San Sebastián guide
San Sebastián's seasons, month by month, and how to choose yours.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
The best time to visit San Sebastián is spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, when the weather is mild for walking and the table; June to August is the beach season, and the busiest. It rains in every month, most in October and November, and September is as full as August. Here is the year month by month, with the festivals and their dates for 2027 where they are published.
The year
Mild, green and wet in every season: spring and autumn bring the easiest weather, summer the beach and the crowds, and winter the city’s own fiestas.
Mild and green: highs rise from about 13°C (55°F) in March to 18°C (64°F) in May, with rain on 12 or 13 days a month. Quieter than summer, for walking and the table.
EventsThe cider houses' txotx season, when the new cider is tasted from the barrel, runs until late April.
The warmest and sunniest months: highs of about 20–23°C (68–73°F), though it still rains on about ten days a month. The beach season, and the busiest.
EventsThe Jazzaldia from 21 to 25 July in 2027, and the Semana Grande in the week of 15 August, with fireworks over La Concha Bay each night.
Highs ease from about 21°C (70°F) in September to 14°C (57°F) in November, the wettest month. The txakoli harvest, and the markets full of wild mushrooms.
EventsThe Film Festival every September, and the Euskal Jaiak in early September, with Cider Day and the rowing regattas for the Bandera de La Concha.
Cool and often wet: highs of about 11–12°C (52–54°F), lows around 6°C (43°F) and rain on 12 or 13 days a month. The quietest season, and the city's own fiestas.
EventsThe Christmas market on the Urumea from 1 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, Santo Tomás on 21 December, and the Tamborrada on 20 January.
Month by month on Monte Igeldo, 250 metres above the bay: AEMET’s averages for 1981–2010.
| Month | High °C (°F) | Low °C (°F) | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11 (52) | 6 (43) | 13 |
| February | 12 (54) | 6 (43) | 12 |
| March | 13 (55) | 7 (45) | 12 |
| April | 15 (59) | 8 (46) | 13 |
| May | 18 (64) | 11 (52) | 12 |
| June | 20 (68) | 14 (57) | 11 |
| July | 22 (72) | 16 (61) | 10 |
| August | 23 (73) | 17 (63) | 11 |
| September | 21 (70) | 15 (59) | 10 |
| October | 19 (66) | 12 (54) | 12 |
| November | 14 (57) | 9 (48) | 13 |
| December | 12 (54) | 7 (45) | 12 |
Spring
Spring is green, mild and quieter than the summer: a season for the table, the cider houses and long walks.
March is the coolest month of the spring, at about 13°C (55°F); April has its most rain days; May is the warmest, at about 18°C (64°F), and the sunniest of the three. The hotels are quieter than in summer: their occupancy in 2025 ran from 67% in March to 81% in May, against 88 to 90% from July to September.
It is the end of the txotx season, when the cider houses in the orchards of Astigarraga and Hernani open the new cider straight from the barrel, until late April. Around it we can arrange a dinner at a cider house, a morning at La Bretxa or San Martín with a guide, among the city’s chefs buying their produce, or a lunch at a gastronomic society, one of the members’ kitchens of the city: the tourist board’s own experience opens one to a small party for three hours, cooking with them or watching from the table. Each on request, subject to availability; there is more in our San Sebastián food and cuisine guide.
Summer
June to August is the beach season and the busiest: highs of about 20–23°C (68–73°F), the most sun of the year, and still rain on about ten days a month.
The days are long: from late April to late August the sun sets after 9 pm, and at the end of June not until about ten to ten. July and August, with September, are the months the hotels are fullest, so we reserve the hotel as soon as your dates are set.
Summer keeps its own calendar:
On the water, a private yacht with a skipper can be arranged, on request and weather allowing. Our hotels are compared in where to stay in San Sebastián.
Autumn begins as busy as August and quietens into November. Winter is cool, wet and the city’s own.
September is as full as August in the hotels, at about 90% in 2025. The Euskal Jaiak fill its first days, with Cider Day and the rowing regattas for the Bandera de La Concha, and the Film Festival comes later in the month; we reserve seats for its screenings where they are available. October is quieter and still mild, at about 19°C (66°F): the txakoli harvest runs from late September into October, and the markets fill with wild mushrooms. November is the wettest month of the year, and quieter still.
It is a good season for a trip built around food and wine: a private visit to a family winery among the txakoli vineyards near Getaria, or a day of tastings in the Rioja Alavesa, arranged on request. More in our things to do in San Sebastián.
Winter is the quietest season: January’s hotel occupancy was about 50% in 2025. December brings the Christmas market on the Paseo del Urumea, from 1 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, and the Santo Tomás fair on 21 December; on 20 January, San Sebastián’s day, the Tamborrada, the city’s biggest fiesta, takes its drums through the streets.
Some kitchens close for a winter break, Akelarre’s from just before Christmas to late February, so we check the table you are coming for before your dates are fixed. With fewer visitors, it is a season for San Telmo and the Basilica of Santa María, the Miramar gardens over the bay, a cooking class, and an afternoon of thalassotherapy at La Perla on La Concha.
By trip
The months that suit three kinds of trip best.
Food and wine: May or October. The markets in season, with the wild mushrooms in autumn: a morning at La Bretxa, the old town’s market since 1870, with a guide, and the city’s pintxo bars at their easiest pace.
Art: spring or late autumn. San Telmo, the oldest museum in the Basque Country, with a private guide, and Chillida Leku, Eduardo Chillida’s own museum a few kilometres out in Hernani, his steel and granite sculptures among the beeches, oaks and magnolias of an old family homestead, with a guided visit. For art and architecture across Spain, see our private architecture and cultural tours.
A romantic trip: May or October. An evening walk along La Concha’s promenade and through the Miramar gardens, the paths up Monte Urgull to the Castillo de la Mota, and the funicular of 1912 up Monte Igeldo for the view over the bay.
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When to go, where to stay, the food, the sights and three days in the city.
Pintxos and three-star tables, the bay under sail, the Belle Époque city, Getaria and La Rioja.
The Basque table, where to eat, and the market, the txakoli and the cider.
Four days, day by day: the bay, the market and the old town, Getaria, and San Telmo.
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. Everything else we can work out together.
Plan your San Sebastián trip Our San Sebastián page
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