Centro
Hotel María Cristina
A five-star house on the Urumea at the edge of the Parte Vieja, a short walk from La Concha, with two restaurants, a cocktail bar and river-view suites.
San Sebastián guide
Four days in San Sebastián: an itinerary
Four days in the Basque Country's city by the sea, planned around you.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
La Concha and a three-star dinner as you arrive, the market and the old town, a day along the coast to Getaria, and San Telmo before you leave. Treat it as a starting point for a private, tailor-made stay in San Sebastián, planned by Avelia from Málaga; every part of it can change.
Highlights
Three moments of the four days
Three stars, the first night
A tasting menu at Akelarre or Arzak, each with three MICHELIN stars in 2026.
La Bretxa in the morning
The old town's market since 1870, where the city's chefs choose their produce.
A farewell lunch at Rekondo
On the road up Monte Igeldo, for its Basque cooking and a cellar of thousands of bottles.
Days 1–4
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival and the bay
Morning
A private transfer from Bilbao or San Sebastián airport, arranged before you travel, and check-in at Hotel María Cristina.
Afternoon
La Concha with a guide
Along the bay from the City Hall, built as a casino in 1887, by the railings of 1916 to the Miramar Palace, built for Queen María Cristina’s summers in 1893, with a light lunch on one of La Perla’s terraces over the beach.
Evening
Three stars
A tasting menu at Akelarre or Arzak, each with three MICHELIN stars in 2026, and a private car there and back. Our San Sebastián food and cuisine guide has both.
Day 2
The market and the old town
Morning
La Bretxa, and a cooking class
A guided visit to La Bretxa, the old town’s market since 1870, where the city’s chefs choose their produce beside its residents: cheeses, wild mushrooms in season, fish. Then a private cooking class with a local chef, on request, subject to availability.
Afternoon
The Parte Vieja
The old town with your guide, its squares, its churches and its pintxo bars, and lunch at Gandarias, traditional Basque cooking in the heart of the Parte Vieja, with a glass of txakoli or an Albariño.
Evening
Monte Igeldo, and dinner
Monte Igeldo for the view over the bay at the end of the day, by the funicular of 1912 from Ondarreta or by car. Then dinner at Narru, market cooking beside the Plaza del Buen Pastor, about ten minutes’ walk from the hotel.
Day 3
Getaria, its wine and its grill
Morning
Along the coast to Getaria
A private driver-guide along the coast to Getaria, the fishing town where Juan Sebastián Elcano and Cristóbal Balenciaga were born; Balenciaga’s museum stands beside the Aldamar palace in the old quarter. Then a private tasting at a family winery among the txakoli vineyards, on request.
Afternoon
Lunch at Elkano
Elkano, at the grill since 1964 and with one MICHELIN star, for its whole turbot. Then the coastal walk to Zarautz, or back to San Sebastián for a treatment at La Perla’s thalassotherapy centre on La Concha.
Evening
Pintxos and wine through the old town with a sommelier, or the tasting menu at Kokotxa, one MICHELIN star, beside the Basilica of Santa María.
Day 4
San Telmo, and a long lunch
Morning
San Telmo
A slow breakfast, then San Telmo with a private guide: the museum of Basque society, the oldest museum in the Basque Country, in a 16th-century Dominican convent whose church holds Josep Maria Sert’s great canvases.
Afternoon
A farewell lunch
Lunch at Rekondo, on the road up Monte Igeldo, for its Basque cooking and its cellar of thousands of bottles. Then a private transfer to the airport, or on to your next stop.
Where you stay
A hotel on the river
Hotel María Cristina opened in 1912 on the Urumea, at the edge of the Parte Vieja, with La Concha a short walk away: the old town’s main square is under ten minutes on foot. It is the house these four days start from and come back to each evening.
Every hotel we recommend in San Sebastián, compared side by side, is on our where to stay in San Sebastián page.
What the four days include
Plan this journeyYour proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
- Planned with you — by Ramin Jafari, who shapes the order, the pace and the days around you; every part can change.
- Your hotel — Hotel María Cristina, on the Urumea at the edge of the Parte Vieja.
- Private transfers — from Bilbao or San Sebastián airport on arrival, a car to the three-star table and back, a driver-guide along the coast to Getaria, and to the airport or your next stop at the end.
- Private guides — along La Concha, at La Bretxa and through the Parte Vieja, and at San Telmo.
- Tables and tickets — Akelarre or Arzak, Gandarias, Narru, Elkano, Kokotxa and Rekondo, San Telmo, and a treatment at La Perla, reserved ahead.
- Experiences on request — a cooking class with a local chef, a tasting at a family txakoli winery and an evening of pintxos with a sommelier, each arranged for your dates, subject to availability.
- Support while you travel — if a transfer is delayed or a booking changes, we coordinate with the partners involved and take you through the options.
San Sebastián in a longer journey
San Sebastián works as one stop in a longer journey through Spain. Three of our journeys stay here.
To add one or two places to a stay in San Sebastián:
- La Rioja, about 140 kilometres south by road: Spain’s first Qualified Designation of Origin, Laguardia on its hill with cellars under its streets, and wineries by Santiago Calatrava and Frank Gehry. See wine tasting in Rioja.
- Bilbao, a day out or a night of its own, for Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim.
- Barcelona, by air or a long-distance train, for Gaudí and the Mediterranean.
- Madrid, by air or a long-distance train, for the Prado, the Royal Palace and the capital’s tables.
- Seville, for a complete change: the Alcázar, flamenco and the south.
The Grand Spanish Tour
from $27,200 per person
Luxury Spanish Honeymoon
from $16,800 per person
Spain's Culinary Heritage
from $15,300 per person
San Sebastián guides
- San Sebastián travel guide
When to go, where to stay, the food, the sights and three days in the city.
- Things to do in San Sebastián
Pintxos and three-star tables, the bay under sail, the Belle Époque city, Getaria and La Rioja.
- San Sebastián food and cuisine
The Basque table, where to eat, and the market, the txakoli and the cider.
- Best time to visit San Sebastián
Season by season and month by month, with the festivals, the crowds and the rain to plan around.
Across Spain: luxury trip planning, the best time to visit Spain, luxury hotels in Spain, private architecture and cultural tours, culinary and wine tours, the 12 treasures of Spain, our guide to Spanish gastronomy, the best wine regions of Spain, the most beautiful coastal towns in Spain, family trips and a honeymoon in Spain.
Plan this journey
As it is set out here, or shaped around your dates, your pace and who is travelling. Tell us when you would like to go.
Plan this journey Our San Sebastián page
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