Our Perfect Day in San Sebastian, Spain

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Take a morning stroll at the port where you will find locals sailing and stand up paddleboarding. Check out the free exhibition at the aquarium museum and catch a wonderful view of the Santa Clara Island. Now that you worked up an appetite, head to the old town where you can sample all the best pintxos in town. Pass the San Vicente Church, which has been standing since the 16th century. Ganbara (https://www.ganbarajatetxea.com/presentation) is hands down our number one favorite bar in the city. If you are lucky you can order their famous hongos a la plancha (wild mushrooms with egg yolk). Unfortunately it wasn’t in season. We had to settle for the seasonal mushrooms with scrambled eggs which was a very good substitution. Do not skip the spider crab tart. If you are feeling adventurous, feast your eyes on the giant scarlet prawn. It is truly a treat for the senses. Check out a brief review on our website: https://www.adreamersholiday.com/eatdrink/ganbara.

Not far from Ganbara is Tamboril (www.instagram.com/tambodonosti), another pintxos bar you don’t want to miss. Here they serve unforgettable mushrooms, thinly sliced tuna in escabeche sauce and a tasty deep fried treat called pimentos rellenos de carne. Unfortunately our last destination for brunch, La Viña was closed. Luckily we had a plan B. We picked up some basque cheesecake at the Loaf (https://theloaf.eus/) and brought it back to our airbnb. If you never had basque cheesecake, you are in for a treat. Unlike the New York cheesecake, the basque variation has a nice caramelized exterior with a silky smooth interior resembling a flan. At this point, the sun was out and we enjoyed this “anytime of the day snack” on our balcony/terrace.

To burn off some calories, we hiked to the top of Mount Urgull where the iconic Sacred Heart statue is situated. This is another great vantage point of the Santa Clara Island and Atlantic ocean. We encountered numerous cannons as it was as a 12th century fortress. You can certainly complete the walk within an hour but there are so many paths and little monuments to discover.

After the hike, we headed to La Concha beach to soak up the sun. We both used to go on countless trips to the beach back in America. So it was very nice to feel the familiar sand between the toes, hear the nostalgic crashing waves and smell that distinct ocean air as you walk along the water. After a jam packed day, we really deserve a siesta. We honestly think this is reason why Spaniards eat and are up so late.

We didn’t plan it but we were in town the same week of the carnival. There were people dressed in costumes like Halloween. We even saw a big parade on the major street with elaborate floats. To finish off the night, we ate dinner at Antonio bar (https://antoniobar.com/). Although they weren’t the same wild mushrooms, we did a pretty good take on the mushrooms and egg yolk. We also enjoyed the anchovies with green and chilli peppers, along with prawn ravolis in martini sauce and fried pasta stuffed with oxtail. Their tortilla de patatas was more dense than the smaller, delicate version at Bar Nestor. It was still quite delicious.

This was our second trip to Donostia-San Sebastian, highlighting some of our favorite things to do. It will certainly not be our last.

00:00 – Intro
00:23 – 8 am
00:44 – Morning stroll at the port
02:20 – Free exhibition at the Aquarium museum
03:47 – 10 am
03:56 – Correction: Church of San Vicente
04:26 – Carnival festival
04:51 – Ganbara
05:03 – Revuelto de setas (scrambled eggs with mushrooms) and Tartaleta de txangurro (spider crab tart)
05:10 – Carabinero (scarlet prawn)
05:52 – Tamboril
06:23 – Escabeche de atún
06:33 – Pimentos rellenos de carne (deep fried ground beef with piquillo pepper) and champiñón (mushrooms)
07:28 – The Loaf
08:01 – Our airbnb
08:25 – Balcony/terrace
08:58 – Basque cheesecake
09:49 – 1:00 pm
10:03 – Mount Urgull hike
11:20 – Sacred Heart statue
11:31 – The English Cemetery
11:50 – Beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean
12:47 – 1 pm
12:55 – La Concha beach
14:29 – Siesta
14:50 – Parade
15:47 – Antonio Bar
12:52 – Antxoa en salazón (anchovies with green pepper and chilli pepper), ravoli de langostino en salsa de martini (prawn ravolis in martini sauce) and crujiente de rabo de buey (pasta stuffed with oxtail topped with Parmesan cheese).
16:07 – Mushrooms with egg yolk
16:27 – Tortilla de patatas
16:48 – Recap
17:06 – Preview of the next adventures

airbnb: https://air.tl/sh8lm033