Monte Urgull

You only need an hour to walk up and get a great view of the city, and listen to the murmur below from the people in Parte Viejo, loudspeakers playing music from Playa de la Concha, and church bells in the distance. Two hours, and you will have a wonderful time exploring the mountain’s narrow paths and old fortress walls.
Walk down the backside through the Cementerio de los Ingleses, and down to the Pasealeku Berria causeway along the ocean. Spectacular.

If you are in San Sebastian there is no better way to view the city than by taking this beautiful hike. It’s a little steep and a tiny bit of a workout, but if you take your time anyone could do it. There are also a number of different trails that lead to the top so you could pick which one suites you better. If you need a break along the way there are many places to sit and rest.

Beautiful hike up to Mount Urgull. It takes about an hour to get to the top. Glad we took some water, it’s a low-​medium strenuous trail. It has breathtaking views and a little museum up on top-​we have some awesome pictures from up there. There are stops along the way up to see. One is a cemetery, one is an old shooting galley and also a castle and we stumbled upon a cool cave. We packed a picnic and stopped on the way down in a cool-​shaded area that had seats with a breathtaking view of the water. Would highly recommend!

A plusieurs reprises, j’ai eu la chance de crapahuter au sommet de Monte Urgull, avec au fur et à mesure de la montée parmi la végétation et les vestiges de l’Histoire (canons, forts, belvédères .), la possibilité de contempler la ville de San Sebastian, l’océan envahissant ainsi que les longues plages. Tout en haut, un musée regroupe des maquettes historiques de la cité, des tuniques d’anciennes armées européennes bien poussiéreuses ainsi que des vidéos relatant les coutumes, le festival de cinéma, les sports pratiqués, dans le but également de démontrer que la cité est tournée vers l’avenir, en effet San Sebastian sera Capitale européenne de la culture en 2016. Deux choix s’offrent desormais à vous en ce qui concerne la descente: revenir par le même chemin ou tenter les nombreux autres quitte à vous perdre dans la ville aux dizaines de bars à pintxos. À vous de voir

The bulk of Monte Urgull is on of the several Donostia spots that you can climb up to and appreciate the view. And that’s exactly what Gayle and I did after we first arrived in San Sebastian. The first thing we noticed was the Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart) sculpture, which brings on Rio de Janeiro parallels. The work was executed by Franco-​era sculptor Federico Coullaut in 1950, stands over 12 metres tall, and can be seen from a distance of 4 miles out at sea.
Monte Urgull was an important defensive position until the City walls were taken down in 1863. It saw action from the 12^th Century onwards in several battles. The Hill is topped by a small fort, the Castillo de la Mota. There are several areas to walk and the views (especially from the ramparts below the Christ statue) are outstanding. However, the buildings and facilities on Monte Urgull appear to be a bit threadbare in spots.
Gayle and I eventually descended to the back side of the hill and to the water. Our Big Bonus was admiring the Construcción Vacía (Empty Structure) sculpture by Jorge de Oteiza. The powerful and original work this sculptor and Eduardo Chillida (another Basque artist) is a key touchstone for this Region.