Start off your visit by walking through the main street of Nagusia Kalea where you can buy some local products or stop for a pintxo.
Further down the street you will find the 15th century gothic church of San Salvador. An interesting fact about this church is that its floor is inclined due to the rocky terrain on which it stands.
The street continues through a tunnel that is bored underneath the church. This was used for defensive purposes in the times when the church belonged to the wall that surrounded the town.
Down at the port, stop at one of the various restaurants for some grilled fish and try the local txakoli white wine. We recommend ordering the red mullets (“salmonetes” in Spanish) at the restaurant May Flower which has lovely views of the port.
If you are looking for something a little more up-scale, check out Elkano (one Michelin star) or Kaia-Kaipe. They are known for being the best of the best in Getaria.
However, which restaurant you choose is not a huge deal since they are all offering the fresh-catch of the day. You can’t go wrong.
At the end of the port is where the Mount San Antón starts, which until the 15th century was just an island. Its shape is similar to a mouse and, for that reason, it is commonly referred to by the locals as the Ratón de Getaria (“mouse of Getaria”). The Mount San Antón is a natural park with a large variety of vegetation and animals (especially seagulls).
There are various paths heading to the top of the mountain. On the way up, you will discover the lighthouse, from which they used to observe whales (Getaria was a whaling town, much like many others on the Basque coast). If you continue to the top, you will be rewarded with beautiful panoramic views of the town and the coast.
The surroundings of Getaria are full of txakoli vineyards. It is of course possible to try different txakolis in the bars and restaurants of the town (there is even a delicatessen store on Nagusia Kalea which sells all of the txakolis from the Getaria wine region).
But if you really want to sample the wines before you buy or just find out more about txakoli in general, it would be best to venture into the bodegas that surround the town.
Most wineries are open for direct sale. Some offer wine tastings and a few also offer tours in English, such as Gaintza, Ameztoi and Txomin Etxaniz. Check the Getariako Txakolina website for more detailed information.
If design and fashion is your thing, then a visit to the Cristobal Balenciaga Museum is highly recommended. Balenciaga, born in Getaria in 1895, was a true fashion innovator. He was respected (and is still today) throughout the fashion world for both his techniques and construction as well as his perfectionism.
The museum dedicated to him opened in 2011. It is housed in two separate buildings that are connected.
One is a large modern building and the other is the Aldamar Palace, where Balenciaga spent much of his childhood since his mother worked as a tailor for the owners of the palace, the marquises Casa Torre. This is where Balenciaga first came into contact with haute couture and it is quite fitting that the palace is now part of the museum.
Getaria also has another very famous son, Juan Sebastián Elcano. Elcano was an explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. You will see a couple of statues in his honor around the town, for example, in the square in front of the town hall. The biggest monument to Elcano is located on the main road that intersects the town, right before you reach the Malkorbe beach.
The town of Zarautz is only 3 kilometers away from Getaria and there is a walking path by the coast connecting both of them. You will see locals of all ages on it, enjoying the breeze of the Cantabrian Sea while exercising or just going for a walk.