Miramar Palace
On Gingerguide's self-guided San Sebastián audio tour, Miramar Palace is a stop worth about ~60 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type palace
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- San Sebastián San Sebastián guide
About Miramar Palace
The 19th-century summer royal palace that established San Sebastián as the resort destination of Spanish royalty, built for Queen María Cristina in 1893 on the headland between La Concha and Ondarreta beaches, now used for international conferences.
The Miramar Palace was built between 1888 and 1893 for Queen María Cristina of Spain, the regent who made San Sebastián the official summer seat of the court after 1885 and who was responsible for the city's consolidation as a royal resort (the royal family had first been drawn here by Queen Isabel II, who came to bathe in 1845). The palace was designed in the English cottage/Victorian style by the English architect Selden Wornum and stands on a promontory above the western end of La Concha beach, its towers and English Gothic styling visible from the promenade below. The royal family used Miramar as their summer residence from 1893 until the proclamation of the Spanish Republic in 1931, and it was here that Alfonso XIII spent many summers. The palace is surrounded by extensive gardens that are open to the public, and the views from the gardens over La Concha bay are among the best in San Sebastián. After the Civil War, the palace was used variously as a military hospital and hotel; today it is owned by the San Sebastián City Hall and is used as a venue for international summer courses of the University of the Basque Country.
Did you know? In December 1973, Spanish Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco, Franco's chosen successor, was assassinated by ETA in Madrid with a car bomb as he returned from his daily Mass at the church of San Francisco de Borja. The blast threw his car over the church roof. It was one of the most spectacular and high-profile attacks in ETA's history, and it dramatically altered the course of Spain's transition to democracy.
How much time do you need at Miramar Palace?
Around ~60 min works well for Miramar Palace — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Miramar Palace?
Yes — Miramar Palace made the cut as one of 20 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across San Sebastián. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in San Sebastián
Hear the story of Miramar Palace
Preview the San Sebastián tour free in the Gingerguide app.