Hondarribia

Hondarribia (Spanish: Fuenterrabía) is a fishing town in the province of Guipuzcoa, Basque Country of Spain on the Bay of Txingudi, by the border with France. It is the last remaining walled town in Guipuzcoa.

Understand
Hondarribia has been settled since the time of the Romans, and became a full-fledged village in the 13th century. As a town historically on the border, whether between Navarre and Castille, or between Spain and France, Hondarribia has enjoyed a tumultuous past. After citizens sought protection under the Castilian crown in 1203, Hondarribia became a point of conflict between Castille and the kingdom of Navarre, supported by France. The town was repeatedly besieged by French and Navarran forces throughout the 1300s up until the Thirty Years' War in the mid 1600s, when Spain and France reconciled their borders under the Treaty of the Pyrenees. After the signing of this treaty (which fixed the French border to its current state), Hondarribia remained a border town, across the Bay from France.

There are two sections of town that are of special interest to the traveller:


 * The old city &mdash; With its medieval walls still intact, the historic part of town is home to the castle of Charles V, Zuloaga Palace, Casadevante Palace, the gothic church of Nuestra Señora del Manzano, and Calle Pampinot, among other sights.
 * La Marina &mdash; full of multicoloured houses and their resident fishermen, along San Pedro and Santiago Streets.

Hondarribia's beach, ports, lighthouse, the beach of Ondarraitz (on the other side of the bay), and the neighbouring hillsides are just as attractive, and make it clear why Hondarribia has enjoyed its position as a vacation destination for more than 100 years.

Get in
Hondarribia is across the river from Hendaye, 4 km from Irún, 15 km from San Sebastian, and 20 km from Biarritz, France. It is well-connected to these cities by bus or ferry (in the case of Hendaye)

By car
Hondarribia is 15 km from San Sebastian and 20 km from Biarritz. Further away are Bilbao (100 km), Pamplona (80 km), and the region of La Rioja (120 km). It is accessible by the A8 Autopista and the N1 highway.

By plane

 * San Sebastian airport is in Hondarribia. Lurraldebus serves the airport every 15-30 minutes.
 * Biarritz airport, which is frequented by Air France, Ryanair, and other airlines, is 20 km away.

By train
Hondarribia does not have a railway station, however there are many connections to Irún and Hendaye, both of which are major railheads.
 * Irún Train Station, served by RENFE and EuskoTren, is 4 km away and is served by a frequent bus service.
 * Hendaye (France) train station is served by SNCF and is the southern end of a TGV line. It is 5 km away.

By bus
Hondarribia is only served by local buses going to Irún or San Sebastian. From there, bus lines fan out through all of Spain, either at Irún's train station or at San Sebastian's bus station.

By boat
There is a small and frequent ferry to Hendaye, run by Jolaski (in Spanish/French)

Pintxos
Hondarribia is on par with San Sebastian and Bilbao as a gourmet destination of the Basque country.