San Sebastián: Top NY Times 2016 Pick

Need some ideas about where to travel and visit in the future? Seeking some locations that are different and distant? You might check out this New York Times Travel Section that was delivered this morning. They have this headline: "52 Places to Go in 2016" with this sub-headline summary: "It’s a big world out there, so we’ve narrowed it down for you. From ancient temples to crystalline waters, here are our top destinations to visit this year."

In their top top list, they have several Europe and other locations that we have not, yet, visited. Many are now on our "to-do" listing.

18th on their best list is San Sebastián with this sub-head: "A culinary capital expands its repertoire.". This Times story has a few of these brief story highlights: "San Sebastián is known as a culinary paradise, but its packed cultural calendar this year will prove it has much more to offer. As the Basque beauty celebrates its reign as a 2016 European Capital of Culture, large-scale artworks will populate public spaces, the San Telmo museum will present a powerful joint project with Madrid’s Reina Sofía museum, the modern Kursaal auditorium and other area theaters will screen films as part of its annual film festival, and the historic Hotel Maria Cristina will impress with its refurbished belle époque interiors. Meanwhile, locals will be pouring their energy into grass-roots events, from traditional Basque festivals to street theater and artisan markets."

San Sebastián sounds interesting for the next time we return to Spain and nearby. Have loved our past experiences in Barcelona, Seville, Toledo, etc.. Others have ideas, tips, secrets, suggestions, etc., from your visiting to San Sebastián. Don't be shy!! Share more!

Full story at:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/travel/places-to-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Super loved Dubrovnik!!! See more details and lots of great visual samples/examples at this link. Have had over 30,588 views on this posting and appreciate those who have tuned-in and dropped by.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

Terry, We loved staying in San Sebastian for a few days and it pairs well with a driving trip to Bordeaux (thinking about your other Bordeaux post) and Biarritz. One interesting story (you will not see in the NY Times) about this place. One beautiful afternoon, DW and I were lounging on the beach located right in downtown San Sebastian. In the late afternoon as locals left their jobs, quite a few came to the beach shedding their clothes (they had swim suits on under their dress/work clothes). But the most fascinating was a large lady who walked onto the beach wearing a classy business suit. She stopped a few feet from us and took out a very large cloth bag that was open at one end (like a dress) and had a hole for her head at the other end. She put on that large bag and then changed all of her clothes under the bag until she took off the bag revealing her swim suit. We thought it was a neat idea. And yes, this city does have some excellent restaurants and great Tapas.

Hank

Hank

I have seen lots of people change into their swimwear as you mention, although admittedly not in recent times. People tend to be less prudish these days.

San Sebastián is a beautiful city. It has a lovely old town with lots of tapas bars. The Basque Country has more Michelin restaurants than anywhere else in Europe.

It is also near to other interesting places like Hondarrabia, on the French border, Bilbao and also the Rioja region.

We visited San Sebastian in 2014 on a Sea Dream cruise. We loved it! We loved it so much that we and another couple are booked for 6 nights there in May. The Maria Cristina was a little pricey so we are staying at The De Londres which is right on the beach. We have booked private day tours with Basque Tours to take us to various areas of the basque country both in Spain and France as well as Rioja and Pamploma. We are really looking forward to the food since we did a Pintxos Walkabout when we visited before. Just fabulous! Will report back on details when we return.

Whatnot

There are some fantastic restaurants in the area. If you enjoy your food do a Google search. Some of the Michelin restaurants are privy, but are amazing.

In La Rioja the hotel of the Marques de Riscal estate was designed by Norman Foster. Great wines at the bar, but not sure the architecture fits in with the local environment.

We had a fantastic free tour with excellent wines, jamon and cheese at the Vina Tondonia bodega in Haro. One of my favourite Rioja wines. You can book it online.

In SS go up to the top of Monte Igueldo for fantastic views.

Thanks for your info. Is there a Michelin star that you would recommend? I have read things like an average price of 185 Euros per person for an entree at Arzak. Is this true? And how far out do you need to make a reservation?

Whatnot

Sorry I can't personally recommend one. Yes, you would normally have to book in advance, but lunch would probably be easier than dinner to get a table.

If you look on the restaurant websites, they will normally have the menus and prices.

Price is for tasting menu (which takes several hrs to consume) and not per entree. List of Michelin star rests in SS is http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/eat/michelin-stars

Mugaritz is #6 on top 50 in the world list, Arzak - 17th http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners#t1-10

Thanks so much for the info. Will check it out. This kind of info is why I just love CC and Trip Advisor!

Hkto

Last year the Arzak was featured on a UK episode of Masterchef. The food looked amazing. When you see all the hard work that goes into creating the food you can see why it is expensive.

A few weeks ago a restaurant in Albano, Italy was shown. (I can't remember the name of the restaurant ). They were charging 45euros for what was a starter of salad leaves and herbs and a main course of a small piece of lamb for 65euros. It looked nice, but no intricate delicate work.

My partner is a fussy eater and this calibre of restaurant often only offer a set menu, so some of the courses would be wasted on him.

Fortunately, there are other restaurants in the region that offer good food at lower prices.

I agree, Michelin star restaurants are more like art, some like it and others - hate. Very few neutral reviews. But its definitely different experience as people want to try at least once. Some would say that is style over substance which is probably correct observation.

SS has lots of good restaurant for town of this size.

Thanks again for all of your comments! I think we may just skip the 3 Michelin starred restaurants. But we may try one if our traveling friends want to. We will see. I also know there are plenty of great restaurants in San Sebastian so we have 6 nights to try them and I don't think we will be disappointed! We live part time in Charleston, SC which has several award winning restaurants. The accolades they get just brings in more and more very good restaurants because you can't get into the top 2 or 3 at a decent time unless you make reservations a month or more out (one of the best only takes reservations 30 days out) or don't want to pay the price unless it is a special occasion. Therefore the not so good fall by the wayside and finding a bad restaurant is really hard to do. I think San Sebastian is some what the same way. If you are not good, then you will not stay in business. Do you all agree?

Or you could do what we did when we were there a year ago. We took a private food walking tour with another couple visiting about half a dozen pintxos bars. With so many great pintxos bars it is hard to figure out where to go and what to have in each bat. Our guide was an expat who married a local woman. We had a delicious pintxo in each place paired with the appropriate red wine, white wine, rose or cider. We could not believe how the food kept getting better and better as we wandered around this lovely town.

That is what we did the first time we went to San Sebastian. It was a lot of fun. I know exactly where the guide took us and what he ordered for us because I took a picture of the Bar's name, the food we ate and the wine bottle label at each stop. Think we can recreate our pintos walkabout and with 6 days we can try a lot of others!

Half the fun is discovering places for yourself, not being taken to places that give free food and drink and commission to a guide.

Last time I was in SS I saw a group on a pintxos tour around San Telmo. Most bars were full and they couldn't get in. I am not sure what is the value added in the tour as pretty easy to order what one wants. Basically cold pintxos are laid out on the counter, hot ones and drinks - on the black board. Also for people who want to read up on choices and SS bars that serve them there is a website dedicated to it http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php has English version.

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I agree, Michelin star restaurants are more like art, some like it and others - hate. Very few neutral reviews. But its definitely different experience as people want to try at least once. Some would say that is style over substance which is probably correct observation. SS has lots of good restaurant for town of this size.

Appreciate these various follow-ups and interesting postings from experiences in and around San Sebastian from Hank, LondonTowner and other travel experts. Nearly a year ago when I posted this NY Times story, I did not know that San Sebastian might be a potential for us to visit in the near future. Right now, however, we are seriously looking at visiting this location when doing a mid-June 2017, 11-day cruise from Lisbon to Rouen with Silversea. Today, I ran into a long-time friend who is the top food expert/writer here in Central Ohio. I mentioned about the cruise we are planning.

When I showed him the map, including a stop for San Sebastian, his reaction was that this town is, in his words, "The Food Capital of the World". That is high praise!!! Then I found the below story that provides more details as to his point. Plus on this cruise, it allows us about two days for in and around Bordeaux. WOW!! That's lots of food and wine options and potentials in Portugal, Spain and France.

From the London/UK Telegraph in September 2015, they had this headline: "Is San Sebastian the world's greatest city for foodies?" with these highlights: "San Sebastian may just be the world’s top food spot. The small Basque city with its elegant Belle Époque architecture has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else in the world. Not only that, but it is home to two restaurants in the top 20 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants – Arzak and Mugaritz – with two more, Asador Etxebarri and Azurmendi, within driving distance. But what makes San Sebastian especially appealing to the gourmet traveller is the quality of the everyday food, in particular the hundreds of pintxos bars, simple drinking dens selling everything from traditional rustic snacks to high-end gourmet dishes in small portions – and with miniature prices."

Great added info on San Sebastian. Keep sharing your tips, ideas, suggestions, past experiences.

Full story at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/san-sebastian/articles/Is-San-Sebastian-the-worlds-greatest-city-for-foodies/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 219,272 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

We are now less than two weeks until we arrive in Lisbon/Portugal and it will be June 14 when we start sailing up the Atlantic Coast to Rouen/France for our eleven-day cruise. On Sunday, June 18, we will be in port 8 am-9 pm at St Jean De Luz. From there, we are planning to visit San Sebastián.

Last night on CNN, they played an Anthony Bourdain "Parts Unknown" episode that was all about San Sebastián. WOW!!! What a preview for San Sebastián and its amazing food history, dining love, food traditions and skills, etc.. Below is a link to the "field notes" for this Bourdain episode, plus some video samples that are so totally wonderful. Below are a few screen shots from this Bourdain visit here. This has so totally spike up, UP our excitement for visiting San Sebastián. Can't wait!! Am working now on a doing a private tour there so that we can sample this area and its food in a more in-depth manner than what our scheduled ship tour would offer.

Here are just a few of Anthony's notes/comments: "San Sebastián and the surrounding region has more outrageously good restaurants per square mile than just about anywhere in Europe. Even the bad restaurants are good. Though we revisit some of my old favorites on this episode, we take a deeper, more specific dive into who the Basque are—where they might have come from—and why their food is so damned delicious. For pure, unadulterated food porn, this is one of our more high-test offerings. The Basque have a history of obstinate resistance that has—for one long, ugly period of history—veered towards terrorism. That period has fortunately passed."

Any other tips, ideas, suggestions for San Sebastián and these nearby areas?

Link to Anthony Bourdain Field Notes/Video Highlights at:

https://explorepartsunknown.com/destination/san-sebastian/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! Those pictures start on the second page, post #26. See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

From CNN's Anthony Bourdain series, here are five highlights as this well-know chef visited San Sebastián, sampled the top food there, etc. He is shown with Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, two top chefs famed for their historic and creative dining establishment in this town.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

San Sebastián is a lovely city, albeit expensive. In the old centre are hundreds of tapas bars which are called pintos in this part of Spain.

The Basque region of Spain has the most Michelin starred restaurants than anywhere else in Europe.

If you go up to the top of Monte Igueldo you get great views of the beautiful La Concha beach.

San Sebastián is a lovely city, albeit expensive. In the old centre are hundreds of tapas bars which are called pintos in this part of Spain. The Basque region of Spain has the most Michelin starred restaurants than anywhere else in Europe. If you go up to the top of Monte Igueldo you get great views of the beautiful La Concha beach.

Appreciate these great comments, info and follow-ups. Really looking forward to seeing this location and having a wonderful time visiting here. Keep it coming with this excellent sharing.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 32,064 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

I don't think you will be disappointed in San Sebastián, as well as fantastic food it has lovely scenery and beautiful green countryside. During the 20s and 30s it's where the aristocracy of Europe used to holiday, particularly the deposed ones.

I don't think you will be disappointed in San Sebastián, as well as fantastic food it has lovely scenery and beautiful green countryside. During the 20s and 30s it's where the aristocracy of Europe used to holiday, particularly the deposed ones.

Appreciate these great added comments and the nice follow-up from our UK friend. Wonderful and fun insights. Yes, we are "deposed aristocrats", too. But, from America . . . but we were not that important, either. Great perspectives and excellent added history. Love this sharing and learning. Just six days till we depart.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 32,064 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

YES!! We super loved San Sebastián. Will post more pictures and details from our exciting visit to this great city in a later post on this thread and on this Spain Board.

Also, after returning from our June "adventure" in parts of NW Spain and SW France, I happened across this very special and on-point Rick Steves program that he did for PBS TV about Basque County. Great video, details, background, etc., for much of what we were able to explore last month. We were able to visit and explore the key parts of four of the five town highlighted in this program. To see lots of pictures, check out my live/blog, Live, Terry/Spirit: Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany; Pix’s!, at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

As Rick Steves noted, this "homeland of the proud and resilient Basque people is split between France and Spain." Much in this program focused on one of our top favorites . . . San Sebastián. As we were able to do, Rick Steves shows and give much more about the ancient Basque capital of Guernica, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and visiting part of France for their Basque Country in St. Jean de Luz.

Yes, much was featured and shown in tapa bars, plus aspects for the jai alai games that started in this region. Really enjoyed exploring and learning more about the Basque areas of both countries. This PBS program helped to add to the depth of that knowledge and experience that we enjoyed so much last month. Below are a few visual samples of Rick Steves doing this informative program. It is worth checking out and having these areas on your "to-do" priority list.

Video link to this Rick Steves Basque program:

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 183,274 views for this posting.

Here are four quick visual samples from the half-hour PBS program done by Rick Steves on Basque County. First, Rick is showing some of the great tapa bar food in San Sebastián. Second features Rick with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in the background. Yes, we were right there, too! Next is a map showing the towns featured in this area split between these two countries. Fortunately for us, we were able to visit four of these five special towns. Finally, it shows Rick with the beach/resort area of charming San Sebastián. Great memories!!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

Glad to hear that San Sebastián did not disappoint. It is a beautiful part of Spain.

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Glad to hear that San Sebastián did not disappoint. It is a beautiful part of Spain.

YES!! San Sebastian was spectacular. Loved the town, the area, its food, great architecture, excellent history, super character and charm, Royal connections, etc., etc. Below are just six of my picture. On page three of my live/blog are more of my visuals. Happy to answer any and ALL questions. Don't be shy. Just post any info needs on my live/blog and I will be happy to respond.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

From on top of Mount Igueldo, first here is the overall view of San Sebastian, its beach, mountains nearby, etc. So spectacular from up here!! Next, you can see the stone tower that sets at this dramatic location. In the final four pictures, you can see some of our success in doing the pintxo bars. This includes some of my personal picks with octopus, scallops, Sangra wine, etc.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)