Zumaia, what to see and do.

Zumaia, what to see in one of the most visited coastal towns in Gipuzkoa.

Zumaia is one of those towns that leave their mark. An urban center, located on the coast of Gipuzkoa, about 30 minutes from Donostia San Sebastian, offers a nice range of spaces to see and enjoy. The contrast of the intense green of the mountains and the penetrating blue of the sea, makes that all the people who visit this town keep a nice memory of their trip to Euskadi.Spaces like Itzurun beach, the Hermitage of San Telmo or the Fountain of San Juan, have served as the setting for films and series of great success as 8 Basque surnames or Game of Thrones. These productions have helped to place this coastal town on the map. But we must emphasize that this town has more attractions than we see at first glance. The culture and history of Zumaia are two of the most valuable resources of the town. Aspects that are put in value through experiences such as the great enigma, Geoparkea or the visit to the Basque farmhouse Santa Klara. Do you dare to discover what to see in Zumaia with us?

Zumaia is also an important part of the northern Camino de Santiago, and its third stage crosses the town to show visitors the beauty and history of this Basque town. If you are planning to do this route, you should know that there is a pilgrims’ hostel in the old Convent of San José.

What to see in Zumaia.

The town of Zumaia is located in the bay created by the rivers Urola and Narrondo, right on the coast of Gipuzkoa. A privileged location that allows us to enjoy this stretch of the Basque coast in style. A natural paradise, which, fused with its impressive historic center, offers us a destination to take into account in every trip to Euskal Herria. We leave you with what for us are some of the most important places in Zumaia.

Geoparkea: Geoparkea, the geopark of the coast of Gipuzkoa, allows us to know the history of the earth through the stretch of coast that includes the towns of Mutriku, Deba and Zumaia. Although in the interior of these towns we also find geological spaces of great importance, the beauty of the incredible cliffs and the flysch blind us to the rest of the corners of Geoparkea. The visit to these cliffs can be complemented with a visit to the Algorri Interpretation Center to learn about the incredible natural and geological heritage of Zumaia. We recommend our article about Geoparkea.

Parish Church of San Pedro: This 13th century temple is located on a natural watchtower in the center of the historic center of Zumaia. Its exterior appearance, simple, with hardly any decorative elements, makes many people confuse it with an old defensive fortress, however, when we enter inside and see that it is one of the most important Gothic churches in the Basque Country, everything changes.

San Juan Fountain: This fountain located in the square where Olazabal Idazkaria and Nagusi streets meet, in the center of the historic center of Zumaia, has become, together with the figure of the water carrier, one of the most famous places in the town. This fountain gained a lot of prominence due to the film “Eight Basque Surnames”. And it is next to this fountain, where one of the main characters of the film, starring actor Dani Rovira, launches a series of pro-independence claims.

Olazabal Palace: This palace located next to the fountain described above, is one of the many buildings that we recommend you to visit in the town of Zumaia. It is a 17th century building with two enormous coats of arms located on its main façade. This structure was the house of Juan de Olazabal, secretary of Philip IV and member of the council of the Inquisition.

Convent of San José: This religious temple, today converted into a pilgrims’ hostel, was founded in 1609 by Francisca Labayen to house the Carmelite convent. The building was rehabilitated at the beginning of the 20th century. Since 2016, the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago of Gipuzkoa manages the pilgrims’ hostel that houses this temple.

Ubillos Palace: This building, an old fortress with military character built by the Ubillos family, today has a much larger structure than it was in the beginning. And it was in the sixteenth century, when it was decided to attach to the original tower a central body with a courtyard and a second tower, the one on the right. Thus obtaining a palace typical of that time.

Foronda Palace: This palace, today a house of culture, stands on one of the sides of the historic center of Zumaia. A historic building, built for the Marquis of Foronda by the Basque architect Juan Jose Gurrutxaga, surprises all those who visit the town for the first time. The Foronda Palace also houses the municipal library and the historical archive.

Hermitage of San Telmo: The Hermitage of San Telmo, another of the buildings that took on special prominence in the film Ocho apellidos vascos, has become one of the most visited places in Zumaia. No wonder. This temple in honor of the patron saint of sailors, is located on the cliffs that protect Itzurun beach, near the Camino de Santiago and flysch routes. Although the first written evidence of this hermitage dates back to 1540, it is believed to be well before that time. Finally, it should be noted that the temple we see today is not the original, as it was renovated by the Brotherhood of Mareantes de San Telmo to use it as a headquarters in the seventeenth century.

Itzurun beach: Itzurun beach is one of the most popular beaches in Zumaia. A sandy area, where in addition to sunbathing and swimming, we can also enjoy water sports such as surfing. Its location, next to the cliffs, open to the Cantabrian Sea and protected by the hermitage of San Telmo, offers us a small natural paradise. As if all this were not enough, it is said that the high concentration of iodine found in this sandy area is beneficial to health.

Santiago beach: Santiago beach, another of the most important sandy areas of the town, invites us to enjoy its more than 350 meters long next to the mouth of the Urola river. A beach, which surprises us with a grassy area, bar and a playground for the little ones of the house. This beach is much quieter than Itzurun, which makes it a favorite for families.

Urola River: The Urola River becomes an estuary near the town of Zumaia to deliver its waters to the sea. The small ecosystem that has been created on the banks of this river has led this area to be classified as a protected area of the Natura 2000 network. In this plan, 3 areas of special interest are detailed: The dunes of Santiago, the holm oak grove of Artadi and the meander and islands of Bedua.

Lighthouse of Zumaia: This lighthouse managed from the port of the neighboring town of Pasaia and located on a natural vantage point at the mouth of the Urola River, was built in 1882 by the engineer Francisco Lafarga. Its light has illuminated the return home of thousands of sailors.

Inpernupe Beach: This small beach or cove of stones located next to the lighthouse, has a length of less than 100 meters. It is undoubtedly one of the least crowded beaches in the town due to its strong waves, its access and the absence of sand. We would like to emphasize that this beach does not have lifeguard service.

Old train station: This space is called to be one of the most important tourist areas of Zumaia. And, according to the city council, this building will house in the near future the tourist office and other services related to this sector. This building was once Zumaia’s train station, a historical fact for which it was listed as a protected building.

Algorri Interpretation Center: This space helps us to understand the Flysch phenomenon and the rest of the geological elements found in the cliffs of Zumaia. But it also highlights other natural areas such as the mouth of the Urola River, the Bedua marshes, the dunes of Santiago or the holm oak forest of San Miguel.

San Telmo Sailors Guild: This guild has in its interior one of the last auction machines of Euskadi. A fact that makes it one of the most special buildings in Zumaia. Undoubtedly a space that reminds us of Zumaia’s fishing past.

Camino de Santiago: The third stage of the Camino de Santiago del Norte, joins Zumaia and Deba through a spectacular route along the coast. Undoubtedly, one of the most striking stretches of the Basque coast. Due to the large number of pilgrims visiting Zumaia, in 2016 the town council decided to leave the convent of San Jose in the hands of the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago of Gipuzkoa to manage the Pilgrims’ Hostel of Zumaia.

Industrial heritage: The industry has been linked to Zumaia since ancient times, and is that, despite being a coastal town, fishing did not reach the levels of other ports such as Getaria. A fact that, during the industrialization, other sectors such as shipbuilding grew exponentially.

Marina: The marina of Zumaia, also known as Marina Urola, is located inside the bay at the mouth of the Urola River. Currently, this port has more than 500 moorings that accommodate boats up to 15 meters.

Andre Mari de Arritokieta: Next to the cemetery of Zumaia we find a small hermitage that, although it does not attract as much attention as that of San Telmo, keeps in its interior the carving of the Virgin of Arritokieta of the XVI century, a jewel.

Art: Zumaia has an extensive list of monuments and sculptures scattered throughout the municipality. Authentic works of art, which, designed by local and international artists, offer us a nice artistic tour. An example of this is the bust of Aita Mari, a sculpture that pays tribute to the sailor Aita Mari, a local hero who saved many fishermen from death. Another example of this urban art can be found in the work Dialogo (2010), a set of 7 pieces that we find in the Gernika Park.

These spaces are just a small representation of what you can see in Zumaia, if you want to know more about this coastal town, we recommend that you also visit places like the cultural space Ignacio Zuloaga, the Museum of the sculptor Julio Beobide or the Zumaia Palace.

Video of Zumaia.

As usual, we wanted to accompany the words and pictures of this article with a short video. We hope it will help you to get a more realistic idea of what awaits you in this destination on the Basque coast. In case you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can discover all the places and experiences that we recommend you in the Basque Country.

What to see near Zumaia.

The villages surrounding Zumaia allow us to continue enjoying the Basque coast in style and the neighboring towns of Deba and Getaria are some of the places we recommend in this section.

What to do near Zumaia.

Zumaia, like the rest of the Basque towns, encourages us to enjoy its culture, history and nature through various activities. In this section we also add activities that take place in the towns surrounding this town, and is that located less than 30 minutes away we find experiences that are really worthwhile. You can book all of them in our reservation center.

Set for series and movies.

Game of Thrones and 8 Basque Surnames are, without a doubt, the most successful productions filmed in Zumaia. And while Game of Thrones was an international blockbuster that broke audience records around the world, 8 Basque Surnames was one of the highest grossing films of its time. If you want to know more details about these recordings, we recommend you to read our article “Game of Thrones scenes in Euskadi”.

Where to park in Zumaia.

Zumaia has OTA (traffic and parking ordinance) in practically all its urban core. Therefore, we recommend that you pay close attention to where you park your vehicle. If you do not want to find any surprises, we recommend that you avoid the OTA zones, including the areas specifically marked for residents. The town council of Zumaia has set up 2 parking areas on the outskirts of the town center, which, signposted at the entrance to Zumaia, allow you to park for free on any trip to this coastal town. These parkings are located in the industrial area of the station and in the marina (Saraunea). To reach them is as easy as following the parking signs at the entrance to the town.

Festivities in Zumaia.

To talk about the festivities of Zumaia is to talk about the festivities of San Telmo, patron saint of the arrantzales (fishermen in Basque). This festivity is celebrated 8 days after Easter Sunday, although most of the program is held the weekend before and after this day. A few days, in which the town is dyed in that characteristic bluish color to show us its historical union with the sea. On the other hand, we must mention the patron saint festivities, San Pedro, June 29. We must also mention the so-called Semana Grande de Zumaia, a festival that takes place in August and includes a program with a large number of activities.

How to get to Zumaia.

As we have already mentioned, Zumaia is located on the Basque coast, about 30 minutes from the capital of Gipuzkoa, Donostia San Sebastian. A location that allows us to reach this town both by public and private transport. Here is a brief summary of the options we have to reach Zumaia.