San Sebastián

36 min (37,7 km)  via AP-8

Vitoria

56 min (77,6 km) via AP-8 and AP-1

Bilbao

57 min (80,4 km) via AP-8

Pamplona

1 h 19 min (107 km) vi A-15

The three temples

From San Sebastián we will take the A-8 motorway as far as Zestoa. From there, having first stopped to admire the lovely Palacio de Lili and the famous local spa, we will continue the course of the river Urola through road GI-631. We’ll soon arrive in Azpeitia, standing directly beneath the massif of Izarraitz.

Well worth a visit is the parish church of San Sebastián de Soreasu, with its tall columns and, next to it, the Mudejar-style house of the local musician, Juan de Antxieta. Also interesting and unusual is the Museo del Ferrocarril, with its ancient engines and wagons, not to mention an old station. Another good place to visit is Ingurugiro Etxea, a centre specialised in explaining the planet’s environmental problems.

Standing between the neighbouring Azpeitia and Azkoitia is the magnificent Loiola Sanctuary, built in 17-18th Centuries in honour of Ignatius Loiola, founder of the Society of Jesus. The compound includes an esplanade, a basilica topped with an enormous dome and the adjacent house in which Ignatius de Loiola was born. Not to be missed.

https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/routes/the-three-temples-route/aa30-12375/en/

Patrimonio cultural: Zuloaga museum, Ekain caves
Zuloaga museum. Zumaia
Ignacio Zuloaga. Painter. Eibar. Gipuzkoa. 1870.
Towards the Cantábrico sea, in the estuary of Urola river, a wild and natural marshland.
Ekainberri. Cestona
Discover the Basque coastline’s most stunning cave paintings, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through a journey for all of your senses, to the origins of culture on our planet.Discover the Basque coastline’s most stunning cave paintings, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through a journey for all of your senses, to the origins of culture on our planet.
Industrial heritage: Urola train and iron mills
Basque railway museum. Azpeitia
It is a 5 kilometre trip amidst mountains in the middle of a landscape that showcases a green Gipuzkoa united with nature.
Mirandaola iron mills. Legazpia
A perfect replica of an ancient iron mill from the XVII century.

Agorregi iron mills. Zarautz

Mount Pagoeta (678 m) rises over the villages of Aia and Laurgain (Gipuzkoa), and occupies one of the northern foothills of the Ernio-Gatzume Massif. The coastal towns of Zarautz and Orio, which attract many tourists, are barely 10 km to the north as the crow flies.
Natural heritage: Flysch, basque mountains.
Flysch. Zumaia
The Basque Coast Geopark is a small area wedged in between the Bay of Biscay and the Basque mountains and comprising the municipalities of MUTRIKU, DEBA and ZUMAIA
Basque wild mountains
The Basque mountains and valleys are a green paradise. There are nature parks throughout the region. These are spectacular places which are close at hand and accessible for visitors.
https://tourism.euskadi.eus/hillsandvalleys/

 

Seaside villages and beaches

Zarautz: 24 min

Getaria: 21 min

Zumaia: 17min

San Sebastian: 30 min

Bilbao: 45 min