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.

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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.