Sunrise and Sunset – beaches in San Sebastian

Playa de la Concha

So far I’ve been in San Sebastian for a little over one month. As mentioned in my intro I am here with Apple Languages to focus on pushing my Spanish language skills to the next level! Whilst I’m here I will be exploring the city and letting you in on what it’s really like to live and study Spanish in San Sebastian!

The city is famous for its surfing and of course with this comes the three main beaches:

1. Playa de Zurriola
2. Playa de la Concha
3. Playa de Ondaretta

Zurriola

This is where all of the surfers go! It’s big enough so that all of the newbies to the sport stay on one side of the beach. Those more experienced surfers tackle the heavier waves on the other side. If surfing’s not your thing… or if there’s flat calm water, Zurriola is the perfect place to watch a San Sebastian sunset…

Zurriola Sunset 1 – San Sebastian Live

A post shared by Apple Language Courses (@applelanguages) on May 16, 2017 at 4:09am PDT

Kids, teens and adults alike line up along the beach walls to watch the sunset, particularly at the week-ends! The best thing to do is travel there with pintxos that you have just bought at the local bars. The weather (most of the time) is gorgeous and the light seems to last longer into the evening. I love that this makes the people more sociable and able to stay out late even with their children, which is quite different to England!

La Concha

The biggest and most photographed beach in San Sebastian is La Concha. Named after the shape – which resembles a shell, it is one of Europe’s most famous urban beaches. Both locals and tourists alike flock here as soon as the sun is out to sunbathe, swim, paddle board and enjoy the scenery. The pavements along the concha are full of people walking and busking throughout the day and into the evening but I have found that if you come here at 7am you get the whole place to yourself and you can run without the crowds…if you are able to get out of bed for it!

La Concha 1

A post shared by Apple Language Courses (@applelanguages) on May 16, 2017 at 3:57am PDT

Ondaretta

The last beach is Ondaretta. It is the furthest away from the Old Town (where all the bars are!) and it is also the quietest. People walk along Ondaretta to get to the famous Peine de Viento’s sculpture (The Comb of the Wind) by the Basque architect Luis Peña Ganchegui.

From here you can catch a funicular up the Monte Igeldo mountain to see incredible views of the city below.

The beaches and the people that go there are at the heart of this city. Make sure you visit them on your first step on any trip to San Sebastian! 😊

Watch this space for more about living and studying in San Sebastian!

Catherine

Instagram