Things to Do in San Sebastián

Pintxo crawl through Parte Vieja

Surgeons and fishermen crowd Calle Fermín Calbetón at 11:30 sharp. Counters groan with foie on apple and anchovies curled over crusty bread. Order a txikito of tart white txakoli, point, watch the barman spear your pintxo with a toothpick you'll later count. By 1:30 the lanes reek of garlic prawns and sizzling morcilla. Someone's uncle will teach you the high pour.

La Concha beach at sunrise

The sand is still cool when shoes come off at 7am. Only a jogger's zig-zag interrupts the smooth canvas. Pink light strokes Santa Clara while swim-capped grandmothers wade in, chatting Basque that echoes off iron railings. Salt stings your lips. Coffee grinders whir behind you. Gulls scrap over last night's fish.

Monte Igueldo funicular and view

The wooden funicular climbs at Victorian speed. Terracotta roofs slide below. Maybe you'll spot a surfer on Zurriola's last wave. Up top, Atlantic waves slam 200 meters below, spraying foam you can taste. A 1928 bumper-car rink and a rickety coaster skim the pines. The same family has run them for three generations.

San Telmo Museum's Basque courtyard

A 16th-century Dominican convent now screens video art against candle-blackened stone. Open the retractable roof on drizzly days and the cloister smells of wet earth. Footsteps echo past exhibits on harpoons and witch trials. A 1950s fishing boat hangs in a side chapel like a ghost.

Surf lesson at Zurriola

Zurriola's beach break forgives beginners yet throws chest-high sets that locals shred. Paddle through water that tastes like cold pennies, pushed by swells born off Iceland. Instructors shout 'Etorri!' when it's go. The glass Kursaal glints in the corner of your eye.

Parte Vieja: stumble home from pintxo bars, wake to church bells and coffee grinders.

Gros: younger vibe across the river, surf shops and breakfast terraces facing Zurriola.

Centro Romántica: grand 19th-century facades, quieter nights, handy to La Concha.

Amara: local neighborhood, cheaper eats, river walks and Saturday farmers market.

Antiguo - low-key fishing quarter, small beach coves, old-school cider houses

El Centro: grid of shopping lanes, bus station proximity, mix of mid-range hotels.