Delve into the techniques of traditional Basque cooking, hit the beaches to catch some surf breaks, then head to the city’s outskirts to find larger-than-life artworks by San Sebastián artist Eduardo Chillida out among nature
16 November, 2022
San
Sebastián is more than just delicious food. Tucked between
mountains and ocean, in the home of Europe’s oldest culture, the
Basques, it pays to take time to visit the city outside pintxos
bars.
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Searching for activities in between pintxos seems arduous when
all that’s on the brain is your next meal. In this food capital,
time is best spent delving deeper into Basque cuisine. Enter Mimo,
a cookery school offering classes covering everything from pintxos
to paella. Learn how to recreate the city’s most famous small
bites, or join a show-cooking experience in a luxurious, low-lit
private dining atmosphere.
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Substitute a museum for a farmhouse and its sweeping grounds,
exchange some oil on canvas for towering rock and iron sculptures,
and you have an idea of what Chillida Leku, the art space dedicated
to artist Eduardo Chillida, is like. Take a city bus to the
outskirts to see this native son’s breathtaking work against green
hills and stony mountains, as he intended.
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Zurriola is “the surfer’s beach” because it has the best break
in the city. Several schools offer one-off classes, but Pukas,
which has been operating since 1982, is the most long-standing. Not
fussed by boarding? In the summer, the waves settle down enough for
swimmers to splash around here.
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Atop one of San Sebastián’s three mountains sits an amusement
park that time forgot. Dating back to 1912, the off-the-beaten-path
fairground makes for a perfectly retro adventure. Chug along the
funicular to the top of the mountain and set off on a nostalgic day
out. Old-fashioned games, a tongue-in-cheek terror house and a ride
on the “Swiss mountain” await.
This article was updated 16 November 2022.
