In short
La Concha bay is an urban beach closed off by two hills and an island, right in the centre. It is swimmable from April to October despite cool Atlantic water.
The city and its surroundings hold one of the highest densities of starred restaurants in the world. But the real everyday cooking is eaten standing at the bar, as pintxos.
What it really costs
This is the most expensive city in the Spanish Basque Country and one of the dearest in Spain for housing, on a site physically hemmed in between sea and hills.
Pintxos are paid for by the piece, two to four euros, and the bill climbs without your noticing. The local ritual is one or two per bar, then move on.
What nobody tells you
It rains, a lot, and all year. This is the Atlantic coast, not the Mediterranean: the guaranteed July sun does not exist here.
Monte Igueldo and Monte Urgull frame the bay. Urgull is climbed free on foot in twenty minutes and gives the same view as the paid funicular opposite.
The French border is twenty kilometres away, Biarritz forty-five minutes. Plenty of people sleep on the French side and eat on the Spanish one, the price gap covering the journey.