Spain / France · Europe · northern hemisphere
San Sebastián & the Basque Coast is at its best for festivals & events in July to September. Good but not prime in January and June. Crowds peak in August and bottom out in December.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 64 | 88 | 92 | 70 | 18 | 11 | 12 |
| Lakes & Coastline | 9 | 16 | 20 | 42 | 66 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 68 | 18 | 14 |
| City & Culture | 11 | 18 | 42 | 68 | 89 | 90 | 74 | 72 | 91 | 91 | 60 | 17 |
| Festivals & Events | 65 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 42 | 69 | 87 | 93 | 89 | 19 | 12 | 14 |
| Crowds |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
Part of green Spain, and green because it rains — San Sebastián gets more annual rainfall than London. The trade is that the food is arguably the best in Europe and August is 24°C rather than 36°C
Expecting reliable sun. This is the Bay of Biscay; a week here can be washed out in any month, and the summer is mild rather than hot.
August, and the film festival in late September
La Concha is a sheltered, gently shelving bay in the middle of a city — about as easy as European beaches get. Zurriola, the surf beach, is the exception.
San Sebastián is expensive and books out for Semana Grande in August and the film festival in late September. Hondarribia on the border and Biarritz across it are both cheaper, and Bilbao is an hour away with the same pintxos culture at lower prices.
0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — San Sebastián