What's on in San Sebastián (Donostia), Spain through the year

Peak crowds — Tamborrada, Christmas holidays in Spain

• Season

  Cider house season

  15 Jan – 30 AprHarvest

  From mid-January the sagardotegis in Astigarraga open the barrels: you eat cod omelette and chop standing up and catch cider off the barrel yourself. It closes at the end of April.

• Festival

  Tamborrada

  19–21 JanMajor festivalCrowded

  At midnight on 19 January the flag goes up in the Plaza de la Constitucion and the city drums for twenty-four hours without stopping, in cook's whites and Napoleonic uniform. Nothing is staged for visitors. Source ↗

Still on: Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cider house season (15 Jan – 30 Apr), Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cider house season (15 Jan – 30 Apr), Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cider house season (15 Jan – 30 Apr)

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — Jazzaldia, Summer holidays in Spain

• Season

  La Concha swimming season

  1 Jul – 25 Sep · usuallySea warm enough

  The Cantabrian sea is cold and slow to warm, so the bay only really swims from July to late September. The tide matters: at high water La Concha almost disappears.

• Festival

  Jazzaldia

  20–28 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  One of Europe's oldest jazz festivals, and half of it is free: the big stage sits on the sand at Zurriola and the trio sets run in the squares of the old town. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Aste Nagusia, Summer holidays in Spain

• Festival

  Aste Nagusia

  8–18 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The week around 15 August, when an international fireworks competition is fired over the bay every night and judged by the crowd on the promenade. Rooms are at their dearest. Source ↗

Still on: La Concha swimming season (1 Jul – 25 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Zinemaldia film festival, Summer holidays in Spain

• Season

  Autumn and winter swell

  15 Sep – 31 Mar · usuallySurf season

  Atlantic groundswell arrives with the autumn and Zurriola works properly from September to March. It is also when the promenade gets waves over the railings in a storm.

• Festival

  Zinemaldia film festival

  18–26 SepCrowdedBook early

  Nine days in late September that fill the city harder than August does, with public tickets sold in a scramble a fortnight ahead and red carpets outside the Kursaal every evening. Source ↗

Still on: La Concha swimming season (1 Jul – 25 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Christmas holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Autumn and winter swell (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))