San Sebastián · Nightlife

Calle 31 de Agosto and Fermín Calbetón are the spine of it. The rule is one pintxo and a zurito or a glass of txakoli per bar, then move; most places have one thing they are known for and it is usually on the hot menu behind the counter, not on the bar top.

The same idea one bridge east, around Calle Zabaleta and Peña y Goñi. Fewer queues, more people who live here, and you can finish on Zurriola beach. Ten minutes on foot from the old town.

Calle Mundaiz 8, the city's main independent live room. Concerts tend to open doors around 20:00 and club nights just before midnight, across everything from experimental and blues to techno and comedy.

Cider houses about ten minutes inland, where you queue at the barrel, catch cider in a tilted glass and eat a fixed menu of cod omelette, cod with peppers, chuleta, then cheese, quince and walnuts. Petritegi serves lunch Tuesday to Sunday 13:00–15:00 and dinner Tuesday to Saturday 20:00–21:30.

This is a city of 190,000 and the pintxo bars start closing not long after midnight. What is left runs along Calle Reyes Católicos and the streets behind the Buen Pastor cathedral, plus a couple of clubs near the Kursaal. Do not plan a night around finding a big club here.