Postcards from San Sebastian (guest post)

Even in cities I've visited often, I haven't run every local trail. So, I've enlisted help from resident experts to round out the running travel guides series known as "postcards."

Today, we're headed to the city of San Sebastian in Spain, where Christine (Traditional Life in Progress) will be our tour guide:

About a year ago (July 13th to be exact) I enrolled in a Spanish language program in San Sebastian, Spain. To be completely honest, I had never heard of said city, and decided to go based off of my well-traveled brother-in-law’s suggestion. And what a magnificent suggestion! I was lucky enough to spend nearly 6 weeks in this amazing small city, where the surf was great (not that I can surf well) the food was amazing, and the people were genuine.

View of San Sebastian

Although I’d like to keep San Sebastian all to myself, I know that it isn’t realistic. Thankfully it’s a bit tricky to get to which will keep it off the beaten path just a bit.

But if you’re going to go, you should do it correctly.

The best breakfast and service in town is at Mapaal’s Bar which is not partially close to anything other than Lacunza language school and the train station. But Paco (the bartender and I assume owner) makes a mean tortilla and never forgets a coffee order.

The two best non-kept secrets for dinner are Astlena and La Cuchilla de San Telmo (both of which are recommended in Lonely Planet).

As for night life, I fell in love with a bar/club called Ezpala. It is nothing special, and was probably only fun because all of my classmates went there every Thursday night. But if you like to dance in basement bars, you have found your haven. On nights that didn’t include my beloved Ezpala, were spent in the square on a patio enjoying some red wine. Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Aside from eating and drinking (which you’ll do a lot in San Sebastian as it has more Michelin stars than almost any other city in the world) there are plenty of fun healthy activities to be done, surfing is quite popular as well as swimming and kayaking in the bay. There is a river that runs to the outskirts of the city that has a path alongside it, making for good running or biking.

Monte Urgull Mendia 

One of my favorite activities was walking up Monte Urgull Mendia which was a challenging walk but offered beautiful views, and many runners run around Monte Urgull (examples here and here).

Sunset from Monte Urgull Mendia

I also enjoyed the long walk around the bay to see the famous Wind Comb, or Peine del Viento, a sculpture by artist Eduardo Chillida. (You can find one proposed running route to the sculpture here.)

Wind combs in San Sebastian

If you ever find yourself in Spain, it’s worth the detour to see this magnificent city.

Do you have any questions for Christine?
What's the most beautiful place you've ever run?