AlbaolaBike English

Go Local Tours San Sebastián (starting point)

Starting and finishing point of this route: Go Local, working since 2014 to show San Sebastian to visitors. We are in the heart of the city, right in the Old Quarter, a neighbourhood full of history. https://golocalsansebastian.com/es/

San Sebastián Port

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7McPe1tTY_s

With this experience we are going to go deep into the life of those who throughout history made the sea more than their profession, but their way of life. Juanita Larando, an innkeeper of the 17th century was one of them. Her inn was very popular among the dreaded corsairs of San Sebastian. Juana Larando not only served wine, also along other partners (like Orio’s priest) supplied some corsair ships.
Remember her name as in the workshop of Albaola you will find a replica of one of these two vessels.

Monument to Aita Mari

Mari or Aita Mari was a very known sailor in San Sebastian. He was called Jose Maria Zubia and was originally from the town of Zumaia. He established as a fishing boat skipper in the port of San Sebastian in the middle of the 19th century. He risked his life in selfless and countless wreck rescues near the San Sebastian coast, until the unfortunate day of the 9th of January of 1866 during a strong storm drowned saving other sailors of a fishing boat in the surroundings of the Santa Clara island.
In his memory this monument was erected.

Basque Maritime Museum

This building is home since 1991 to the naval museum of San Sebastian. It’s one of the few buildings that survived the burning of San Sebastian caused by the allied army that took the city in the summer of 1813 from the Napoleonic army.
This tower-house was built by the Consulate to control the port activity and the provision of diverse services, being until the middle of the 19th century the only building outside the walls.

You can’t miss this museum if you want to discover in depth the basque sailors!

Aquarium

The current Aquarium was opened the 1st of October of 1928, taking advantage of the visit of the royal couple Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia. Nowadays it’s a delight to all sea and sea life lovers, as we can polish off them in this living museum, which has among other attractions a under water tunnel with more than 40 species of sea animals.

Empty Construction

At this point of the tour, it’s well worth taking a breather, stop pedalling and enjoy the view of La Concha bay and its pearl in the shape of Santa Clara island. Let’s take a minute to imagine the bay full of big wooden ships that after crossing the seas and oceans anchored in these waters to unload their precious cargo. But just like we can’t imagine a Basque Country without sea, we can’t neither do it without the iron, that was a big source of wealth, and of course a source of the great artists that this land gave during the 20th century, that knew how to mould this hard mineral like nobody. One of the best examples is Jorge Oteiza and his Empty Construction that since 2002 looks down on the horizon and watches the Cantabric sea.

Paseo Nuevo Promenade

Since its construction in 1916 it’s both one of the best places to walk and one of the best places to be astonished looking to the sea. Built as a recreation place for the elite that spent the summertime in the city, which reminds us its former name, the Prince Promenade, at the beginning of the 20th century. Today it’s a famous viewpoint for the Cantabric sea’s violent waves that hit it during storms.

La Zurriola Beach

La Zurriola Beach is nowadays famous due to the surfing culture. It’s name comes from the little ship factories that we could see in the area back in the day, as the factories in basque are known as “zur-ola”.

Gros District

Gros District started to transform in the end of the XIXth century, going from a huge sandy area to a district with a varied architecture throughout the 1920’s. Nowadays it is the young district, with a gastronomic offer of the highest level and numerous sporting facilities.

Okendo’s birthplace

This is a house that dates back to the XVIth century and it was owned by the Oquendo family, in which the most famous member is Antonio de Oquendo y Zandategui. This sailor enlisted in Castille’s Marine at a young age and throughout various decades held various positions in its ranks. His last stand was the one of Las Dunas (1639, Kent) where he was mortally wounded. Even with his comrades persuading him to come to shore in San Sebastian to die in his birthplace, he opted to continue with the trip until La Coruña as he had promised the king, dying shortly after.

Ategorrieta

As soon as we go across a small red arc of triumph we will have reached Ategorrieta, which literally means “place with the red door”. This curious name comes from the control point that back in the day covered the Urumea pass, with a door in that colour.

Intxaurrondo District

Back in the day, most of the districts in the cities periphery where nothing more than big pieces of land in the domains of some baserris (basque farms), and nowadays some of this districts are named after some of those farms. That happens for example in Intxaurrondo (walnut tree). Other working class districts are the popular Altza, which was the area with the biggest growth between the 60´s and 70´s, or the district of Trintxerpe.

Alza District

Back in the day, most of the districts in the cities periphery where nothing more than big pieces of land in the domains of some baserris (basque farms), and nowadays some of this districts are named after some of those farms. That happens for example in Intxaurrondo (walnut tree). Other working class districts are the popular Altza, which was the area with the biggest growth between the 60´s and 70´s, or the district of Trintxerpe.

Trintxerpe District

Back in the day, most of the districts in the cities periphery where nothing more than big pieces of land in the domains of some baserris (basque farms), and nowadays some of this districts are named after some of those farms. That happens for example in Intxaurrondo (walnut tree). Other working class districts are the popular Altza, which was the area with the biggest growth between the 60´s and 70´s, or the district of Trintxerpe.

Pasaia San Pedro

Although the foundation is from 1805, San Pedro´s history goes back to the Middle Ages, always facing the sea. In its harbor docked ships owned by fishermen, tradesmen, iron workers or privateers that looked for the security that the harbor provided against the dangers of the Cantabric sea. Acrossits stone streets and wooden buildings have travelled conqueror, soldiers or whale hunters throughout the centuries… until the industrialization of the XX century changed the village.

Blas de Lezo´s house

You are now in front of the famous Blas de Lezo (1687) family’s house, born in Pasajes San Pedro when it was still a part of Donostia, who also started his career in the army at a very young age. His life was splattered both with mutilations (an arm, a leg and an eye) and also constant victories. The most important one was the one of Cartagena de Indias in 1741, where with 6 ships and 3.000 soldiers he defeated a french army with 187 ships and 27.000 soldiers… dying shortly after because of the wounds he suffered.

The Oiartzun River and Pasaia San Juan

Pasajes San Juan is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Gipuzkoa. With a long tradition linked to the sea, it has grown next to the Oiartzun river, which connects it with the inside of the region, where romans extracted minerals from the Arditurri mines, and it has been a crossing point for plenty of wanderers. Here is where the famous Victor Hugo, whose house you can visit, rested, and we encourage you to stop here for a little break.

Puntas

A beautiful stop to finnish your walk and relax with the views towards the Cantabric sea or be stunned admiring the huge waves that crash against the shore during the winter storms.

Albaola the Sea Factory of the Basques

With the building of historical boats as its main activity, Albaola The Sea Factory of the Basques in Pasaia San Pedro (Pasaia, Gipuzkoa) , is an innovative environment where nautical craftsmanship and technology is recovered and showcased. The Factory is open to the public and is characterized by its dynamism, the diversity of its activities, and its international outreach.

Shipbuilding, the international boatbuilding school, the ship modeling workshop, the club of the young sailors, the “Theatre of the Sea” program of performing arts, and the Auzolan volunteer group make up this creative universe that aims at making Basque Country’s maritime past known to the general public.

The Factory is the place where incredible journeys are undertaken and carried out. We seek knowledge through the experimentation that has been part of the Basque Maritime Heritage

Come to The Factory, sail through history, and live the Basque maritime adventure.