San Sebastián is small, walkable and wrapped around two beaches. The Old Town throws you into the pintxo bars, Gros is calmer and closer to the surf, and Centro sits in between with the sandy La Concha beach on the doorstep.
This guide runs through each area, who it suits and where to book, so you can pick the right base for where you’d most love to stay in San Sebastián.
We stayed in San Sebastián on a week-long family holiday and spent it the way you are meant to: wandering between pintxo bars, mooching on the sandy beaches, walking up the headland for the view over the bay and eatng Basque cheesecake for our merienda.
In a Rush? Our Favourite Hotels in San Sebastian
Hotel SANSEbay
Stunning seaview hotel in San Sebastian’s Old Town. Close to all the city’s best bars, cafes and restaurants.
Check ratesGo Donosti Chillida
Apartment with sea views, perfect for a couple’s city and beach break. Short walk from Ondarreta Beach. Close to Orburu vegetarian restaurant.
Check ratesHotel Maria Cristina
Stylish modern hotel in the heart of San Sebastian, just steps from the sea and La Concha Beach. Close to the best wine bars!
Check ratesHotel Palacio Bellas Artes San Sebastian
5-star hotel is located opposite San Sebastian’s Victoria Eugenia Theatre, with views over the Cantabrian Sea and Urumea River.
Check ratesHow to Choose Where to Stay in San Sebastián
San Sebastián is a small and walkable city, so no neighbourhood is truly far from the action. The choice on where to stay in San Sebastián comes down to the feel you want each morning and evening.
Pick the Old Town for pintxos and buzz, Centro or La Concha for a first visit and the widest hotel choice, Gros for the beach and a local feel, Ondarreta or Antiguo for a quieter residential base, and Amara if you are watching the budget.
We visited in August, which is peak season, so book well ahead if you plan to come during the summer, as hotels and apartments do book out.
Here is the quick version before we go through each one:
| Area | Best For | The Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Parte Vieja (Old Town) | Pintxos and nightlife | Buzzy and central, noisy at night |
| Centro / La Concha | First visits, sights, seafront hotels | Elegant, walkable, widest choice |
| Gros | The beach, surf and a local feel | Relaxed, younger, great bakeries |
| Ondarreta / Antiguo | A quiet, residential base | Calm and beachy, a little out |
| Amara | Budget stays and transport links | Local and practical, cheaper |
Parte Vieja (Old Town) — Best for Pintxos and Nightlife
The Old Town is the epicentre of San Sebastián’s pintxo scene, a tight grid of streets where the evening is one long wander from bar to bar. Staying here means you step straight into it, which is the whole appeal for a short trip built around eating and drinking well.
The trade-off is noise: this is the busiest, latest part of the city, so light sleepers should look for a room set back from the main streets. Expect small guesthouses (pensiones) and apartments above the bars rather than big-name hotels, and book early because the good-value rooms here go first.
Best For: Pintxo lovers, first-timers who want the buzz, short city breaks.
Where to Stay: Hotel SANSEbay for a stunning seaview hotel in the Old Town, close to all the city’s best bars, cafés and restaurants. A Parte Vieja apartment for a self-catering flat among the Old Town streets, ideal if you want to roll straight into the pintxo crawl.
Centro and La Concha — Best for First Visits and Seafront Hotels
Centro, the elegant nineteenth-century heart known as the Área Romántica, runs behind La Concha bay and has the widest range of hotels in the city. We based ourselves in an apartment in this area, a few streets back from La Perla, the restaurant on La Concha, and we would stay in this part of the city again in a heartbeat.
You’re close to everything: the beautiful sandy sweep of La Concha is a two-minute walk one way, and the Old Town and its pintxo bars are a flat ten-minute stroll around the bay the other, so it is easy to roll home at night after a few wines and pintxos.
Best For: First visits, couples, anyone who wants La Concha beach and the sights on the doorstep.
Where to Stay: Hotel Maria Cristina and Hotel Palacio Bellas Artes are stylish hotels in this area. This central La Concha apartment is a great group stay option. The Passage Apartments is right in the centre for those who like to shop.
Gros — Best for the Beach, Surf and a Local Feel
Cross the Kursaal bridge from the Old Town and you are in Gros, the neighbourhood built around Zurriola surf beach. It has a younger, more local feel, good bakeries and coffee, and quieter nights than the Parte Vieja, while still being a ten-minute walk from the centre of the action.
It’s a great place to stay in San Sebastián for families, surfers and anyone staying a few nights who wants the beach but not the main city hub. Hotels here tend to be smaller and better value than the seafront grands in Centro.
Best For: Surfers, families, longer stays, second-time visitors.
Where to Stay: Leonardo Boutique Hotel is a modern hotel a few blocks back from the beach. Baso Enea and The Rentals Collection – Izpizua are spacious self-catering apartments which work well for group trips.
Ondarreta and Antiguo — Best for a Quiet, Residential Base
At the western end of the bay, Ondarreta and the residential Antiguo neighbourhood are calmer and more local, set around the gentler Ondarreta beach and the Peine del Viento sculptures. You trade a few minutes’ extra walk or a short bus ride into the centre for quieter streets, more space and often better value on apartments and family rooms. It suits
Best For: People staying longer, travelling with children, or returning visitors who already know the centre and want somewhere more relaxed to come back to each evening.
Where to Stay: Go Donosti Chillida is an apartment with sea views, perfect for a couple’s city-and-beach break; a short walk from Ondarreta beach and close to Orburu vegetarian restaurant.
Amara — Best for Budget Stays
Amara is an ordinary residential district near the bus and train stations, roughly a fifteen-minute walk from the centre, where rooms are usually the cheapest in the city. We wouldn’t recommend this area unless you’re really on a tight budget. You lose the seafront charm and need to jump on public transport to reach the main part of the city and beaches.
Compare Places to Stay in San Sebastián
Once you have settled on an area, compare live prices and availability across it before booking, as rates in San Sebastián move a lot with the season. A few of the hotels you will come across:
Is San Sebastián Expensive, and When Should You Book?
San Sebastián can be pricier than other northern Spanish cities, and accommodation is where you feel it most. Peak summer and the big August festivities are the dearest and busiest times, when seafront and Old Town rooms sell out first, so book those well ahead.
Late spring and early autumn bring milder days, thinner crowds and better rates. Wherever you stay, reserving early is the single biggest saving in a small city where good-value rooms are limited.
Getting There and Getting Around
There is no airport in the city itself, so most UK visitors fly into Bilbao and transfer across, which takes about an hour. We flew into Bilbao and took the bus across and it was very straightforward.
Biarritz, just over the French border, is the other close airport, with a small airport at Hondarribia for limited routes.
Once you arrive the city is flat and walkable, so a central base means you can reach both beaches, the Old Town and Centro on foot without driving.
Making the Most of Your Base: Pintxos, a Sunset Txakoli and Two Zarautz Day Trips
Part of choosing where to stay is knowing what you can walk to, and from a central base San Sebastián puts its best bits within reach. These were the three things we kept coming back for:
Pintxos in the Old Town. We loved the Parte Vieja for the evening pintxo crawl: wander in, eat your way from bar to bar and walk home. Our favourite bars are in our separate San Sebastián food guide, so this stays a where-to-stay piece.
A sunset txakoli up Monte Urgull. Climb the headland behind the Old Town to Polboriña, the little bar in the old fort near the top, and have a glass of txakoli looking back over the bay. It was our favourite thing to do at golden hour, and it costs nothing to walk up.
Two day trips to Zarautz. We went twice: once for a walk and a beach day along its long sweep of sand, and once for a half day of surfing, as Zarautz is one of the easiest places on this coast to learn. We caught the train out in the morning and back in the afternoon, which is another reason a base near the Old Town or the stations is handy.
Plan Your Spanish Holiday
San Sebastián Where to Stay: FAQ
Two to three nights is plenty of time to see the city of San Sebastián, but we recommend staying a full week to enjoy the beaches and take day trips to Zarautz or Bilbao without rushing.
For a beach-and-pintxos break, stay in San Sebastián: it is smaller, prettier and more walkable. Bilbao makes more sense only if you are flying into its airport for a single night or you specifically want the Guggenheim; the two are about an hour apart, so it is easy to day-trip between them.
Yes, San Sebastián is good for families. It is compact, flat and walkable, with two calm city beaches. Gros and Ondarreta suit families best for the space and the sand, while a central base keeps everything within an easy stroll.