Page 129 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

BASQUE C OUNTR Y , NA V ARR A & LA RIOJA  127

paintings by Ignacio Zuloaga,
portraits by Vicente López
and master pieces by El Greco.
The chapel holds 11 murals by
the Catalan artist Josep Maria
Sert, depict ing Basque legends,
culture and the region’s
seafaring life.
Environs
Five kilometres (3 miles) east
of San Sebastián is Pasai
Donibane, a picturesque fishing
village consisting of a jumble of
houses built along one cobbled
Josep Maria Sert’s murals of Basque life in main street, which has some
the Museo de San Telmo good fish restaurants. Old balconied houses in the upper
Around 8 km (5 miles) town, Hondarribia
Kursaal south of San Sebastián is the
Avenida de Zurriola 1. Tel 943 00 30 00. interesting medieval town 5 Hondarribia
& 8 0 7 ∑ kursaal.org of Hernani, which has been Guipúzcoa. * 17,000. ~ @ n
These giant cubes stand out awarded the status of Cultural Arma Plaza 9, 943 64 36 77; Minatera,
as the most prominent feature Interest Site. The forests 9 Puerto Deportivo, 934 64 54 58.
on Zurriola beach, especially surrounding the town are _ La Kutxa Entrega (25 Jul), Alarde
when lit up at night. Designed dotted with prehistoric remains, (6–8 Sep). ∑ bidasoaturismo.com
by Rafael Moneo, the cubes including dolmens, megalithic
contain large auditoriums, monuments and burial mounds. Hondarribia (Fuenterrabía), the
for most of the year home historic town at the mouth of
to conferences and concerts. the Río Bidasoa, was attacked by
the French over many centuries.
E Museo de San Telmo The upper town is protected by
Plaza Zuloaga 1. Tel 943 48 15 80. 15th-century walls and entered
Open 10am–8pm Tue–Sun. Closed 1 via their original gateway, the
& 20 Jan, 25 Dec. & (free Tue). 87 handsome Puerta de Santa
This is a large museum in a María. They enclose alleys of
16th-century monastery old houses with carved eaves,
below Monte Urgull. In the balconies and coats of arms.
cloister is a collection of Basque The streets cluster round the
funerary columns dating from church of Nuestra Señora de la
the 15th–17th centuries. Asunción y del Manzano, with its
The museum also contains massive buttresses, tall Baroque
displays of furniture, tools and tower and, inside, a gold
other artifacts, and paintings reredos. At the town’s highest
by local Basque artists: 19th- point is the 10th-cen tury castle,
century works by Antonio The waterfront of the tiny fishing village now a parador (see p564).
Ortiz Echagüe, modern of Pasaia Donibane Hondarribia has seafront
cafés in La Marina, its lively
fishermen’s quarter. It is also
San Sebastián Film Festival a seaside resort, with beaches
This festival, founded in 1953, is one of the five stretching to the north.
leading European annual film festivals. It is held
in late September, drawing more than 200,000 Environs
spec tators. The special Donostia Prize is A hill road climbs westwards
awarded as a tribute to the career of a star to the shrine of the Virgin of
or director: winners have included Meryl Guadalupe. Further along this
Streep, Ian McKellen and Woody Allen. road are panoramic views of
Visiting celebrities have included the coast and the mountains.
Quentin Tarantino, Ethan Coen and
Bertrand Tavernier. Prizes also go From the Ermita de San Marcial,
to individual new films. An early which stands on a hill 9 km
winner was Hitchcock’s Vertigo. (6 miles) to the south, there
The festival’s website is are views of the Bidasoa plain
www.sansebastianfestival.com. straddling the border – the
Benicio Del Toro receiving an award French towns are neatly white,
the Spanish ones are greyer.

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