Kursaal Conference Centre & Miramar Palace

Art in open spaces, accessible to all, is one of the most representative aspects of San Sebastián. A stroll through the city will permit you to admire the work of great artists like Eduardo Chillida and Jorge Oteiza, compositions that blend with the urban backdrop to establish profound dialogue with their natural surroundings.

San Sebastián’s beaches are one of the greatest summer attractions. Each one has its own personality: the Concha, the best known, and Ondarreta, a family favourite, make up the Concha Bay. The Zurriola, largely taken to by youngsters and surf-lovers, and the little stretch of sand on Santa Clara Island round off the beaches in the group organised under in a single Environmental Management System and offer swimmers a full range of services.

Gastronomy is an art and a feature that sets San Sebastián apart. Our chefs lovingly tend their recipes and products to make an art of gastronomy. That's what has earned us our widespread fame; the quality of our cuisine is well known right to the other side of the earth. RESTAURANTS WITH MOST MICHELIN STARS IN SAN SEBASTIÁN Akelarre *** Arzak *** Martín Berasategui *** Mugaritz ** In fact, of the seven 3-Michelin star (the highest there is) restaurants in Spain, three are here in our city, home to another great selection of establishments holding a total of 16 Michelin stars where you can enjoy the excellent fare dished up by the city’s culinary artists. San Sebastián is [one of the cities in the world to hold the highest number of Michelin stars per square metre (only beaten by Kyoto in Japan, and well ahead of cities like Paris and Lyon).

Almost a century old, but younger than ever since it was revamped in 2008, the San Sebastián Aquarium can boast itself to be one of the most modern oceanographic museums in Europe. The Aquarium has made the dreams of the smallest among us come true, with its specimens of "Nemo”, the famous fish from the film of the same name. Adults too are delighted to vastly improve their knowledge of the marine environment. Making your way through the 360º acrylic tunnel suspended in the water, surrounded by huge sharks and enormous manta rays, or touching live fish in the touch tank are some of the most entertaining activities available at the museum.

A region so well known for its food just has to have the perfect accompaniment to wash down a meal. Cider is one of the locally-produced beverages par excellence: it is a seasonal produce made with the fruit of our apple trees using traditional methods. The cider houses are mainly found in the north-east of the province of Gipuzkoa; and more specifically in the towns of Astigarraga, Hernani, Urnieta and Usurbil. Although today most cider houses are heated and food is eaten sitting on benches at long tables (sharing tables with other people is the norm), there are still a number of places you'd be wise to visit with warm clothes and prepared to eat standing up, in the traditional way. CIDER GUIDE Cider houses The cider season runs from the second fortnight in January until the end of April (although bottled cider is available all year round). Traditionally, the cider houses would offer allow buyers to taste cider from the different barrels, or kupelas, before choosing the one they liked best. To fend off the effects of drinking on an empty stomach, clients would bring along terracotta dishes containing some kind of prepared food, plus beef rib chops (txuleta) to barbecue at the cider house itself. Hence the origin of today’s txotx ritual and the cider house menu: salt cod in an omelette or fried with green peppers, and a charcoal-grilled beef rib chop, with Idiazabal cheese, quince jelly and walnuts for dessert; all washed down with the cider taken in on the numerous trips to the kupelas to the cry of txotx!

ALBAOLA THE SEA FACTORY OF THE BASQUES is located at the entrance of the Bay of Pasaia (Gipuzkoa), close to the ancient steam dredger Jazikibel and situated in a renovated shipyard. In this magical and hidden place the ship writing carpenters repair and build boats with high historic and ethnographic value. Albaola factory evokes many sea odysseys lived by the Basque people along the New World trough the whale hunters and their vessels. More than a museum, this factory is an imaginative and open space where you can learn, thanks to a dynamic process, the sea history of the Basques watching the public construction of the replica of one of its most famous ships: XVIth century whale ship SAN JUAN. You can visit the whaling ship construction process here, in the Basque sea factory, it's dynamic and it develops over time to the rhythm of its constructive stages inside a big shed where the big structure pieces are finally assembled. All this process is set in a permanent exhibition based on the whaling and the sea activity of the Basques during the 16th century.

Hondarribia is a place to forget stress and allow time to drift gently by, sitting outside in the Plaza de Armas, right in the heart of the old quarter, or in San Pedro Street in the Marina neighbourhood. It is a place to watch the comings and goings of every day life whilst having a few nibbles or feeling the warmth of the sun. It is an invitation to forget time and stroll around the old quarter to enjoy the bars with their tables and chairs out on the street, or quiet corners that tell us something about the town’s past. It is a time to take off your watch and stroll around the town, full of the taste of the coast or wander through its medieval streets and listen to the town’s history through the silence of its walls. A historical treasure The walls of Honadarribia which it is thought were built by the Visigoth King Wamba have witnessed the presence amongst others of Henry V of Castille, Philip the Beautiful, Juana the Mad, Charles V, Louis XIV of France, Princess Maria Teresa, Phillip V, Fernando VII and Napoleon.

The Balenciaga Museum, dedicated to the master couturier from Getaria, is housed in a newly built annex to the Palacio Aldamar. The Palacio, standing on a hill above Getaria, was the former residence of the Marquises of Casa Torre, grandparents to Queen Fabiola of Belgium and mentors to Balenciaga in the early years of his career. The Museum provides guided tours of both the Collection Exhibition and the Seasonal Exhibitions which are delivered by qualified tour guides. Advanced booking is essential.

Txakolí wine, however, is above all produced in the coastal towns of Getaria and Zarautz, both of which fall within the denomination of origin: Getariako Txakolína. Txakolí is a young, fruity white wine with moderate alcohol content (9.5º-11.5º). Pale yellow in colour, with intense citrus, herb and flower aromas, fresh, slightly acidic and very easy to drink, txakolí is at its best when served cool out the fridge and from a height to release its flavours as it splashes into the glass. It was originally produced by artisanal means in the local farmhouses, and a number of existing documents demonstrate that it has been used for trading purposes in Gipuzkoa since at least the early 16th centuTxakoli winery. The grape is harvested in late September or early October, when it is perfectly mature and the sugar/acidity ratio is just right. It is excellent with fish and seafood. We also recommend that you try it with salted anchovies and white tuna in oil, the aperitifs served by the producers of Txakolí de Getaria on visits to their bodegas.

The Basque Coast Geopark cliffs stand watch over a formation of layers of rock,called flysch, laying bare 60 million years of geological evolution. The Basque Coast Geopark is a narrow strip of coastline that stretches throughout Zumaia, Deba and Mutriku. At first glance, you notice the beautiful meadows and woods that stretch out inland from the coast. However, as usual, the real beauty lies deep within. This landscape’s geology holds the secrets of some of the most impressive episodes in the recent history of the earth. The flysch is a formidable succession of array rock stratathat have been revealed by the sea rushing in and out, providing highly valuable information on biological, geological and even climatic changes that have taken place over the last 60 million years. The flysch formation stretches along 13 km of the coast between Mutriku and Zumaia. This small section has revealed many of the planet’s intimate secrets to scientists, from annexing the Iberian Peninsula to Europe and the creation of the Pyrenees, to the disappearance of the dinosaurs. The Algorri Nature Visitors’ Centre in Zumaia organises walks along the tidal plain and the cliffs and amazing boat trips. And in Mutriku, the Nautilus Museum is home to a complete collection of fossils that go back to the Secondary Era. And that’s not all: very close to the coast, we come across the Karst Route which has the largest set of archaeological cavities in Gipuzkoa, including the Ekain Cave, a World Heritage Site.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz, considered a quintessential Basque seaside town with a lively harbor, narrow streets, and a small beach. Biarritz, a former fishing village that transformed into a major luxury resort for the French aristocracy during the 19th century.

One of the most outstanding Basque figures in history is Íñigo de Loyola (Saint Ignatius), founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), now spread all over the world. Here in Loiola you can not only visit his birthplace but also find out about the circumstances of his turbulent life. You’ll be impressed when you find the sanctuary church in the middle of the Urola valley, in an idyllic setting surrounded by mountains. The sanctuary site, a fine example of baroque architecture, is build on the site of the mediaeval fortified house where Íñigo de Loyola was born in 1491. The house where he was born, known as the “Casa Natal”, will transport your imagination back to feudal times and the saint’s family, named Oñaz y Loyola, which is documented as far back as the 13th century. Its walls, almost two metres thick and pierced by embrasures, and even ancient bombards (early cannons), will make you feel you are entering a mediaeval fortress, as in fact the building originally was. In the centre of the sanctuary site stands the Basilica, dating from 1738, with its majestic dome, preceded by a wide portico decorated in the churrigueresque baroque style. Inside, at the high altar you can see the silver statue of Saint Ignatius donated by the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, a shipping company trading with the Americas which was of key importance to the history of the province of Gipuzkoa.