September 19, 2026 San Sebastian SP

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day just as predicted. We headed into town early to continue our Pinxto crawl. San Sebastian has really made its name as a foody city for good reason. We have not had a bad dish in our three trips here.

We came across this gentleman wrapping small rubber bands around the claws of these tiny crabs. He explained to us that they made excellent bait for fishing.

Pinxto bars are very informal, they are bars and at the bar there are small plates of various dishes. You just point at what you want they hand it to you and you head to a table to eat. It makes for a very informal operation, but the key thing is that the small dishes are delicious.

Typical pinxto’s. The one on the left is cod, the one on the right is octopus.

So today we spent the day stopping at a Pinxto bar for no more than two Pinxto’s with a beverage to wash it down, then going out and walking the town to take in a site. We repeated that process three times visiting a different bar each time, to complete a very satisfying day.

The entrance to the harbor in San Sebastian is spectacular.

When we first came to San Sebastian 8 years ago it was a tourist centered town, but since then it has become a hot town for tourism. The bars were all a little busier than we remembered from our first visit. But despite being busier the places still have retained the character and quality that impressed us the first time we came.

The proprietor of our favorite Pinxto Bar. No one behind the bar was under the age of 60. The clientele here was 80% Basque, 10% other Spanish, and 10% foreign. We really enjoyed this place.

There was a lot more activity around town associated with the film festival today than yesterday. I was on the lookout for stars, but didn’t see any.

One of the theaters hosting the film festival.

Today was the most walking of the trip, despite the old town being pretty compact. We just enjoyed strolling the streets taking in the sites and people watching. It allowed us to walk off our Pinxtos as well as the samples of Beer, Vermouth, Cider, Sangria, and Gin we tried today.

Beach art.

As we were walking we discussed how some towns just have a feeling that makes you want to relax and enjoy life. San Sebastian is definitely one of those. We could spend several more days just strolling the streets, sampling the good food and people watching. But alas we are going to move on tomorrow.

The harbor area is also lined with restaurants.

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