The bay view
The whole shell of La Concha from above.
Josu Goñi Etxabe — Public domain · Joxemai — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joxemai — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Txapisotegi — CC BY-SA 4.0
**A hill at the bay's western end, climbed by a funicular of 1912 — and the source of the classic view of La Concha** — with an antique amusement park on top. ⚠ **The funicular is part of the experience**: **running since 1912**, ✅ **and its original wooden carriages are still in use** — **among the oldest working funiculars in Spain**. ✅ **The view from the summit is the image of San Sebastián**: **the whole shell-shaped bay**, **Santa Clara island at its centre**, **the city**, **and Monte Urgull opposite**. ⚠ **On the hilltop is an amusement park of 1912** — ⚠ **antique and rickety by today's standards**: **an old carousel and a simple roller coaster**; ✅ **with a nostalgic charm for anyone who accepts it**, ⚠ **and a disappointment for anyone expecting a modern park**.
The whole shell of La Concha from above.
Wooden carriages of 1912 climbing the hill.
The sun setting into the Atlantic behind the bay.
Paseo del Faro 134, 20008 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
**Because it was the queen's summer resort — and the whole Spanish court moved there every summer for decades.** ✅ **The beginning**: ⚠ **the city had been burned and destroyed in 1813** in the war against Napoleon, **and rebuilt almost from nothing**. ✅ **Then came the change**: **Queen Isabella II began summering there** for health reasons (sea bathing), ⚠ **and the regent Queen María Cristina made it her official summer residence** from the late 19th century. ✅ **The result**: **the court, the government, the diplomats and the aristocracy moved to San Sebastián every summer** — ⚠ **so palaces, grand hotels, a casino, a theatre and promenades were built for them**, **in the European Belle Époque manner**; ✅ **and that is what you see today**: **buildings of matching height and front, ornamented bridges, gardens, and the white beach railing**. ⚠ **Which is why it resembles no other Spanish city** — **but rather Biarritz and Nice**. ✅ **And one further effect**: **cooking**. ⚠ **A summer court means fine restaurants and competition**, ✅ **and a tradition developed on that which today gives the city one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars per head in the world**.
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