Festivals of San Sebastian

San Sebastian is a city that has a large number of tourists and visitors to the area who come to the city and attend a multitude of celebrations that take place throughout the year.

We show you a list of the most important celebrations and Festivals of San Sebastian that take place in our city and that you can visit.

Saint Sebastian’s Day

On January 20, the day of San Sebastian is celebrated, specifically the festival of the Tamborrada, in which the day of the patron saint of the city is celebrated. The meeting place will be our Plaza de la Constitución, which will be adorned with a huge flag of the city. Starting at midnight, the celebration begins, which will begin the famous Tamborrada interpreting Sarriegui’s compositions that will resound throughout the day in the city.

More than a hundred companies will parade through the streets with their drums that invite the masses with their dances. Each company is made up of almost fifty drums and about eighty barrels. Once the day has elapsed, it will be a single band, the Artisan Union the delegate to drop the flag and thus end our San Sebastian Day.

San Sebastian’s carnival

Another special festival that is celebrated in San Sebastian in the month of February is the Donostiarra carnival, in which God Momo, the protagonist of this festival, is welcomed. A kind of charangas is celebrated throughout the city.

Both the elderly and the little ones participate in this festival in different troupes that walk around the city dancing and having fun throughout the weekend. This celebration ends with the famous burial of the sardine.

Commemoration of August 31

For many years, the population of San Sebastián has paid tribute on this day to all the people who in 1813 suffered the fire and destruction of the city in an episode of the Napoleonic Wars and who managed to get out and rebuild the city.

Big Week of Donostia

This party in San Sebastián begins on the Saturday that falls within the week of August 15. During this week, from Saturday to Saturday, the city celebrates many events such as workshops or games.

The main element of the Big Week is the international Fireworks contest, where companies from different parts of the world participate. The origin of this festivity is to amuse the tourism that comes to Donostia during the summer season. In it, the popular is mixed with events of high quality, both aesthetic and cultural.

Santo Tomás’ Party

When we talk about this celebration, the first thing that comes to mind for a citizen of San Sebastián is the festival of Santo Tomás, every year on December 21. It is celebrated in certain cities of Biscay and Donostia and is a milestone at the local level.

Here you can taste the most typical and autochthonous products of the Basque Country, such as talo with txistorra. This dish is a classic in these celebrations, made up of a kind of corn crepe that, together with the txistorra, pounded pork and spices such as salt or paprika, make this a very characteristic food for the Santo Tomás festivities.

This celebration has a festive and gastronomic facet that you will love to experience and taste.

La Concha Flag Regattas

The regattas that are organized in our bay of La Concha begin in the first week of September, more specifically on the 5th. Teams with traineras participate in these regattas, a very common boat typical of the Cantabrian Sea. In these weeks, the regattas require a great outcry from the masses and in which the whole of San Sebastian turns to these competitions.

Now that you know all the celebrations and festivities of San Sebastian, how about visiting our wonderful city with us? We have both guided tours of San Sebastian on foot and by electric bike.