Discover luxury hotels for gourmet breaks in San Sebastián, Spain

This waist-expanding gastro hub takes food very seriously. The finest feasts in Europe come either Michelin-starred or in miniature – pintxos (Basque tapas) are served in every bar and if it’s not market-fresh that morning, you’re not in San Sebastián. The dazzling coast is home to La Concha bay, a curved shore backed with lush green hills – Montes Igueldo, Urgull, Ulia, Pasaia and Adarra. This city with two names (it’s also known as Donostia) has a Belle Epoque charm, and lots of graceful architecture – the sandstone columns of the Victoria Eugenia Theatre and the shuttered balconies of the Plaza de la Constitucion in the old quarter, at the base of Monte Urgull. And it plays annual host to San Sebastián International Film Festival – so in September, you’ll get film stars with your fine food.
Elena Arzak

Elena Arzak

Contemporary Spanish cooking may well be progressive and forward thinking, but, as in most countries, it’s still dominated by men. Elena Arzak, often lauded as ‘the world’ best female chef’, is a welcome exception. Elena and her father Juan Mari Arzak (one of the big beasts of New Basque cuisine) are responsible for Arzak, the triple-Michelin-star restaurant that has been in their family for 118 years and a standard feature of gourmet ‘must-try’ shortlists. It is set in central San Sebastián (across the river from Smith hotel Astoria 7), home to more Michelin stars per square metre than any other city in the world – possibly related to the fact it sits at the geographical and culinary meeting point of France and Spain. In the last decade, Elena (whose professional education, inevitably, involved a period at El Bulli) has emerged as a remarkable chef in her own right, continuing and building on her father’s legacy with unparalleled artistry and improbably brilliant flavour combinations.

Explore Arzak