The Antiguo neighbourhood

In San Sebastian, everyone visits the Old Town and the city centre, La Concha, and some tourists venture to the Gros neighbourhood… But very few venture to El Antiguo. Located on the other side of La Concha Bay, next to Ondarreta Beach, between Miramar Palace and Mount Igeldo, El Antiguo is one of those neighbourhoods in San Sebastian that we really like, even though it is not so popular with visitors, and we are going to tell you why.

San Sebastián el Antiguo

Let’s start at the beginning: the name. El Antiguo neighbourhood is so called because where the Miramar Palace stands today, there used to be a monastery called San Sebastián el Antiguo, which gave its name to the neighbourhood, but also to the entire city. This monastery is the origin of Donostia. Built as a hospital for pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela, the monastery was the first permanent settlement in the area, back in the 11th century (although some texts place it as early as the 9th century).

The monastery no longer exists. After the First Carlist War in 1836, it was reduced to ruins and abandoned. At the end of the 19th century, the land was purchased by Queen María Cristina to build the Miramar Palace, and the ruins were moved and rebuilt where they stand today, on Matía Street, just a few metres from their original location. Nothing remains of that legendary monastery except its name, which we San Sebastian residents unwittingly recall when we name our city and the neighbourhood in question.

A neighbourhood in constant evolution

Once just a monastery in the middle of La Concha Bay, today El Antiguo has become a lively neighbourhood that we highly recommend visiting. Here you can visit the aforementioned Miramar Palace and San Sebastián Church, the entire Igeldo area with the Peine del Viento sculpture, the funicular railway and the amusement park, Matía Street, the neighbourhood’s main shopping street, Ondarreta Beach… and even the university campus. There are plenty of places to suit all tastes.

But El Antiguo has not always been this way. Until well into the 19th century, El Antiguo had a few houses on what is now Matía Street, quite a few farmhouses and a lot of streams, now buried and channelled to flow behind Igeldo, which made the neighbourhood not very healthy, but which in their day were home to a great deal of milling and fishing activity, and it was here that trout and eels could be caught until not so long ago.

Over time, investment came in to build homes, factories, tennis courts and football pitches, parks and finally the university, changing the neighbourhood considerably, but maintaining the hard-working and popular spirit of yesteryear.

El Antiguo today

Today, El Antiguo is one of the most authentic and lively neighbourhoods in San Sebastian, not only because the university is located here and the students are very active, but also because it is a neighbourhood with a village spirit, where neighbours know each other, children walk around on their own and the shops are traditional. One of the best times to enjoy this is during the neighbourhood festivals, which are obviously held to celebrate Saint Sebastian’s Day in January (although they also have the Saint John’s Day festivities in June, because people from El Antiguo, like San Sebastian residents in general, really love a good party).

Another reason to come here is to get away from the more crowded areas of the city, as here you will mainly find local residents. The food is just as good as in the Old Town, but without the crowds, and there is much more variety, as in addition to pintxos and more traditional restaurants, there are also several restaurants with a more international offering that will not leave you indifferent.

So come to El Antiguo, either on your own or with our Classic E-Bike Tour, and enjoy the original San Sebastian, the beginning of everything, the reason we are here. You won’t regret it!