San Sebastián, Spain

Otherwise known as Donostia, San Sebastián is a stunning coastal city neighboring the Bay of Biscay, just around twenty kilometers from the French border. Maintaining a captivating and genteel face by day, San Sebastián still serves a lively atmosphere by night. It’s true that Michelin stars are abundant among its restaurants, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be needing to empty your wallet at every meal. The city possesses a tapas, known locally as pintxos, culture unlike any other. San Sebastián is packed with unassuming, hole-in-the-wall pintxos bars that will leave you yearning for more. If you’re looking for first-rate battered prawns, wine, and a native atmosphere, take a trip to Paco Bueno, an old-school pintxos bar that will only cost you a meager two euros per plate.

Most importantly, however, is of course San Sebastiáns surf. Comparable to its sensational cuisine, Playa de la Zurriola (Zurriola Beach) draws visitors to its shores through dependable beachbreaks, quality relying on the sandbars, and left-hand peel. Most enjoyable are its smaller-scale swells, closeouts usually stopping tubular rides at heights over about five feet. Despite the fact that the year-end seasons are unquestionably in terms of waves the best time of year, San Sebastian prides itself on year-long wave consistency, proved by constant crowds.