the 13th Century.

From Deva N 634 turns inland and comes in 21km/13mi to Eibar (alt. 120m/394ft), where the Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931. During the Civil War the town suffered much destruction. Along with Elgóibar, Eibar is a center for the manufacture of arms and munitions.

From Pasajes the road crosses the Basque hills to the frontier town of Irún, the most notable features of which are the 16th Century church of Nuestra Señora del Juncal, with a Romanesque figure of the Virgin, and the 17th century Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) in the Plaza de San Juan.

C 6322 runs south from Vergara in the direction of Mondragón (Basque Arrasate). Just before that town, at San Prudencio, a road branches off on the left and traverses beautiful scenery to Oñate. This little town, once famous for its university, has preserved a fine university building (16th C.) with a richly sculptured Plateresque facade. The monastery of Bidauerreta has a Renaissance facade. The most notable feature of the 15th century church of San Miguel is the cloister, with a stream flowing through it.

N 634 continues through the broad valley of the Río Oria to Orio (alt. 34m/112ft), a little fishermen's and seamen's town on the fjord-like estuary of the river, with a beach at its mouth.

The motorway and N I cross the Río Urumea to the industrial town of Rentería, on the Río Oyarzun. North of Rentería is the port of Pasajes, at the mouth of the inlet of the same name.

Pasajes is made up of three parts - San Pedro, the commercial port of Ancho (Basque Antxo) and the little port of Pasajes de San Juan (Basque Pasaia Donibane) which is situated in a beautiful land-locked bay and which consists of a single street. Lafayette sailed from here in 1777 to aid the American revolutionaries. Victor Hugo lived in the village for some time in 1843.

Leave San Sebastián on N I, heading south, and after passing through the Antiguo district turn right into N 634, which runs west through the Basque uplands to Usúrbil (alt. 45m/148ft), with a handsome church and the old mansion of the Soroa family.

From Zumárraga C 6322 winds its way up to the Puerto de Descarga (487m/1,598ft), from which there are fine views, and then runs down to Vergara (alt. 145m/476ft), at the junction of the Río Anzuola with the Río Deva. The church of San Pedro has a figure of Christ by Montañés (1657). Also of interest is the 16th century Palacio Jaúregui with its very individual facade.

After passing through Azcoitia (alt. 130m/427ft), an old market town in a beautiful situation, the road continues on a winding course to Zumárraga (alt. 357m/1,171ft), on the right bank of the Río Urola, with a road and railroad junction and the birthplace of Miguel López de Legazpi, conqueror of the Philippines, who is commemorated by a monument erected in 1897.