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Walk down the river - San Sebastián
Walk down the river
by Emke
Reviews and photos of San Sebastián attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for San Sebastián sightseeing.
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What To Do In Donostia On A Short Daytrip
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  • Donostia-San Sebastián is worth more than a daytrip, but if your schedule is tight, it is feasible to see the city without spending a couple of nights here.

    A day in San Sebastián should start with a good breakfast at Chez Croissant, an inexpensive café and one of very few places that open early in the morning. After breakfast, a walk on the pristine beach is a good idea before it is swamped with tan bodies.

    A 7km of maritime promenade is the best way to see all three Donostia beaches, but if you only want to sample a shorter version, I recommend starting the walk at Paseo del Peine del Viento at the beginning of Ondaretta beach. From this point, you walk through Parque del Miramar with a stop at the Palace, then down to Paseo de La Concha. Half way through La Concha beach, at Plaza Aita Vinuesa, leave the beach behind and take Calle San Martin to Plaza del Buen Pastor. On this plaza stands Catedrale de Buen Pastor, the XIX century Neo-Gothic church with hundreds of beautiful stained glass windows, half of which stunningly glow against the sunlight at any given time of the day.

    Upon exiting from the church, make a turn onto Calle Alfonso VIII and pass through Plaza de Bilbao to cross the beautiful Puente Maria Cristina. When you are on the other side of Rio Urumea, turn left onto Paseo de Francia to look at the canopy inside the RENFE’s Estacion del Norte. The author of that canopy was the same engineer who created the marvel called Eiffel Tower.

    Paseo de Francia is a beautiful walk with many stately mansions to gawk and admire, but at the end of it, you will have to make the decision to turn right and explore Gross or cross Puente Santa Catalina to go back to Centro and La Parte Vieja. This is not a difficult choice, Gross is much more local oriented, but Parte Vieja is much prettier and the pintxos are better.

    If you choose Parte Vieja, the striking XVIII century Baroque Santa Maria del Coro is the absolute must see, and Plaza de La Constitucion is a great photo-op.

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    The Garden With A View
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  • Located across Playa de La Concha, Parque de Alderdi-Eder is a sculpted garden that cannot adhere to the planned mold. Whoever the architect was, he must plan for this garden to be very clean, very precise, and very straightforward, because that’s how it looks in real life.

    The flowery bushes are barely above ground to keep maintenance to the minimum. The flowers are of nondescript varieties and only come in red colour to keep imagination to the minimum. The fences around each patch of green are very low to make them easy to replace when needed. The pathways are very wide and very clean. The benches are very white and very clean. The lampposts are very white and very simple. Almost everything about this park is fool proof, fail-safe, and boring.

    Situated in a prime location where heavy foot traffic occurs daily, this park would be the biggest mistake in San Sebastian if it were not for the tamarind trees.

    Tamarind tree is not a neat tree, it does not have real foliage and it does not have shape. What it has is a messy top that brings up the image of a bad hair day, except tamarind tree has a bad hair day every day. It looks messy when the air is still, the sky is blue, and there is no humidity for which to blame. That is its character and it cannot be changed even when it is a part of a very clean, very precise, very straightforward, and very boring garden.

    The architect must have forgotten about the tamarind tree characteristic when he drew the plan for Parque de Alderdi-Eder. I appreciate his oversight.

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    The Perfect Plaza
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  • Situated in the heart of La Parte Vieja between Calle San Juan de Bilbao and the famous Fermin Calbeton is the beautiful Plaza de La Constitucion.

    Entrance to the square are through two arches, one on Calle San Jeronimo and the other on Calle Narrica, and as a continuance of the arches, the ground arcades open out to the square via curved porticos. All the apartments on the three floors above the ground level are uniform on their appearance. All have light blue shutters and yellow trim on white walls. Each apartment has a balcony and large numbers painted above the doors. This phenomenon serves to honour a time past when Plaza Constitucion was a bullring and the balconies were spectators’ boxes.

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    Santa Maria Church
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  • Santa Maria Church was built in th middle of the 18th century. The layout of the church is a rectangular ground plan with a semicircural roof and the apse embeded in the sacristry. Outside, as a reminder of Donostia's military past, you can see traces of fortress. This is the church YOU MUST SEE!

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    Rowing Contest
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  • The traditional rowing regatta is held on the first two Sundays in September. Crowds of nearly 100,000, many of them wearing the colours of their favourite trainera, cover the hillsides overlooking the bay . Anyway ... if you are really interested in watching the contest and the result. It's on television in all the bars of San-Sebastian. If you go for the atmosphere ... go into the mountains together with the people. After the race everybody goes back to the center and has a party ...

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  • Address: San-Sebastian
  • Directions: Old Quarter
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    Bridge Maria Cristina
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  • Beautiful bridge over Urumea Ibaia. The fantastic pillars are on the both side of the bridge. When you pass it on the left bank of the River, first you'll see Fountain on Plaza del Bilbao, and continuing through Alfonso III Street, you'll reach Buen Pastor Cathedral.

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    Santa Clara Island
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  • Taken in the middle of Mount Igeldo and Mount Urgull, there is some kind of a dot, coming out of the water, that prevents you from enjoying a broad view over the ocean. This dot is Santa Clara Island. I haven't visited it, still, it adds a lot of charm to the whole landscape that San Sebastian offers...

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    Kursaal Venue
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  • AUDITORIUM

    With room for 1,806 people, 5 simultaneous translation cubicles, a screening room, sound and lighting control

    Entered directly from the main hall

    CHAMBER HALL

    With room for 624 people and a stage of 120 m˛, this hall has six simultaneous translation cubicles, a screening room and sound and lighting control. It is entered directly from the entrance hall, which houses the reception and accreditation desks

    MEETINGS ROOMS

    Fitted out with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, including a screening room and videoconference system

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    Bridges (2)
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  • Another beautiful bridge is María Cristina, which has prettified towers at each end (the bridge, not María Cristina!!!)

    Otro hermoso puente es el puente María Cristina, que tiene unas torres de piedra a cada extremo (del puente, no de María Cristina!!!)

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    Bridges (1)
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  • Several bridges cross river Urumea... One of them is Zurriola Bridge (close to river's mouth) in front of Palace of Congress Kursaal.

    Varios puentes cruzan el río Urumea... Uno de ellos es el el Puente Zurriola, cerca de la desembocadura, frente al Palacio de Congresos Kursaal.

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    More San Sebastián Tips
    Overview
     
    Hotels and Accommodations
    Tips: 40 - Photos: 50
    Things To Do
    Tips: 176 - Photos: 265
    Nightlife
    Tips: 18 - Photos: 20
    Transportation
    Tips: 15 - Photos: 13
    Restaurants
    Tips: 43 - Photos: 50
    Shopping
    Tips: 3 - Photos: 2
    Off the Beaten Path
    Tips: 36 - Photos: 47
    Tourist Traps
    Tips: 2 - Photos: 2
    Warnings or Dangers
    Tips: 9 - Photos: 6
    Local Customs
    Tips: 21 - Photos: 38
    Packing Lists
    Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
    Sports Travel
    Tips: 6 - Photos: 5
    General Tips
    Tips: 51 - Photos: 53
    Flights
    Tips: 10 - Photos: 0

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