Bilbao - Centro and New Town Travel Guides | Bilbao | Sub Regions | Bilbao - Centro and New Town

San Sebastián’s refined new town defines the city’s character in a sequence of elegant streets funnelled into the space between bay and river. Perhaps not surprisingly, there’s more than a hint of France in the refined belle-époque façades and the stately sweep of the promenade around the beach. Although some of the glamour seems in need of a lick of paint, you still half expect to bump into María Cristina herself having a coffee and a pastry in a waterfront café. Fans of Art Nouveau will get sore necks wandering around these parts.

This beautiful curving strip of sand has made San Sebastián what it is. Named after the Concha (shell) for its shape, it gets seriously crowded in summer but is quiet at other times, when the chilly water makes swimming a matter of bravado. Behind the beach, and even more emblematic, is the Paseo, a promenade barely changed from the golden age of seaside resorts. It’s still the place to take the sea air (so good for one’s constitution) and is backed by gardens, a lovely old merry-go-round, and desirable hotels and residences that still yearn for the days when royalty strolled the shore every summer.

Isla Santa Clara

Transport: launch from El Muelle (summer only).

This pretty rocky island could almost have been placed purposely as a feature in the bay. There’s nothing on it but a lighthouse and a jetty, and it’s only accessible by public transport during the summer, when a motorlaunch leaves from the harbour close to the end of the beach. Its prime picnic territory with an unbeatable setting.

An attractive shady green central park graces this important square. On one side of the plaza is the Diputación Foral, while the other side is the place to grab a bus to most destinations within Guipúzcoa. In the park, there’s a very manly statue of the composer Usandizaga. Born in San Sebastián, he was a precocious child who wrote his first waltz at the age of nine. His most famous work was the extremely popular Las Golondrinas (The Wanderers), a three-act zarzuela opera that catapulted him to stardom just before his untimely death from consumption at 28.

Teatro Victoria Eugenia

Plaza de Oquendo s/n.

This theatre, opened along with the Hotel María Cristina in 1912, was a similarly important icon of the social scene and hosted some of the world’s leading artists during San Sebastián’s golden period. It continued to be the city’s major performing arts venue and home of the annual film festival until the opening of the Kursaal across the river. It’s a beautiful building but is closed, for major restoration work until 2003, at the earliest. The small tourist train leaves from here hourly. The monument in the park opposite the theatre is to Oquendo, an admiral from a famous San Sebastián line of seadogs.

Paseo Republica Argentina 4, T 943-424900, F 943-423914, http://www.westin.com

Opened in 1912, this Belle Époque giant is one of the most opulent hotels in the whole peninsula. Taking up an entire city block with its elegant stone bulk, it looks across the river at the Kursaal the way an ageing society type might glare at a cheeky teenager. It’s the place of choice for paparazzi and celebrity-stalkers; during the film festival all the big stars hang out here.

This bridge over the Urumea river links the main railway station with the town. Opened in 1905, its lavish decorations endanger easily distracted motorists crossing it. An ornate tower stands at each corner, decorated with marine sculptures and the shields of city, province and country.

Estadio de Anoeta

Paseo de Anoeta 1, T 943-462833, F 943-458941, http://www.real-sociedad-sad.es Tickets €24-39 (sold at the stadium from the Thu afternoon before a game to the Saturday evening, then 2 hrs before the kickoff on Sunday).

This is the home of Real Sociedad, the city’s football team, given the title Real (Royal) in 1910. The club is one of few to have won the Spanish league title, which it managed twice running in 1981 and 1982. Near the stadium is the brand new bullring, Illumbe, inaugurated in 1998 it includes a massive cinema complex. The city had been without a bullring since 1973, when the famous El Chofe, in Gros, was demolished.

Plaza del Buen Pastor s/n.

The simple and elegant neo-Gothic cathedral is lighter and less oppressive than its older sidekick in the Parte Vieja, with an array of geometric stained glass. In reality, there’s little to detain the visitor – it’s more impressive outside than in. Students of poor-taste works of art will, however, have a field day – the Christ with sheep above the altar is upstaged by the painted choirboy with donation box in hand. Nearby, on Calle Arrasate, is a covered food market that is busy in the mornings but not particularly impressive.

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