Hello!

We are debating on doing San Sebastián area or the Nice area. Has anyone had experience with both? We can do one or the other and they both look great!

Edit: We will be at either next month!

Both have beaches, decent food and wine. One speaks French, the other Basque.

Time of year could make a difference.

Tough decision. Good luck with it. San Sebastian Beach is sandy. Nice is little pebbles. If artworks appeal to you, museums, are plentiful around Nice. The non museum works of Cocteau, Matissse and Picasso are also plentiful in the Nice area. Bilbao has the Gehry Guggenheim. A lot would depend, I think, on the time you are visiting. The Nice area is really crowded July and August. The Basque country not so much. Friends raved about the Roja wine estate. I haven't been there.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/vintage-gehry

Yes, I've been to both. I vastly prefer San Sebastián, but that doesn't mean you would.

Just be aware that San Sebastian is in a rainy area and it´s not a beach resort, but a city with three beaches. Great food, beautiful Bilbao is just one hour away and Rioja wine region is a two hour drive.

Nice is much more than Nice- can easily day trip to many nearby sights by train or bus - hill towns like St-Paul-de-Vence and Vence and places on the coast like Antibes, Cannes (for great beaches), Monaco (for novlety most don't care much for it) or even to Italy - also great walks along the coast, etc.

San Sebastian where I've been several times too seems more of just a single sight so comparing Nice as a city to San Sebstian may be different than comparing the two areas and what can be easily done. Now there are nice day trips from San Sebastian but IME not nearly so easy and so neat.

Nice has a pebble beach so if going for beach you may want to stay somewhere else along the Cote d'Azur. Nice itself to me is a much bigger busy city than San Sebastian.

Yes, Nice has about twice the population as Donostia-San Sebastián, but is only about 10% larger in area, so a bit more crowded, congested, without adding in the tourist/visitors.

But you don't have to stay in Nice - again a smaller town like Antibes could be great - nice beaches and trains to Nice and other places on coast all the time. The Nice agglomeration is yes much bigger than Donostia but it is also spread out along about 30 miles of coastline - so no need to stay in a big busy city though some may like that.

Actually, most people speak castellano AKA espańol. That´s not to say you won't hear Basque being spoken, of course.

Well San Sebastian is food heaven - all the little bars with long counters of tapas, plus some very nice restaurants - definitely the main draw is the food. It rains alot - I think I read if you plan 3 days there, one will be sunny. I might want a car there (altho parking can be a major PIA) as daytrips are not so numerous or convenient (except maybe a bus to Bilbao). If it were me, not sure I'd want a week there unless I had a car for exploring some of the other towns, like maybe up to the mountains or over to France. I have been there once, I want to go again, but not sure I would stay a week unless you can just chill on the rainy days with books or travel friends.

Of course Nice also has good food and there is so much to do in the city and the area. Beach is pebbles so maybe base in another town with sandy beach. Public transportation excellent to quite a few options - museums, Villa Euphrisi and Villa Kerylos and much more. We spent a week in Nice - also want to return there.

We have enjoyed both very much. I agree the time of year would make a big difference to me. If the weather is good there are lots of little places around San Sebastian that can be explored by car or bus or train in a week. We spent 4 nights there, and never did get out of the town, as it was the end of a road trip across N Spain, but depends on what your interests are.

There are many wonderful villages outside San Sevastian to visit as there are in Nice. We found the villages in the Pays Basque so charming and interesting that we visited them twice. Also visited Getaria.

I agree, Nice does not have it over San Sebastián in terms of nearby attractions, and if the bus station from which we took the bus to Bilbao was any indication, there's no shortage of public transportation, either. Plus, you have the train line that runs up through Hendaye to St-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, Bayonne, etc.

We rented an apartment in SS for a week last year in September and didn't encounter a single raindrop. If we had, we would have spent more time at La Perla, the thermal baths that are right on the shore of the main beach. Or we would have eaten more pintxos, but I'm not sure that would have been possible.

the tiny commuter train that goes between San Sebastian and Hendaye, France train station is a good way to get to France as mainline trains have spotty schedules at times and it does go right smack dab thru several Basque villages - right down the streets in some.

You can't go wrong with either Nice area or San Sebstian.

I've been to both and you really can't go wrong with either. In July the Nice area will probably be more crowded. But you are pretty much guaranteed sunny hot weather. San Sebastian gets more rain, but I was there last July and the weather was great (although half my time on the northern coast of Spain and over into France I did get lots of rain).



When I can't decide where to go I look at photos of the places. Here are mine:
Nice - Zenfolio | Isabel's_View | Cote d'Azure, Nice
Cote d'Azure hilltowns - andiamo.zenfolio.com/f667172952
San Sebastian - Zenfolio | Isabel's_View | Basque Region

La mayoría de los vascos en San Sebastián ahora hablan euskera.
Donostiako euskaldun gehienak euskara hitz egiten du.

Thanks for clearing that up Robert2016 😃