| City Breaks in Spain |
Cities of Spain
Alicante City Break
 
The slopes of Alicante's pavements, the layout of its streets, the salty smell breezing in from the south, all push or pull the visitor down towards the seafront, the undeniable star of the city. Its beaches, its lovely palm-tree-shaded promenade, its marina; these are the essence of Alicante. And it is still a serious working port, though less than in the past and most visitors do not see anything more seaworthy than the Tabarca ferry in the marina.
The Seafront. Alicante's promenade, the Explanada de España, is one of the most appealing you will see anywhere, with its palm trees and carefully gardened flower beds, its wavy tiles in three colours (representing the sea), its stalls, tourists drinking at pavement cafés, and locals taking the air from their park benches. It is as if a romantically minded town planner had wanted to make an area to illustrate the Spanish custom of the paseo, evening stroll. At the west end of the Explanada, crossing over the road to the waterside, there is a bar ( I imagine it is a pub, late-night bar, as the drinks are a little expensive and no food is served), which is built out on planks over the waters of the marina and you can watch the fish under your feet as you have your drink. To get to the marina itself, you need to head for the estación marítima on the quay which begins at the east end (on the left as you look towards the sea) of the promenade, behind the Hotel Melia. It is difficult not to swagger nautically as you follow the quay round, gawking at the boats, some of which are larger than local ferries. A great deal of money has been spent here in recent years as well, and you have plenty of choice of restaurants, bars, pubs... And on the other side of the marina, there is an indoor leisure area, with cinemas and a shopping centre.
Just on the other side of the Hotel Melía begins the beach, and a fine beach it is too, overlooked by the castle. The Playa del Postiguet is sometimes criticised as being a little grubby, which is normally unjustified except to the extent that it is, after all, an urban beach, and a popular one. It is, in fact a European Blue Flag beach, running east to and beyond the FGV railway station.
Barcelona has a more European feel to it than anywhere else in Spain, even though it is the capital of the navel-contemplating autonomous region of Catalonia. Its avenues could be French, its fashion shops Italian and its businessmen German. It is an immediately likeable place to visit, but getting to know it is a most gratifying experience — Barcelona cooks. It is Catalan seny (cleverness), work ethic and worldliness mixed with Spanish dynamism and zest for life in an umistakable cocktail.
Barcelona City Break
 
Suburban sprawl aside, the city sits between the sea to the south, and hills, particularly Montjuïc to the west and Tibidabo to the north. The geometrically laid-out, nineteenth-century century district of L'Eixample lies to the north of the central Plaça de Catalunya, from where Las Ramblas, a tree-shaded boulevard and the backbone of the Ciutat Vella (old town) runs south-east down to the Port Vell (old harbour, now a marina). The most interesting quarter of the Ciutat Vella is the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), east of the Ramblas near the sea. The slightly dodgy but jolly interesting Barri Xinés (literally Chinese Quarter, actually the traditional red-light district), is on the other side, to the west. On a spit of land on the other side of the Port Vell lies the Barceloneta, once the old fishermen's quarter, now a popular seaside area and nightlife haunt.
Barcelona is very much a port city, its history marked by this circumstance and by its geographical position. In the ninth century, Frankish King Charlemagne established the area which is now Catalonia as a march, a buffer zone between the Franks and the Muslims who had conquered Spain, and by the thirteenth century Catalonia and Barcelona had come to possess Mediterranean territories from Valencia to Sicily and beyond. Castilian and Aragonese interests put an end to Catalonian expansion, but did not succeed in absorbing the region, never altogether Spanish in spite of repeated efforts to make it so by Spanish centralists from the Catholic Monarchs to Franco and José María Aznar. The Ciutat Vella apart, most of Barcelona's visible history dates from the nineteenth century and twentieth centuries, for these were times of great prosperity for the city, first as the motor of Spain's industrial revolution and later as co-leader with the Basque Country of Spain's newfound regionalist movement.
Bilbao City Break
 
Historically, the capital of the province of Biscay (Vizcaya in Spanish) was an industrial monster, heavily polluted and with the foullest coloured river I have ever seen. The industrial recession of the sixties and seventies nearly killed it off, but in the nineties it was given a new lease of life with large-scale investment in urban renewal. It was always an enjoyable place to visit because of the friendliness of its inhabitants, and it is now quite an attractive place as well, put firmly on the tourist map by the Guggenheim Museum.
Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum and the enormous amounts of European Union funds and other public monies injected into the previously depressed city of Bilbao and surrounding area have put it firmly on the tourist map. This is the site of Bilbao City Council, and has that municipal feel about it. What is worse, the English is execrable or non-existent. You may find some stuff of interest under "Descubre Bilbao," but not a lot. And to top it off, it has crashed my browser. Very poor, indeed.
Cadiz City Break
 
Cadiz stands on a peninsula jutting out into a bay, and is almost entirely surrounded by water. Named Gadir by the Phoencians, who founded their trading post in 1100 BC, it was later controlled by the Carthaginians, until it became a thriving Roman port. It sank into oblivion under the Visigoths and Moors, but attained great splendour in the early 16th century as a launching point for the journey to the newly discovered lands of America. Cadiz was later raided by Sir Francis Drake, in the struggle to gain control of trade with the New World, and managed to withstand a siege by Napoleon's army. In the early 19th century Cadiz became the bastion of Spain's anti-monarchist, liberal movement, as a result of which the country's first Constitution was declared here in 1812.
Some of the city's 18th century walls still stand, such as the Landward Gate. The old, central quarter of Cadiz is famous for its picturesque charm, and many of the buildings reflect the city's overseas links. Worth a visit are the city's Cathedral and churches of Santa Cruz and San Felipe Neri, which is famous throughout Spain as the place where, in defiance of Napoleon's siege, the provisional government was set up with its own liberal Constitution. Other points of interest are La Santa Cueva, home to several paintings by Goya, and stately mansions such as the Casa del Almirante and Casa de las Cadenas.
The old city looks quite Moorish in apperaance and is intriguing with narrow cobbled streets opening onto small squares. The golden cupola of the cathedral looms high above long white houses and the whole place has a slightly dilapidated air. It just takes an hour to walk around the headlands where you can visit the entire old town and pass through some lovely parks with sweeping views of the bay.
Unlike most other ports of its size it seems immediately relaxed and easy going, not at all threatening, even at night. Perhaps this is due to its reassuring shape and size, the presence of the sea making it impossible to get lost for more than a few blocks. It also owes much to the town's tradition of liberalism and tolerance which was maintained all through the years of Franco's dictatorship, despite this being one of the first cities to fall to his forces and was the port through which the Republican armies launched their invasion.
Granada City Break
 
The city which is today Granada was founded by the Romans under the name of "Illibris." It was the Moors, who invaded in the eighth century A.D. and stayed on for seven centuries, who deemed the city "Granada." Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain's revered "Catholic Monarchs," conquered the Kingdom of Granada in 1492, culminating the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula for Christiandom.
It was during the siege of the city that Isabella of Castille conceded to Christopher Columbus the resources necessary to launch his expedición to the West Indies. This long and colorful history has left numerous imprints on Granada in the form of palaces, churches and other noble buildings which proclaim the rich cultural heritage of the city. The monumental duo comprised by the Alhambra and the Generalife, fortress, medina and palace of the Nazarí monarchs, is world renowned both for its evocative architecture and for its privileged vantage point overlooking the city of Granada. Within the same complex lies the Renaissance Palace built there in the 16th century by the emperor Charles the Fifth, grandson of the conquering Catholic Monarchs.
On the opposite side of the valley of the River Darro lies the Albaicín quarter, a fascinating collection of narrow white-walled streets which half hide the traditional town houses with gracious gardens which the Granadinos call "cármenes." Here in the Albaicín is located the Mirador de San Nicolás, the famous plaza where visitors are feted with one of the most renowned views in the world, that of the Alhambra and Generalife, with the snowy Sierra Nevada providing a backdrop so beautiful it's almost kitsch.
Adjacent to the Albaicín, just a bit farther up the River Darro but still with a commanding view of the Alhambra, is Sacromonte, with its hallowed abbey and traditional Gypsy-cave residences (most of which are now occupied by astute foreign residents). It is here that Granada's "zambra" flamenco shows have traditionally been staged in elaborate cave settings, and it is here that the Granada town hall has recently installed the Centro Flamenco de Estudios Escénicos. The new flamenco studies center is under the direction of flamenco dancer, Mario Maya, who initiated his distinguished career here in the zambras of Sacromonte at the age of nine.
Madrid City Break
 
At 646 m, Madrid is one of the highest cities in Europe, and its clear, blue skies give rise to the Spanish saying, "De Madrid al cielo" (Madrid is the next best thing to heaven). It is not a city of great sights, especially in terms of architecture, but this is more than compensated for by its two main attractions: its museums (unbeatable) and its nightlife (incredible). Its parks are also outstanding, and its restaurants allow you to sample the best cuisine from all over Spain, as well as South America and elsewhere. It is an ideal choice for a city break (sorry, citybreak), or for a longer stay, particularly if used as the base to explore the centre of Spain — Toledo, Ávila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares and Segovia are some of the places within easy reach.
Although not strikingly beautiful like Paris or Venice or immediately captivating like Amsterdam or Barcelona, Madrid creates as many addicts as any of them. Madrid's inhabitants, Madrileños, are the main reason for this: the city is a melting pot of people from all over Spain and, more recently, the rest of the world. Castizos, true-blue Madrileños, are a definite minority, but when traditional costumes — Cockney-like chulos and chulapas, or Goyesque majos and majas — are donned for Madrid's traditional festivals, San Isidro in May or La Virgen de la Paloma in August, no-one minds if their wearers have non-native accents or complexions. And while Madrid's rival, Barcelona, slides further into narrow-minded Catalonia-centrism, the Spanish capital is more cosmopolitan than ever, without having lost any of its own identity.
There have been populations of one sort or another more or less where Madrid is now since prehistoric times, though not much is known about them. As so often in Spain, it was the Arabs who gave the place substance and name. They called it Mayrit (perhaps a combination of the Arabic "Mayra" (mother) and the Ibero-Romanic suffix "-it", "place"), which soon became Matrit in Spanish-speaking mouths. The heart of the original 9th century Arab settlement would have been a fortress (almudena) on the top of a hill (where the Royal Palace is now), and surrounded by scattered Celtiberian hamlets. Matrit must have grown in importance as the fortress attracted traders and other civilians, until it became necessary to build walls to enclose the town - a small part of these Arab walls has been excavated and can be visited on the Cuesta de la Vega, a few yards to the south of Madrid's Almudena Cathedral.
From that moment on, Madrid almost disappears from history until 1561, when Philip II moved the court there from Toledo. It is said that this was because he disliked the climate of the latter, though both cities have a continental climate (hot summers, cold winters and very short springs and autumns). There may have been a certain sentimentalism at play, as well - the Spanish king had been born in Madrid. But the most likely explanation is that Madrid was, by accident rather than design, slap-bang in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and Philip was a great one for bureaucratic centralism. Outside the Casa de Correos in the Puerta del Sol, you can see a paving stone marked "Km 0," which is the starting point for measurement of all road distances in Spain.
Madrid's history since then can be seen in its different districts and architecture. The historic centre, referred to as Madrid de los Austrias, including the Plaza Mayor, dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and is so called for the Hapsburg dynasty. Madrid de los Bourbones dates from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and includes the Palacio Real, Royal Palace, Madrid's triumphal-type arches, especially the Puerta de Alcalá and de Toledo, and its fountains, particularly in or near the Paseo del Prado, the Fuente de Neptuno and de Cibeles. Nineteenth-century Madrid is really a scattering of different buildings: the Teatro Real (for many years, Madrid's de facto opera house, hence the name of the metro station), the Prado Museum (though this really feels Bourbon), Palacio de Congresos, the Banco de España, and the reformed Puerta del Sol. Twentieth-century Madrid is inconsistent but some of it is much more interesting than you might expect. On the one hand, there are earlyish twentieth-century buildings, particularly on the Gran Vía, including the art nouveau Telefónica Building (1929), the first skyscraper in Spain and very reminiscent of New York's Empire State Building (the Telefónica Building cannot be visited, but I know at first hand that it conserves the original interior decoration - it is like walking onto a Tim Burton film set for Batman). On the other, there is later twentieth-century Madrid, best seen on the Paseo de la Castellana, running north from the Jardines del Descubrimiento up to the impossibly inclining Torres Kio in the Plaza de Castilla.
Seville City Break
 
According to legend, Sevilla was founded by Hercules and its origins are linked with the Tartessian civilisation. It was called Hispalis under the Romans and Isbiliya with the Moors. Its high point in its history was following the discovery of America.
Sevilla lies on the banks of the Guadalquivir and is one of the largest historical centres in Europe, it has the minaret of La Giralda, the cathedral (one of the largest in Christendom), and the Alcázar Palace. Part of its treasure include Casa de Pilatos, the Town Hall, Archive of the Indies (where the historical records of the American continent are kept), the Fine Arts Museum (the second largest picture gallery in Spain) , plus convents, parish churches and palaces.
It has hosted two international exhibitions (1929 and 1992) and is the administrative capital of Andalucía. The quarter of Triana on the other side of the river, La Macarena, Santa Cruz and San Bartolomé, the street of Las Sierpes, plus La Maestranza bullring, María Luisa park and the riverside walks are all representative images of Sevilla.
For all its important monuments and fascinating history, Sevilla is universally famous for being a joyous town. While the Sevillians are known for their wit and sparkle, the city itself is striking for its vitality. It is the largest town in Southern Spain, the city of Carmen, Don Juan and Figaro.
The Sevillians are great actors and put on an extraordinary performance at their annual Fería de Abril, a week-long party of drink, food and dance which takes place day and night in more than a thousand especially mounted tents. But above all it allows the men to parade on their fine horses and the women to dance in brilliantly coloured gypsy dresses.
Marbella City Break
 
There are beautiful cities, cities where the cuisine is an art in itself, others where the natives welcome you with open arms, hundreds that rest on the Mediterranean shores— and there are cities that are blessed with all of these characteristics and where, to top it all off, you can have a ball. Marbella is one of these. See for yourself.
Avenida Ricardo Soriano
This is the city's main artery and the shopping area par excellence. The man who gave his name to this popular avenue was originally from Salamanca but he soon earned the nickname "the Marbellan" and the title of the city's "adopted son," granted by the town hall in 1952. He was responsible for bringing private investment and the tourism industry to Marbella in the 1940s and 1950s. Real-estate investor and promotor of the city, he built residential zones, an ususual thing to do at that time.
He may have been forgotten over time, but the avenue that bears his name still represents the best of the city. Wide and seemingly endless, especially if you're seeing it on foot, it's lined with shops, fashion boutiques, restaurants, and cafés.
Paseo Marítimo
If you take into account that the town of Marbella covers over 25 kilometres of coast and beaches, you shouldn't be surprised that the city's Paseo Maritimo, or boardwalk, stretches over 6 kilometres. The white balustrade runs all along the promenade, full of palm trees, buildings and outdoor cafés.
Some of the showers on the beaches are elephant-shaped, with bathers showering under their trunks. A walk along the promenade is very pleasant at any time of year. You can go on a bicycle, skates or on foot, and stop at one of the restaurants or cafés to take in the sun or watch people go by.
Marbella stands in considerable constrast, after another sequence of apartment-villa, to most of what's come before. It is undisputedly the quality resort of the Costa del Sol. Where restaurants and bars are more stylish and everything cost considerable more. It has the highest per capita income in Europe and more Rolls Royces than any European city apart from London.
The town has been spared the worst excesses of concrete architecture inflicted upton Torremolinos. Marbella also retains the greater part of its old town (set back a little from the sea and the new development). Centred on the Plaza de los Naranjos and still partially walled, the old town is hidden from the main road and easy to miss. Slowly this original quarter is being bought up and turned into quaint clothes boutiques and restaurants, but this process isn't that far avance. You can still sit in on an ordinary bar in a small old square and look up beyond the whitewashed alleyways to the mountains of Ronda.
Truly the rich dont stay in Marbella itself. They secrete themselves away in villas in the surrounding hills or lie around on phenomenally large and luxury yacht at the marina and casino complex of Puerto Banus, 6 km out of town towards San Pedro. If you are impoverished, this fact is worth nothing as its sometimes possible to find work scrubbing and repairing sair yachts. As you expect Puerto Banus has more than its complement of cocktail bars and seafood restaurants, most of them very pricey.
Malaga City Break
 
Malaga is located in the southern part of Spain on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, known as Costa del Sol (the Sunny Coast). It is one of the eight regional capitals of Andalusia and the biggest coastal city in the south with approximately 600,000 inhabitants. The town is located near Sevilla and Granada and the strategically good position in the Mediterranean Sea makes it easy accessible from the Sea.
The most important industrial sectors in Malaga are the agricultural and the tourism industry. The climate, with more than 300 days of sun and a year around average temperature of 23ºC (73ºF), makes Malaga a perfect location to grow olives and fruits like lemons and oranges. The perfect weather in Malaga together with the many beautiful beaches in the area make the province one of the most popular places for tourists to visit in Spain. Apart from the above sectors Malaga town has the second largest industrial port in Spain and it also has an important production of textile and alimentary products.
The town of Malaga is a very fascinating town with a rich and unique history , which gives visitors a great variety of interesting things to do and see.
Apart from all the cultural attractions, Malaga is a perfect location to enjoy life. The relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere and the perfect climate have during nearly half a decade attracted many foreigners (both tourists and foreigners settling down in Spain).
The people in Malaga, called Malagueños, are known for going out a lot at night for a chat, a drink or to eat out. The town therefore has a great variation of restaurants, bars and bodegas, which normally are busy throughout the week. The Malagueños are also known for loving everything about their town and they are particularly proud of their two world famous citizens, the painter Pablo Picasso and the actor Antonio Banderas.
Mijas City Break
 
The municipal area, which stretches from the sierra of the same name to the sea, consists of low ridges and rolling hills dotted with houses.The village itself, typically Arabic in appearance, is built like a balcony across the mountainside, its whitewashed houses contrasting sharply with the green of the pine trees, creating a picture postcard scene which is one of the coast’s most beautiful panoramas.
Mijas is home to a number of places of particular interest, such as the Virgen de la Peña Chapel and the Bullring, as well as the area comprising Immaculate Conception Church, the Auditorium and the adjacent gardens.
Mijas also boasts all of the facilities normally associated with sun and sand holidays, the coastal highlight being Calaburras beach.
The rich mineral deposits in the surrounding area attracted the Phoenicians and Greeks.
The Romans called the village Tarnisa. During this period, it enjoyed economic prosperity due to the export of marble from the quarry in the Sierra de Mijas and to its proximity to the road that linked Malaga and Cadiz.
While part of the Nazari kingdom of Granada, its inhabitants offered stiff resistance to the attempts to capture the village made by the Catholic Monarchs, refusing to surrender until the fall of Malaga (19 August 1487). Such fierce opposition to the Christian troops brought cruel reprisals, and a number of the Moslem defenders were put to the sword, though the majority were sold as slaves.
In 1494, the village was repopulated by Old Christians, and its houses and land were shared out among them.
In return for its support of Emperor Charles V in the War of the Communities, the village was declared exempt from sales tax and granted independent village status in 1521.
On 2 December 1831, General Torrijos and 52 men came ashore on El Charcon Beach in an attempt to instigate a rebellion against the absolutist régime of King Ferdinand VII; they crossed the Sierra de Mijas and took refuge in a location known as "La Alqueria" in Alhaurin de la Torre, where they were taken prisoner by the governor of Malaga’s troops and shot on the beach at San Andres on 11 December 1831.
Valencia City Break
 
Valencia's charms -- or lack thereof -- are much debated. Some claim that the city where El Cid faced the Moors is one of the most beautiful on the Mediterranean. Others write it off as drab, provincial, and industrial. The truth lies somewhere in between.
Set amid orange trees and rice paddies, Valencia's reputation as a romantic city seems more justified by its past than by its present. Hidden between modern office buildings and monotonous apartment houses, remnants of an illustrious past do remain. However, floods and war have been cruel to Valencia, forcing Valencianos to tear down buildings that today would be architectural treasures.
Valencia has a strong cultural tradition. Its most famous son was writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, best known for his novel about bullfighting, Blood and Sand, and for his World War I novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Both were filmed twice in Hollywood, with Rudolph Valentino starring in the first version of each. Joaquín Sorolla, the famous Spanish Impressionist, was another native of Valencia. You can see his works at a museum dedicated to him in Madrid.
Valencia has over 2.8 km of beaches, all with excellent facilities and services.
The Arenas and Malvarrosa beaches are just minutes from the city centre and easily reached via bus, by bicycle using the cycle path, on the metro by car, or on foot (link with "marine route")
Just next to Arenas and Malvarrosa is the Paseo Marítimo, a magnificent sea-front promenade, where you can enjoy walking, roller skating, jogging, sun bathing or stop at a restaurant for a delicious paella and a glass of wine.
All the beaches are equipped with sports and play areas so that the young (and not so young) can get involved in some fun and games. On summer nights, the beaches are alive with the comings and goings of those enjoying the light Mediterranean breeze and the exciting Valencian nightlife
The Malvarrosa is where the Casa-Museo de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez(the house/museum of Vicente Blasco Ibáñez) is located; it has recently been refurbished and the visitor is able to experience the life and times of the illustrious Valencian writer.
North of the Malvarosa are Patacona and PortSaplaya, beaches that belong to the municipality of Alboraya which is famous for horchata (a sweet, refreshing drink made from tiger nuts). To the south there is the Pinedo beach, where there are excellent restaurants serving traditional dishes. Further south still, is El Saler, an area that has the European blue flag award for its beautiful clear waters and spotless golden sands.
Zaragoza City Break
 
It is the capital of the community, and the fifth city of Spain in population (over 600.000 inhabitants) and it hosts the political and economic institutions of the territory.
Zaragoza is known to be a "passing through" city, however all the visitors that make a halt here discover a rich and interesting city.
The so-called "casco viejo" (historic city centre), contains most of the history of Zaragoza. More than 2000 years of history and cultures such as the Roman, the Christian, the Arabic, the Jewish or Mozarabic have cohabited in that portion of the current city. The buildings, palaces and churches reflect the different styles and the exchange among cultures. In the Square of El Pilar, you will find the Gothic cathedral of La Seo and the Basilica of El Pilar, one of the main places of worship to Virgin Mary of the Christianity, with frescoes by Francisco de Goya. The Arab palace of the Aljafería, current headquarters of the Aragonese Parliament, is one of the best exponents of the Muslim art outside of Andalusia.
Museums, cinemas and theaters enrich the choice of cultural activities:
The Provincial Museum of Zaragoza offers a journey to the history of the city and of the whole of Aragon, from the Paleolithic to our days. In the museum Camón Aznar paintings by Zurbarán, The Greek or Goya are shown. The theatres offer the works of the main Spanish companies. In addition to this, during the whole year the auditorium offers series of concerts of Jazz, flamenco or other new music apart from the usual programme of classical music. On top of this, the film library cinema of Zaragoza has a look at classic films every week.
The "Zaragozanos" (locals from Zaragoza) spend a good share of their time in the streets, always lively, in bars, outdoor cafés and cinemas. The student population makes night life more vivacious, especially during the weekends, when Zaragoza also welcomes many visitors.
San Sebastian City Break
 
San Sebastián (Donostia in the Basque language) is the summer capital of Spain, and here the Belle Epoque lives on. Ideally situated on a choice spot on the Bay of Biscay, it's surrounded by green mountains. From June to September, the population swells as hundreds of Spanish bureaucrats escape the heat and head for this tasteful resort -- it has few of the tawdry trappings associated with major beachfront cities. San Sebastián is an ideal base for trips to some of the Basque country's most fascinating towns.
Queen Isabella II put San Sebastián on the map as a resort when she spent the summer of 1845 there. In time, it became the summer residence of the royal court. On July 8, 1912, Queen María Cristina inaugurated the grand hotel named after her, and the resort became very fashionable. In what's now the city hall, built in 1887, a casino opened, and European aristocrats gambled in safety here during World War I.
San Sebastián is the capital of the province of Guipúzcoa, the smallest in Spain, tucked in the far northeastern corner bordering France. It's said that Guipúzcoa has preserved Basque customs better than any other province. Half of the donostiarras -- residents of San Sebastián -- speak Euskera. The city is a major seat of Basque nationalism, so be advised that protests, sometimes violent, are frequent.
San Sebastián contains an old quarter, La Parte Vieja, with narrow streets, hidden plazas, and medieval houses, but it is primarily a modern city of elegant shops, wide boulevards, sidewalk cafes, and restaurants.
La Concha is the city's most famous beach -- especially in July and August, when it seems as though half the population of Spain and France spends its days under striped canopies or dashing into the refreshingly cool waters of the bay. The shell-shaped La Concha is half-encircled by a promenade, where crowds mill during the evening. The adjoining beach is the Playa de Ondarreta. The climate here is decidedly more Atlantic than Mediterranean.
San Sebastián has a good, though insufficient, choice of hotels in summer, plus many excellent restaurants, most of which are expensive. Its chief drawback is overcrowding in July and August. Bullfights, art and film festivals, sporting events, and cultural activities keep San Sebastián hopping during summer.
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