We are in the the País Vasco (Basque) this morning and catch the bus from Bilbao (pop 351,124 in 2025) to San Sebastián (Donostia; 189,866 in 2025). Unlike Bilbao, San Sebastián is on the ocean, the Mar Cantábrico, but it is split by a river, the Río Urumea. The bus arrives in Gros, a neighborhood on the east side of the Urumea.
We exit the station at the Puente de María Cristina (1905), with its bright white archways and gold hippocampi – it's an over-the-top welcome. Our hotel is in Centro, so we cross the bridge and head towards La Concha, the curving, seaside beach.
On the way, we pass the Catedral del Buen Pastor (1888-97), currently surrounded by construction equipment. Our new home-base is just one block back from the seashore, with a view of the "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" (Pedro Muguruza & Federico Coullaut, 1947-50) to the north.
We take a few minutes to unpack and unwind from the journey. Since we had sandwiches on the bus, we have plenty of time before dinner and decide to take a walk on the beach. We turn right past the courthouse, the Palacio de Justicia (Audiencia Provincial, 1911), with its Tuscan order temple front.
At the Plaza de Zubieta, we turn right again and find the Paseo de La Concha, a stunning promenade that follows the curve of the Playa de La Concha. We find a landing at the top of the stairs that lead down to the sand. From this spot we can see four amazing landscape features: the Bahía de La Concha (the almond-shaped bay) in front of us, Monte Urgull with the "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" to our right (east), the Isla de Santa Clara at the center (north), and Monte Igueldo to the left (west).
As we saw in Praia da Vitória in the Açores, heavy equipment is on the beach for a restoration project, but there is some activity on the sand and even in the water. We decide to head to the east in search of an art installation from our travel research.
The seawall mixes with the stratified, natural rock at a mirador, the "Plaza del Bicentenario". The center of the Plaza's balustrade integrates a standing sculpture by Eduardo Chillida called "Monumento a Fleming" (1990). We are, in fact, in search of a Chillida piece, but not this one.
We cross from the Playa de La Concha, through the Tunél de Loretopea, to the Playa de Ondarreta. There is another mirador in front of the Palacio de Miramar (Seldon Wornum, 1889-93) with yet another Chillida, "Estela a Rafa Balerdi" (1992). Though still not crowded, the Playa de Ondarreta is more active. Teams of young people play fútbol-voleibol (no hands) and other sports, while an entrepreneur builds an enormous sandcastle and collects change.
Finally, at the end of the terraces, we find the "Peine del Viento XV" (Chillida and Luis Peña Ganchegui, 1976). It is a set of three, over-scale, steel 'wind combs' – like the tangled, ancient anchor points to some massive, long-gone battleship (top image). They are flakey and rusty, and staining the rocks, but they mark the horizon and frame each other and the landscape: the rocks, the Isla, Monte Urgull, even the "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" and the Castillo de la Mota (11th-19th centuries).
On one side of the terrace, a set of blowholes is also cut into the paved surface, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the sea is too calm to bring them to life.
We walk back to our rooms, and after a brief rest, head off to dinner. We revisit a few of the sites in our new neighborhood, the Catedral del Buen Pastor and a mirador called "Los Relojes de La Concha". Dinner is in Gros, so we cross the river at the Puente de Santa Catalina (1872). To the north, the Puente de la Zurriola (1915) is the last bridge before the ocean. To the south, we get a fairytale view of the Puente de María Cristina in the late afternoon light, with its white towers and gold horses.
After dinner, our return walk is through the streetlights reflecting on the river, with the silhouette of the "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" at the top of the hill.
We finish the day at the Plaza Cervantes, on the Paseo de La Concha. It is cool and breezy, and the buskers are playing. A crowd watches the last streaks of color fade around Torreón de Monte Igueldo (1758, rebuilt 1912, now part of the amusement park).
San Sebastián makes a powerful first impression. It is less crowded and hectic than Bilbao. It feels older without being old, and adds flourishes of modern art. The beach-town vibes are welcoming and the views are stunning.
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