We didn’t do as much day trips from San Sebastian as we did from Girona, but we did a few, even crossing the border to France, and also visiting some small seaside towns.
A picturesque little town in France, just off the Spanish border, Saint Jean de Luz used to be a very important place. Mainly because of the royal wedding which took place in the local cathedral in 1660, when Louis XIV married Maria Theresa, the Infanta of Spain, thus ending the war between the two countries. The town flourished the most in the 17th century, thanks to fishing and local Basque corsaires capturing passing ships. Nowadays it offers beautiful walk along the coast as well as through the streets lined with shops and cafés.
The border town of Hondarribia was probably my favourite. A small laid-back town with a beautiful little square with one nice café and a castle-turned-hotel. Down by the river, a promenade from which one can see the French soil on the other bank and, most interestingly, planes landing on the San Sebastian airport, just a few meter away.
Getaria offers views of its port from several restaurants up on a small hill, nice big beach and a most interesting church, which had to adapt to the town’s layout and thus its floor goes up in a gentle slope.
Bayonne is in France, but still in Basque country. Its cathedral has beautiful colourful chapels behind the main altar and is a UNESCO world heritage site. The architecture in the city center is beautiful and invites to get lost within the streets. To us, it was much nicer than the neighbouring oceanside Biarritz.
