Gipuzkoa · País Vasco
Donostia
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting.
Why people fall for Donostia
Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet.
Basque coast, its old fishing port overlooked by a fascinating aquarium.
On the table. Whether snacking on pintxos or lingering over a multicourse feast, the Parte Vieja's narrow pedestrianised streets hold the city's most famous pintxo bars.
Worth the trip
- Playa de la Concha, golden sands and sheltered swimming
- Playa de la Zurriola, a popular surfing spot
- A busy cultural calendar and thriving arts scene
- The estuary town of Pasaia and the town of Hondarribia within easy reach
- Flysch rock formations on the coast between Deba and Zumaia
Who it suits: Foodies · Beach and surf travellers
Who Donostia is for — and who it isn't
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities and read off where Donostia lands.
Good for
- Heat-averse settlers 96th percentile of 8,132 towns 3 km from the sea · mild 22.5°C summer highs
- Families with school-age kids 92nd percentile of 8,132 towns 3 km from the sea · a hospital in town
The numbers
The decision data — each figure placed among all Spanish municipalities that report it ("top 10%" always means good, also where lower is better). Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 9.6°C top 25% of 8,131 towns 1.8°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 22.5°C top 3% of 8,131 towns 7.7°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 143 days bottom 1% of 8,088 towns 108% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 5.1 h/day bottom 3% of 3,829 towns 30% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 6 top 6% of 8,033 towns 50 below the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €5,118/m² bottom 2% of 306 towns 132% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €22,330 top 1% of 8,059 towns 54% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.4% bottom 35% of 6,605 towns
Schools
- Schools in town
- 99 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 60 km bottom 36% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 482 #9 of 17 regions, +3 vs national 1 above the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- no local data
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 64 days #2 of 17 regions, −39 days vs national 41% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 26 min top 5% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 5% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 8% of 8,132 towns 17% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 189,507
- Born in Spain
- 84.5% 4.3% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.2% 1.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 3.03 per 1,000
Numbers: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How does Donostia fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Donostia against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 27 min from Irun, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Donostia for you →Nearby towns
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