Ninety Minutes of History Before the First Glass

Four and a half hours, and the first ninety minutes have nothing to eat in them. That is the point: you walk the city centre and Old Town first, so that when the food starts you know what you are standing in.

You meet in the lobby of the Hotel Londres, on the Concha promenade, and start in front of the bay. San Sebastián burned almost completely in 1813 and was rebuilt; it became a royal summer resort because Queen María Cristina came here for her asthma and the court followed; the Belle Époque architecture along the front is the result of that single decision. Your guide covers this along with the anecdotes that do not appear in guidebooks.

Then five pintxos and five drinks, and no two departures take the same route: the guide decides where to go after hearing what you like and what you cannot eat. At each bar they suggest what to order and which drink belongs with it, and explain how to order and move around the Old Town without looking lost, which is a genuinely useful skill in a place where nobody queues and nobody takes your name.

Up to ten guests, guided in English. It ends at the taxi rank on the Boulevard.

The operator was ranked the tenth best food experience in the world in 2022.