La Concha Bay, San Sebastián
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Matchless beaches, sensational dining experiences, local colour, culture and ambiance, make this unique city one of Spain’s most memorable destinations.
There are several very good reasons why the rest of Spain speaks of San Sebastián with such warm enthusiasm.
History of San Sebastián
Historically speaking, this quaint belle époque city on the Basque coast of northern Spain was once a summer getaway for the country’s affluent elite. Since the 1880s, it has been fashionable with wealthy Spaniards keen to escape the overpowering heat of the interior for the Green Coast.
Attracting a mix of aristocracy and successful moneymakers, San Sebastián property prices remain amongst the highest in the country.
Mata Hari herself and the higher echelons of European nobility once strolled through the halls of the Gran Casino just 20 km from the French border. While it was Queen Isabella II who brought fame to the city after a vacation here in 1845, prompting the Royal Court to form a summer seat.
A world-acclaimed epicurean resort
A culinary capital blessed by food-rich geography and one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars on the planet. Every café and bar boasts an impressive gastronomic pedigree around San Sebastián’s scallop-shaped bay, be it a cosy family-run café or seductive candle-lit fine dining.
While many of San Sebastián’s ancient buildings have been burned to the ground by fire over the years, some fine nineteenth-century grandeur remains, complete with traditional carved wooden lintels. All this, and more, enjoys a stunning setting on wide promenades, expansive beaches and cobblestones, perfectly framed by mountainous countryside and the fertile waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Basque people
Then, of course, there are the city’s Basque people – Europe’s oldest ethnic group, having inhabited the southwestern corner of the continent (straddling France and Spain) for over 5,000 years. ‘Before God was God and boulders were boulders, the Basques were already Basques,’ say the locals, whose ancestors have survived invasions by Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, French, and Spanish and resisted domination by outsiders until the Middle Ages. During the regime of General Francisco Franco (1938-75) the Basques were ruthlessly suppressed.
Today, San Sebastián revels in its unique age-old traditions, language (Euskera), food, folklore and culture with a pride, passion and fervour that permeates all aspects of daily life.
Festivals
July’s International Jazz Festival provides a mellow prelude to Aste Nagusia, San Sebastián’s week-long August party of Basque music and dance. In September, over 100,000 visitors descend on the city for a 10-day International Film Festival that not only draws crowds from all over the globe but is also the oldest and most prestigious cinematic event in the Spanish-speaking world. The jury that awards the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell, is presided over by U.S. novelist-director Paul Auster.
In 2008 Richard Gere and Liv Ullmann were honoured with the Donostia Prize in a dazzling ceremony. Dozens of venues host an array of glitzy events in and around La Concha Bay overlooking Santa Clara Island.
Bedecked with fairy lights at centre-stage is cube-shaped Kursaal Palace, San Sebastián’s avant-garde architectural triumph. Contemporary sculpture by Eduardo Chillida (the Wind Comb) and Jorge Oteiza (Empty Construction) hold court above the sea in a star-studded setting.
As the firecrackers pop and crackle, the salty Atlantic gusts off the sea can blast the back of the throat into a rasping parch, so it pays to have a glass of Txakoli handy to quench a thirst.
Where to stay
Hotel Maria Cristina
Rising majestically above the city centre of Donostia-San Sebastián, Hotel Maria Cristina is surrounded by promenades and gardens. This beautiful location is situated between the beaches of La Concha and La Zurriola and in front of the Urumea River and the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.
Named in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2005, 2006 and 2007 Gold Lists, this hotel boasts belle époque luxury and the most attentive service. Since the hotel’s doors first opened in 1912, it has played host to many distinguished guests while also becoming the headquarters for the International Festival of Cinema of San Sebastián.
San Sebastián’s waterfront beauty is accented by classic Basque cuisine and creative seasonal dishes at Easo Restaurant, one of the city’s finest restaurants. Fresh indigenous products combine with window-lit octagonal dining venues to create an atmosphere of classic elegance.
All the guest rooms are decorated in the classic style of Imperio and Queen Ana. Fine furnishings, beautiful marble, exquisite lighting, and extravagant rugs complement the historical setting. In most rooms you may open the windows onto views of the sea and the Urumea River. For more information, visit http://www.luxurycollection.com/mariacristina
Basque Culture
San Sebastián relishes its sporting calendar, especially when it comes to football (soccer) and is also host to a famous cycle race, the one-day Clásica de San Sebastián. During these sporting highlights, TVs are perched precariously on bar-tops as crowds swell and noise levels reach fever pitch as the local hero is cheered on.
An old Basque proverb claims that ‘Happiness is the only thing we can give without having it’ and friendly social banter is very much a local sporting pursuit. Pelota (a squash-like sport) is also commonly played using hand-held basket-style scoops as racquets. I’m more intrigued at the Basque pastimes of log-chopping, rock lifting, boulder-dragging and stone-lifting – rural pursuits that have found their way into city life.
San Sebastián also has a well-honed tradition of storytelling within its community, a throwback to the days before TV and urbanisation when oral tale-spinning was at the heart of social life. These aged oral legacies are alive and well in San Sebastián’s rich colourful mythology. Legends spill out over sidewalk card games or while story swapping on park benches – a particularly salacious tale involving a giant caught my ear one morning in the bakery, of all places. Folk music is also still sung and played throughout the city using a txistu (a three-holed flute) and a dultzaina (a bagpipe-like instrument) with the spirited Bolant Dantza (flying dance) and La Espata Dantza (sword dance), a festival crowd-pleaser due to whirling skirts and twirling feet.
The Basque language is another proudly upheld tradition and quite unlike any other: a complex linguistic form that is entirely unrelated to Spanish and French. Dozens of different dialects – plus a muddle of pronunciations make it tricky to master. Little wonder that, according to local legend, when the devil tried to learn to speak Basque he gave up after seven years because it was too hard.
Dining
As one of Spain’s most expensive cities, San Sebastián is a destination for kings, with top-rated restaurants booked solid for months on end. But the city’s handsome old quarter offers plenty of rustic dining experiences, each a genuine culinary extravaganza, albeit without a Michelin star. I’ve yet to wander into a San Sebastián backstreet bar that isn’t ridiculously good. To start the day order a cup of robust cortado (a macchiato-like strong coffee) and a slice of tortilla potata before working up an appetite at the Mercado de la Bretxa, a subterranean food market offering a colourful palette of fine local produce. For lunch, head to one of La Parte Vieja’s elderly bars where the region’s much-prized Jabugo hams hang decoratively from the rafters. The salt-cured aroma whets my appetite, so I order a slither or two. Spain’s rare Iberian ‘pata negra’ pig is reared on an acorn-rich diet, as the strong, nutty flavour attests. Pintxos (Basque’s tapas) cost around $2 each and are served everywhere. For me, this is preferable to a full-on lunch, as I enjoy social grazing. I order some smoked pimento and fishy croquettes and settle into several rounds of cocktail-like hors d’oeuvres.
Highlights include marinated fresh anchovies in parsley, white wine and cider vinegar followed by morsel-sized snacks of grilled squid sprinkled in olive oil, salt and lemon. Once sated the locals toss their napkins to the floor, so you know you've found a real gem when you stand five-deep at the bar and spot more crumpled paper on the floor than tiles.
Dusk signifies a new phase of culinary offerings as many of the city’s top chef-owners throw open their doors. Somewhat surprisingly, given its traditional roots, San Sebastián has emerged as a passionate advocate of nueva cocina vasca. This lighter, cleaner and subtle style of Spanish cooking may have its origins firmly rooted in Basque heritage but still borders on avant garde. Juan Mari Arzak is hailed as the father of modern Basque cooking, and as a mentor to award-winning chef Ferran Adrià, is responsible for such memorable food concoctions as poached apple with foie gras yoghurt; red berries dipped in liquid nitrogen; a lobster claw dusted with powderised olive oil and an onion-vermouth broth.
In addition to 15 Michelin stars, San Sebastián is also home to hundreds of gourmet societies (txokos) where lavish private dining events allow gastronomes to celebrate local fare. In theory, these male-only affairs are now open to women, but a shroud of secrecy exists and only men are trusted with the food. A gourmet society menu reads like a culinary wish list. San Sebastián is no place for a weak-willed weight-watcher.
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