landmark
Getaria
A salty fishing village clinging to a mouse-shaped headland, birthplace of Juan Sebastian Elcano and famed for txakoli wine and grilled turbot.
4 km · about 10 min drive
EuropeSpainBasque Country
Zumaia
Basque Country, Spain · Europe
About Zumaia
Zumaia works well as a base: 10 minutes from Getaria, 44km from Corniche Basque.
Zumaia is in Basque Country, Spain, with about 8,800 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Getaria, about 4 km away.
Zumaia ([s̻umaja], Spanish: Zumaya) is a small town in the north of Spain in the Basque Country.
The town has two beaches (Itzurun and Santiago), which are of interest to geologists because they are situated among the longest set of continuous rock strata in the world. These formations are termed flysch and they dateRead more
from the mid-cretaceous period to the present, a time period of over 100 million years. The K–T boundary is present at the Itzurun beach, and fossils can be found, notably of ammonites. The strata stretches along a distance of about 8 km, between the beaches of Deba and Getaria, with Zumaia lying in the middle.
The town is also the home-turned-museum of the painter Ignacio Zuloaga. Exhibits include works by El Greco, Rivera, Zurbarán and Goya. Across the street there is a museum of craft and hand-crafted products of Laia. Within the city centre, the Basque-style Gothic church of San Pedro can be found. It has a temple with a magnificent reredos by Juan de Antxieta, the only work by this Basque sculptor found in Gipuzkoa.
Zumaia is located at the point where the Urola and Narrondo rivers come together. The origins of the town can be traced by its ancient monastery. In the Middle Ages, the people who lived in the Sehatz valley having to endure the continuous attacks of pirates and pillagers, fortified the city. The church today retains the relic of its defensive appearance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Zumaia?
Within an hour or so of Zumaia: Getaria (4 km), Monte Igueldo (20 km), Peine del Viento (20 km), La Concha Beach, San Sebastian (22 km).
Are there any good drives near Zumaia?
The nearest famous roads are Corniche Basque and Puerto de Ibañeta.
Where is Zumaia?
Zumaia is in Basque Country, Spain, about 4 km from Getaria.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 8,751
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Spain
- Region
- Basque Country
- Timezone
- Europe/Madrid
- Coordinates
- 43.2947, -2.2534
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Spain
Guardia Civil (traffic police): 062. Two warning triangles required in vehicles.
Full driving guide for SpainTags
Worth the detour from Zumaia
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
scenic viewpoint
Monte Igueldo
A vintage funicular hauls you to a hilltop viewpoint and amusement park with the postcard panorama over San Sebastian's Concha bay.
20 km · about 25 min drive
landmark
Peine del Viento
Eduardo Chillida's iron sculptures bolted into the rocks where waves explode through blowholes mark the wild western end of San Sebastian's bay.
20 km · about 25 min drive
beach
La Concha Beach, San Sebastian
A perfect crescent of golden sand framed by green hills, widely regarded as one of the finest city beaches in Europe.
22 km · about 25 min drive
beach
Playa de Laga
A golden sweep of sand below the green pyramid of Cabo Ogono in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, a favourite of Basque surfers.
35 km · about 40 min drive
restaurant
Asador Etxebarri
Bittor Arginzoniz's grill house on the square of tiny Axpe, where everything from caviar to butter is cooked over bespoke wood fires: perennially ranked among the world's very best restaurants. Book months ahead; the valley drive alone rewards.
35 km · about 40 min drive
landmark
Hondarribia Old Town
A walled medieval fishing town on the French border with a castle keep and the rainbow-balconied La Marina quarter perfect for pintxos.
38 km · about 45 min drive
coastal drive
Corniche Basque
The wild clifftop D912 between Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye, running above tilted flysch rock strata with open views across the Bay of Biscay to the Spanish coast.
44 km · about 50 min drive
Driving roads near Zumaia
- 20 kmMonte IgueldoA vintage funicular hauls you to a hilltop viewpoint and amusement park with the postcard panorama over San Sebastian's Concha bay.
- 44 kmCorniche BasqueThe wild clifftop D912 between Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye, running above tilted flysch rock strata with open views across the Bay of Biscay to the Spanish coast.
- 50 kmLa RhuneA 905 m Basque summit on the Spanish border, climbed by a wooden cog train for sweeping coast-to-Pyrenees views.
- 62 kmVizcaya Bridge (Puente Colgante)The world's oldest transporter bridge, a UNESCO iron giant that ferries cars and people across the Nervion estuary in a hanging gondola.
- 78 kmPuente la ReinaAn elegant Romanesque pilgrim bridge arching over the Arga, where the two main Camino routes merge into one path to Santiago.
Driving in Spain
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.55/litre
- Motorway tolls
- ~€4.00/100km
When to drive here
April to October
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