Hondarribia Sightseeing and Pintxos

There are shorter routes to get to Hondarribia from San Sebastián, but we we’ll travel along the most beautiful: the panoramic road of Mount Jaizkibel, the third highest coastal mountain in Spain. We’ll take the opportunity to explain a few things about this route of sailors, pirates and the best modern gastronomy.

Two-faced village

The advantage that Hondarribia has is that it’s a single town that seems like two: one a medieval fortress located on the highest ground (with thick, high walls, cobblestone streets, slopes, wooden balconies full of flowers, a palace of Emperor Carlos V that hides tapestries based on paintings by Rubens...), and the other a typically Basque fishing village (white houses, colored windows, a large tree-lined esplanade where fish used to be sold, tiny bars with dreamy pintxos...), today a gastronomic hot spot. Because of the former (for being fortified) Hondarribia has witnessed dozens of battles; because of the latter (its fishing port), Hondarribia has witnessed something much better: how its bars and restaurants have becomes a world gastronomic reference, praised even by the New York Times.

How to deal with pintxos

Did you know that the Basque Country Pintxo Championship was created in Hondarribia? So it was, because here they know something about the best and most ambitious cuisine in miniature. To show you and demonstrate the power of Hondarribia, we’ll visit two typical bars in the upper part (the medieval side) and another three in the lower part (the fishing village, called La Marina, on Calle San Pedro). There will be all kinds of bars and pintxos: family-style places, and the latest (and modern) generation, award-winning restaurants, pintxos whose recipe has barely been altered in decades, crazy recipes that play with textures and the best raw materials, and a long “etcetera.” Our guides will also teach you tricks, codes and tips to enjoy the pintxos experience like a local.

Of course, we’ll pair the pintxos with local beverages such as wine, beer and apple cider, and we’ll reserve a sweet surprise for the end, the ideal finishing touch after a pintxos tour.