3 Days in San Sebastian and Biarritz

Posted by Shaye on

Days OOO: 2-3
How I Got There: Usually I save this til the end, but days off and how you get there are directly correlated!

Major decision point: do you want to drive 5/6 hours from Madrid or Barcelona (if you do please stop in Rioja for some wine!) or do you want to take the train… in which case there is no straight shot. Via train you have to transfer in Zaragoza. You can also fly into the city directly if this is your only destination. To get to Biarritz you ultimately need a rental car…


Budget Style: Romantic getaway/culinary splurge


What I Did & Where I Ate:
San Sebastian has the second highest Michelin star restaurants per capita behind Kyoto, Japan. So you KNOW that my main mission was to eat well.

Wander.  Beyond food, the architecture and winding streets in the old town are SO incredibly beautiful that it is fun just to wander around. Old town is whimsical and romantic. The city is also right along the water and rests on a beautiful beach and small bay. It’s nice to take a walk along the water or hike to the top part of the city and enjoy the view. I took a nap when my friend did this, but to each his/her own 😉

Food.

This is a guide from a business school classmate and all you need to know. My favorite in particular was the brocheta de gambas from number 12. WINNER.

Old town guide. Sorry it is in Spanish, but these are recommendations from a true local! The order isn’t by priority or preference, pintxos are amazing in all of these places.

  1. Borda Berri (C/ Fermín Calveton 12)
    • Kebab de costilla ibérica, Oreja de cerdo crujiente.
  2. Gambara (C/ San Jerónimo 21)
    • Setas a la Plancha (Especialmente buenas), Tartaleta de txangurro, mini cruasanes, Huevas de merluza.
  3. La Cuchara de San Telmo (C/ 31 de Agosto, 28)
    • Foie con compota de Manzana, Risotto cremoso, Carrillera, Bacalao confitado, Manitas de ministro.
  4. Txepetxa (C/ Pescadería 5)
    • Surtido de Antxoas frescas, en particular con jardinera y con centollo, sobre pan tostado caliente (Una Delicia)
  5. La Viña (C/ 31 de Agosto)
    • Revuelto de hongos, tortillas variadas y una tarta de queso antológica que venden para llevar.
  6. El Tamboril (C/ Pescadería 2)
    • Antxoas frescas rebozadas, Anchoas con jardinera, Buñuelo de bacalao con Vizcaína, Pimiento relleno de bacalao
  7. Martinez (C/ 31 de Agosto 13)
    • Gambas a la gabardina, Antxoas con jardinera, Bacalao, Huevas de merluza.
  8. La Cepa (C/ 31 de Agosto 7)
    • Jamón de Jabugo (Especial), Gildas, Bocatas variados, Antxoas fritas (Ración), tortillas de Antxoas.
  9. Gandarias (C/ 31 de Agosto 23)
    • Revuelto de bacalao, Croquetas de jamón
  10. Bernardo Etxea (C/ Puerto 7)
    • Tartaletas de hongos y bacalao, pulpo a la gallega
  11. Zeruko (C/ Pescadería 10)
    • Especialidades Creativas, Hoguera de bacalao, Rosa de Bogavante.
  12. Goiz Argui (C/ Fermín Calveton 4)
    • Espectacular Brocheta de Gambas, Brocheta de riñones.

I also went to the Michelin star restaurant Zuberoa… which is in a farmhouse slightly outside the city and requires a cab or rental car. It was a beautiful location and one of the most memorable 11 course meals of my life. Definitely an expensive meal, and I was lucky to have good company. So many of my travels I have to eat alone… but 2-3 hours is a stretch!

If you go to Biarritz, make sure you get some mussels. The mussels I had were cooked in a basque/French way that was savory and flavorful. The bakeries looked beautiful too, but as I’m not a big sweets fan you’ll have to let me know how they are. Walk along the beach and cliffs for beautiful views of the Atlantic and the town… this walk inspired some of the best photography I had while abroad. A resort town year round; I’d be curious to go back in the summertime.

Where I Stayed:

Found a really cute Airbnb about 5-10 minutes walking from the pintxo bars and old town of San Sebastian. In hindsight, I would stay as close to the pintxo bars as possible since that is where all the fun is.

You can easily see Biarritz in a day (though I argue it deserves more than that)… so no accommodations here.


Tips:

  • San Sebastian is also known as Donostia in the Basque language
  • Reach out to the Michelin Star restaurants several weeks or months in advance. Going for lunch instead of dinner helped, but I still got rejected from a few others. Most restaurants are closed Sundays and have varying holiday hours. You can make reservations via email, but I had more luck over the phone. Spanish is a plus, but the emails in English work too!
  • If you drive a rental car… you may forget that there are no street cops in Europe and they give tickets out via radar photos. Luckily you get warnings for these things… but I was dumb and got a few speeding tickets on the way. This tip goes for most of Europe.
  • Make sure you try the cider. They pour it in a very artistic way so that the cider breaks upon the glass in a way that makes the taste more fulfilling. That makes no sense… so you have to see for yourself haha.

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