Do you want to get to know the Basque Country, its traditions, its culture, its history? Visit the San Telmo Museum.

Located in a unique setting, right on the Basque coast, next to the old town of Donostia / San Sebastian and protected by Mount Urgull, the San Telmo Museum gives us the opportunity to learn about all aspects related to the Basque people in the same space.

Inaugurated in 1902, the San Telmo Museum holds the title of “oldest museum in the Basque Country”, a title that together with its collection makes it one of the most important in our territory.

This museum has reinvented and restructured itself to offer us the only museum in Euskadi dedicated to our society, to our past in all its aspects: History, culture, traditions…

Location: Located in the old part of San Sebastian, in the center of everything you want to see, enjoy and know in Donostia / San Sebastian, allows us to enjoy its collection without having to move from the center of the city.

Surroundings of the San Telmo Museum

The parking lots of the Boulevard and Okendo are two great options if we go by car. On the other hand, if our intention is to arrive by bike or on foot, remember that the museum is located next to the Paseo Nuevo, a perfect opportunity to enjoy two giants of Donostia / San Sebastian while enjoying its coastline: The San Telmo Museum and the Aquarium of the city.

Buildings: The San Telmo Museum brings together two completely different buildings, the 16th century Dominican convent and the new pavilion, the work of architects Nieto and Sobejano.

Old entrance to San Telmo Museum

The convent: This is the “original” building of the San Telmo Museum, a 16th century building with unique architecture in all of Gipuzkoa that fuses Gothic and Renaissance styles. Its patron, Alonso de Idiaquez, Secretary of State of Emperor Charles V, is responsible for such an unusual work of architecture.

The order of the Dominican friars, guests of the convent at the time, decided to consecrate the convent to San Telmo, patron saint of sailors, a magnificent initiative given the importance of the sea in the development of the Basque Country.

San Telmo Museum Cloister

The new pavilion: A building designed to adapt to the environment thanks to the vegetal wall that is born between its facade, its structure, shape and color. A space that perfectly complements the convent and Mount Urgull, its natural neighbors.

This new building arms the San Telmo Museum with new functionalities that it did not have in the past, adapting to the needs of a 21st century museum. It currently houses the main entrance of the museum, the auditorium, the library, the cafeteria, the educational workshop and the laboratory room, among many others.

Façade of the new San Telmo Museum pavilion

As you can see, the buildings themselves are an additional attraction to the collection within their walls.

History of the convent: The history of the San Telmo convent deserves special mention, since the convent has had multiple uses and owners over time:

• -Since its creation, it has been a Dominican friar convent.
• -In 1836, as a consequence of the disentailment of Mendizabal, it became a military barracks.
• -In the 19th century, the poor condition of the building led to complaints from the people of San Sebastian who asked the city council to take action. As a result, in 1913 the tower and cloister were declared National Monument.
• -In 1928 the city council decided to buy the rest of the San Telmo convent.
• -In 1932 the municipal museum was inaugurated

Along with the construction of the new pavilion, the convent was renovated and new spaces were discovered, such as the crypt or the confessionals.

Interior of the church

Donations: A museum created by and for the Basque people. Many of the objects that we have the opportunity to admire in the San Telmo Museum are thanks to the kindness of their owners who donated them to the museum to enrich it and thus create a complete museum about the Basque people.

People who donated possessions to the San Telmo Museum

Price: The good value for money of the entrance to the San Telmo Museum is undoubtedly another reason to visit it. Remember that every Tuesday of the year the entrance is free.

San Telmo Museum entrance

Experiences and memories: Throughout the permanent exhibition of the museum we have the opportunity to enjoy the experiences, memories and experiences of Basques and Basques who tell us with detail and much feeling their memories and point of view of the history of our land.

Memories of Basque society

Accreditations: The San Telmo Museum has accreditations of all kinds that announce its great value, among them, our exclusive “TurismoVasco Tiketa” accreditation, a credential granted for the enhancement of Basque culture, history and traditions.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

History of the Museum: The museum was created in 1900 by the Sociedad Económica Bascongada de Amigos del País. The budget it had was so low that the mayor D. José Machimbarrena made an appeal to the citizens to obtain valuable objects for the museum, without hesitation, the people of San Sebastian went to the museum to contribute their small grain of sand to this great museum.

The museum was inaugurated on October 5, 1902 under the name of Historical, Artistic and Archaeological Museum between Andia and Garibai Streets. The exponential growth of its works led to a move to a larger building on Urdaneta Street in 1911, although in 1932 space was again a problem and the museum moved again to the San Telmo convent.

Permanent exhibition: Undoubtedly the most valuable exhibition of the San Telmo Museum is its permanent exhibition, an exhibition closely linked to our land, our legacy. In it we will enjoy the great milestones of our society, taking into account the behavior and way of life of our ancestors.

The exhibition is divided into 5 sections:

• History of the site
• The challenges of our society
• Footprints in memory
• Awakening of modernity
• Historical art collection

Within the permanent exhibition we find the collection one hundred years of art, representing the different artistic movements of Basque artists from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century.

Basque works of art at the San Telmo Museum

Temporary exhibitions: The San Telmo Museum has important temporary exhibitions of all kinds, do you want to know the current exhibitions? Visit the section of temporary exhibitions of the San Telmo Museum on its website.

Agenda: The San Telmo Museum has a wide variety of cultural activities that take place almost every day.

Accessibility: With the rehabilitation of the original building and the construction of the new pavilion, the San Telmo Museum was conditioned to be accessible to all visitors.

Accessibility of the San Telmo Museum

Variety of visits: The user has the possibility to choose between different types of visits:

QR codes: With the help of QR codes, the San Telmo Museum links its content to other museums or interpretation centers in the Basque Country where the topic in question is explored in depth.

Audioguide numbering and QR codes

Undoubtedly, the San Telmo Museum is the most complete space about the Basque people that we have known so far. This museum covers all aspects related to the Basque Country in a wonderful setting, just a step away from everything you want to enjoy in Donostia / San Sebastian. Are you up for it?