Hotels in San Sebastian, Spain

A little about San Sebastian...

Donostia-San Sebastián (Basque: Donostia, Spanish: San Sebastián, known officially as Donostia-San Sebastián; both names reference the patron saint of the city) is the capital city of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, Spain . Its population is 182,930 (2005 estimate).

The city is in the north of the Basque Country, on the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay. San Sebastian's picturesque coastline makes it a popular beach resort.

The city is referred to as Donosti in its own dialect of the Basque language.

Donostia-San Sebastián is the home city of the football (soccer) club Real Sociedad, who have recently been demoted to the La Liga Second División after 40 years in the Spanish top flight. The city's Anœta Stadium also hosts rugby union matches featuring Biarritz Olympique. Each summer the city is host to the well known bicycle race, the one-day Clásica de San Sebastián.

At midnight, in the Konstituzioa plaza in the "Alde Zaharra/Parte Vieja" (old city), the mayor raises the flag of San Sebastián (see in the infobox). For 24 hours, the entire city is awash with the sound of drums. The adults, dressed as cooks and soldiers, march around the city. They march all night with their cook hats and white aprons with the March of San Sebastián.

The origin of this custom is said to be that Spanish tradesmen, including cooks, mocked the occupying French army during the Napoleonic wars, by aping their daily procession from Monte Urgull to the water-pump at San Telmo. Later, the procession was developed when Vicente "Txiki" Buenechea donated barrels to be used as drums for the procession.

A festival called Semana Grande in Spanish and Aste Nagusia in Basque ("Big/Main Week") is held every year in August. There is a fireworks competition - every night there is a fireworks presentation over the bay and, at the end, a winner is declared.

San Sebastian is known for its Basque cuisine and pintxos (tapas) and restaurant district near the port.