Donostia-San Sebastián, Province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain

🇪🇸 San Sebastián or Donostia is a coastal city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, close to the French border. It is the capital city of the province of Gipuzkoa. Locals call themselves donostiarra, both in Spanish and Basque. It is also a part of Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián.

The main economic activities are almost entirely service-based, with an emphasis on commerce and tourism, as it has long been one of the most famous tourist destinations in Spain. Despite the city's small size, events such as the San Sebastián International Film Festival and the San Sebastian Jazz Festival have given it an international dimension. San Sebastian, along with Wroclaw, Poland, was the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Economy and industry The main economic activities are commerce and tourism. San Sebastián is one of the best-known tourist destinations in Spain.

The international technology organisation Ikusi is based in San Sebastián.

Transport The city is served by Euskotren Trena, Euskotren's railway network. Euskotren runs trains to Bilbao and other destinations, as well as the San Sebastián Metro; which together with Renfe 's Cercanías San Sebastián cover the San Sebastián metropolitan area. There are frequent trains via San Sebastián railway station from Madrid to Hendaye in France, which is connected to the French rail network. The city is also served by San Sebastián Airport in the nearby municipality of Hondarribia. San Sebastián Airport currently has no international destinations. Bilbao airport is 98 km away from San Sebastian city. Biarritz Airport in France is located about 50 km from San Sebastián.

Gastronomy San Sebastián is renowned for its Basque cuisine. San Sebastián and the surrounding area is home to a high concentration of restaurants with Michelin stars, including Arzak (San Sebastián), Berasategi (Lasarte), Akelarre (district Igeldo) and Mugaritz (Errenteria). It is the city with the second most Michelin stars per capita in the world, after Kyoto, Japan. According to The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking in 2013, two of the world's top ten best restaurants were in San Sebastian. As well as these restaurants, the city is known for pintxos (small-plate dishes similar to tapas) which are found in the bars of the Old Quarter and elsewhere in the city.

It is also the birthplace of Basque gastronomical societies, with the oldest recorded mention of such a txoko back in 1870. In addition, San Sebastian hosts the first institution to offer a university degree in Gastronomy, the Basque Culinary Center.

Education: University Donostia-San Sebastián has become an important University town. Four universities and a superior conservatory are present in the city: • University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU): San Sebastián hosts the Gipuzkoa Campus of the public university. • University of Navarra: The private university has an engineering-centered campus, Tecnun, in San Sebastián. • Universidad de Deusto: Built in 1956, the San Sebastián campus of the private university offers different university degrees. • Mondragon University: The pioneering Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences of this private university is located in San Sebastián. • Musikene: The Higher School of Music of the Basque Country is located in San Sebastián.

The secondary studies activity is having an increasing impact on social, cultural, technological and economical levels of the city and surroundings. With its pushing innovative and research centres and its research strategies it is becoming one of Spain's main Science production locations, along with Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Seville and Valencia, among others. Donostia-San Sebastián's scientific production covers areas like Materials Science, Cancer Research, Alzheimer and Parkinson, Architecture, Polymer Science, Biomaterials, Nanotechnology, Robotics or Informatics.