Getaria

A fishing town on the coast of Gipuzkoa between Zarautz and Zumaia, famous as the birthplace of the navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, first to sail round the world, and of the couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, whose museum occupies the Aldamar palace. Its old town, listed as a monumental ensemble, is built around the Gothic church of San Salvador and drops downhill to a fishing harbour still in use. Mount San Antón, popularly known as the mouse of Getaria, closes off the bay and draws its most recognisable outline. The town stands out for its charcoal-grilled fish and for the txakoli with its own denomination of origin, made in the vineyards on the surrounding slopes. For pilgrims on the Camino del Norte it is a short and welcome stop between the beaches of Zarautz and the stretch towards Zumaia, with every service within a short radius.