Features

Dream Destinations: San Sebastian

Enjoy the gorgeous beaches and delicious pintxos of San Sebastian

By Chris Littley

If you’re a foodie and a caravan lover, then there’ll be two things that you’re missing a lot during lockdown. In our latest edition of the Dream Destinations series, we’re looking at a place that will help you scratch both of those itches once travel freedoms are resumed – San Sebastian.

Located in Spain’s Basque Country, San Sebastian combines its world-famous beaches with a stunning cobbled old town, making it a wonderful place to explore on foot. Park your caravan up in this coastal city and you’ll experience a seaside holiday like no other.

If there’s something about San Sebastian that’s even more well known than its wide stretches of sand, then it’s the food. Not only has the city become a focal point for high-end restaurants and innovative cuisine, but it’s also the epicentre of pintxos culture.

For anyone who has not yet experienced pintxos, think of tapas, only smaller, and generally pierced with a skewer. That’s because the word comes from the Spanish verb pinchar, which means to stab. Little morsels of food poked through with a toothpick, making them easy to pick up and enjoy with a beer, glass of wine or aperitif without getting your hands dirty.

These days, many of the pintxos lining the bars and taverns of San Sebastian are impaled on a piece of bread, adding an extra dimension. Usually, there are three or four ingredients combined for a tantalising mouthful that will spur you on to order more. But don’t just select from what you can see; take a look at the hot pintxos menu for house specialities cooked to order.

While it can be very tempting to stay in one place having seen the huge selection of pintxos available, the best thing to do is to indulge in a txikiteo. This is essentially a pintxos crawl, where you hop from one bar to the next across any given neighbourhood, sampling a bit of whichever morsel catches your fancy as you go.

Start your txikiteo at Constitucion Plaza, as there are many world-class pintxos bars in the vicinity. Be sure not to miss Ganbara, as it has gained an impressive reputation over the years. If you have a sweet tooth, then finish up at La Vina and order the tarta de queso with an accompanying glass of sweet sherry, as this cheesecake is worth the journey to San Sebastian in itself.