Day Trip: Bilbao to San Sebastián, Spain

You already know that I went to Bilbao for part of the puente at the beginning of November, but it’s not the only place I went. At the suggestion of friends — and the fact that I always want to visit more places in Spain — I decided to spend a day in San Sebastián. Though this city is relatively small, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit a coastal city in the north. And it’s only 15 miles from the French border! I was curious if/how that would factor into the city’s culture.

I arrived in San Sebastián in the evening and spent the night so I’d have all of the next day there. But if you have a little less time, I think you could arrive early in the morning and leave late at night and still have a good experience. Anyway, if you want to go from Bilbao to San Sebastián, here’s what you need to know!

San Sebastián, Spain

Distance from Bilbao: 101 km/63 miles

Like Bilbao, San Sebastián is in Basque Country — the Spanish autonomous community of País Vasco. As I mentioned in my post about Bilbao, País Vasco has its own language, Euskara. I would say that I heard more Euskara spoken here in San Sebastián than in Bilbao. In fact, when I was standing at a bus stop, someone tried to ask me a question in Euskara!

I had no idea he was speaking to me because I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. My guess is that since San Sebastián is smaller and more rural, that’s why Euskara is more common than in the metropolitan city of Bilbao. Additionally, you might also hear San Sebastián referred to as Donostia, which is the name of the city in Euskara.

San Sebastián is famous for a few things, and one of those things is its beaches. Remember that I was there in early November, and it was raining, so I didn’t really plan on visiting the beach. I figured that was something for another time. But I found one of San Sebastián’s beaches right next to the city center!

Playa de Las Conchas — Shell Beach — is its most iconic beach, and has been named among the world’s best city beaches by multiple travel publications! And it’s easy to understand why. Even on a rainy, gray day, it was impossible to resist the charm of walking along the beach’s promenade, lined with an elegant, ornate railing.

My hostel was on the west side of the city, so to get to the city center, I had to walk next to the beach. (Bummer, right?) But as a tourist, there wasn’t as much that I was interested in near where I was staying. The city center is where it’s at. So I decided to head to San Sebastián’s City Hall, since I figured it would be central. Not only was I right, but city hall was a pretty building in its own right. Also, there was a carousel right out front — and it sounds like it’s there all year round. Despite the cold weather, the carousel was busy with families and young children.

City hall, and most of the “downtown” area of San Sebastián is part of what’s known as the Romantic Area. Once you’re there, you might understand why. This part of town is full of pedestrianized shopping streets, high-fashion brands, and belle époque architecture. I’ve even seen it compared to Paris on a smaller scale. And on a rainy day, it was a great place to be. I could enjoy the outdoors — the beautiful fall leaves, the bustle of the crowd — and then head into a shop or café if the rain picked up again. I was especially happy to be around a busy and thriving commercial district after the previous day in Bilbao; it had been a holiday and almost every store was closed. The city had been been a little bit dead.

Not far from here is the Parte Vieja, a counterpart to Bilbao’s Casco Viejo. In Spanish, it literally means “Old Part.” Like the Casco Viejo, it was full of narrow, winding streets and tons of restaurants. And now we must address the other thing San Sebastián is most famous for: its fine dining.

Yes, San Sebastián boasts more Michelin-Star Restaurants per square meter than any other city in the world. Isn’t that crazy? So of course, if you’re in San Sebastián, you have to eat well. I considered trying a Michelin star restaurant, but it was a little too late by the time I thought about it, so most restaurants were booked out already. I decided I’ll save it for another time — maybe when I’m not traveling alone and can enjoy the food experience with someone else. Most of the prices I saw were between €75-€120 for a set menu with about 8-10 courses.

But even in the Parte Vieja, I found a highly-rated restaurant. It wasn’t crazy busy and it had a reasonably-priced menu, in my opinion. Even though it was three times what I’d normally pay in Spain… but the higher price made me feel like I was getting a higher quality of food 😉 I decided to go all out on seafood, so I got a delicious fish soup and merluza a la vasca, which means “hake in the Basque way,” or something along those lines. Good food was a great way to end my day in Donostia… so when you’re there, make sure you indulge! You won’t regret it.

Get from Bilbao to San Sebastián by…

Bus: This is probably the best and most cost-efficient way to get between Bilbao and San Sebastián. I bought my tickets online, only one day in advance of each journey, and I paid about €7 each way. I traveled with ALSA, which is one of the main bus operators in Spain, and it took about one hour and 15 minutes to get between the two cities. If you travel during the day, the drive is also super scenic as you drive through the lush green hills. From Bilbao, you’ll depart from the bus station at Plaza Garrellano 14. It’s a temporary station, so it’s not very nice and it’s a little confusing to find. I recommend getting there early just to make sure you have no problems. In San Sebastián, you’ll arrive at Estación Donostia Geltokia, which is both the bus station and RENFE (train) station.

Train: I don’t recommend taking the train at all. Based on the little research I did, I found that there is a train, but it takes about 4 hours to get from one city to the other. I can’t imagine why anyone would choose that when the bus is so cheap, fast, and easy.

 

What else do you want to know about visiting San Sebastián? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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Originally Published on November 13, 2019.