jetjunkies

April 22, 2026

A defensive village was established here in the 12th century by Sancho VI the Wise, king of Navarre. The village was named after a nearby Monastery dedicated to Saint Sebastián. Donostia is the Basque form of Saint (Dono) Sebastián.

Located on the Bahia de Concha and the larger Bay of Biscay this is a stunningly beautiful city of just less than half a million inhabitants in the metro area.

We had fun bar hopping to partake in delicious Pintxos (tapas) and people watching. One bar was right in front of the famous Art Nouveau style Boulevard Kiosk (bandstand). This structure is a prime example of the city’s romantic architecture.

The city was awash in blue and white flags, jerseys and logos of Real Sociedad de Fútbol, founded in 1909, that had just won the Copa del Rey final against Madrid. This was the 4th time the club has taken the league trophy. There was a huge parade for the winning players and club.

Thousands lined the streets to celebrate the champions.

We walked from our hotel to old town to take a short boat trip out to Island Santa Clara, which is located right in Bahia de Concha.

Since we were so far north we expected cooler temperatures, however in a big surprise our boating day reached 81 degrees. Then in the evening we were treated to a magnificent lightening and thunder storm with torrential downpour. We could hear people laughing and screaming down on the streets as everyone was caught off guard. Meanwhile we sat in our room sharing an incredible Basque cheesecake with a flavor called French Toast….unbelievably creamy and good!

This was our favorite cathedral in Donostia-San Sebastián. It is the the tallest in the entire province of Gipuzkoa Spain. The main ornamentation in this Gothic Revival structure (consecrated in 1897) are it’s beautiful stained glass windows fabricated in Leon.

Here are some streetscape photos to give you a overall feel for the city.

So glad we spend enough time here to really get around the city. They were some of our longest walking days, but totally worth every step.