San Sebastian, Spain

Europe

15 Mar

Written By Simon Campbell

Combine Olazábal golf with a pintxos tour and Michelin-starred meals at the home of gastronomy.

Spain’s Basque Country has long been famed for its gastronomy, and its epicentre is the beachside town of San Sebastian on Biscay Bay. Start from its city hall and, within a ten-minute drive, you’ll be able to find eighteen Michelin stars, including a trio with three Michelin-stars. Only Kyoto in Japan, has a higher concentration of stars per square kilometre. But, it’s not just these fine diners that draw in the food lovers, it’s the pintxos. An evening of bar-hopping your way through the Old Town, sampling different bite-sized courses as you go, is gastronomic bucket-list territory, arguably at the very top too.

A pintxo can come in many forms, often involving a stick (hence the name), and depending on the bar, the season, the chef, the time of day, it could vary from veal cheeks in red wine sauce to flash-fried, brandy-soaked foie gras to sheeps’ cheese and white chocolate to rich pig trotters or garlicky fried prawns. It’s the travel equivalent of a gourmet food festival that happens all year round, and to top it off, you then combine this with golf at some classic Spanish golf courses, including a course designed by a Ryder Cup legend.