The Bauhaus School of Architecture and Design, whose centenary was celebrated in 2019, defended the idea of the “total work of art” or “Gesamtkunstwerk” – something like a creation that combines many artistic disciplines at the same time. Distances aside, there are many elements in the operation of San Telmo Museum that bring us to consider it as a kind of admirable “rara avis” that has all the ingredients of a total work of art. This is confirmed by its history, architecture, artistic heritage, and mission. 120 years after its inauguration, the oldest museum in the Basque Country has perfect ..read more

In the heart of the Rioja Alavesa region is Palacio de Samaniego, a luxury hotel owned by the Rothschild family whose restaurant, Tierra y Vino, has become a culinary beacon. The restaurant is located on the main floor of the palace, built in the eighteenth century at the request of a figure in the church, and it consists of an indoor dining room and a beautiful garden terrace presided over by a waterfall. Its chef, Bruno Coelho, has designed a menu that feeds on the local repertoire, featuring a careful selection of dishes and a tasting menu that changes each season: local specialties wh ..read more

Welcoming more than 300,000 visitors a year, the San Sebastián Aquarium is one of the most popular museums in the Basque Country and one of the five tourist resources with the highest influx of people. It is also considered one of the most important spaces for organizing events as it has 4,000 m² dedicated to holding conferences. Its facilities include the Auditorium, the “Zona Blanca” (“White Zone”), the T and Nautilus rooms, the Walk Through, and the Oceanarium. Able to seat 164, the recently remodeled Auditorium is presided over by a spectacular aquarium of tropical fauna. The White Zone, i ..read more

Miguel Balliache is a Basque-Venezuelan artist whose work is present in private collections throughout America, Europe, and Asia. Born in Caracas and a resident of San Sebastián since 2004, Balliache has participated in solo and group exhibitions in the USA, Venezuela, Spain, and Ireland. His latest solo show, entitled Bibrak, was inaugurated in the summer of 2022 at the Bastero Cultural Center of Andoain: a selection of works that express thoughts, vibrations, and sensations of color in painting, ceramics, and sculpture. In addition to the exhibitions in which he regularly participates, the a ..read more

Charles Eames used to say that “Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” This simple approach, which allowed the American architect to create some of the most iconic pieces of furniture in history, has become the catchphrase of many decorators, including Myriam Larrea, an interior designer who has managed to make her contemporary style, which adapts to any reality, be recognizable while providing a certain personal flair to her projects. From her unique, two-story studio in San Sebastián, Larrea designs interiors that stand out for the ..read more

“Eurythmy” is surely the word that best defines the works of Joseba Lekuona Yaben: this stone aficionado has been working as a stonemason and artist for more than 30 years, creating handcrafted pieces that harmonically combine proportions, lines, colors, and sounds. His creative process begins in the quarry, seeking out his materials personally. For each piece, he investigates, awakens, and involves his emotions and intellect, making himself available to the stone and the design. His vast experience as a stonemason –carrying out restoration work on historic buildings, reproductions of Romanesq ..read more

Anhelo is a boutique located in a nineteenth-century building on Calle Matia of San Sebastián. The shop has two floors, one for taking care of customers and the other reserved for the workshop, where the company’s founders, Ana and Elena (specialists in porcelain headpieces and creations from glass), handcraft high-end bijou pieces, hats and headpieces, and accessories for women and girls. Their collection includes earrings, necklaces, brooches, head scarves, fine headbands, hats decorated with feathers, decorative hair combs, hair clips, scrunchies, Swarovski crystal bracelets, berets, and he ..read more

The María Cristina Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, is an extraordinary juxtaposition of complementary elements: design and heritage, tradition and modernity, action and reflection. All of these attributes coexist and define the spaces and services of one of the emblematic five-star hotels of Europe. In the establishment’s century of history, it has managed to flow with trends and circumstances that were not even imaginable when it was conceived in the midst of the Belle Époque, back in 1912. The most select members of European aristocracy and Hollywood cinema have passed through this hotel’s ..read more

In a world in which the barriers of aesthetics and health tend to blur in search of a comprehensive conception of wellbeing, there are professionals who long ago knew how to anticipate change and adapt to new needs. Since it opened in 2009, the Bener Clinic of San Sebastián, which specializes in dental and facial aesthetics, has surprised its patients with a groundbreaking philosophy: the democratization of care with solutions based on the latest technologies and the most cutting-edge advances in the field of health. The result of that way of working? A clinic equipped with outstanding advance ..read more

Discretion, kind words, and determined actions. These are the three keys with which the Fourth Earl of Chesterfield defined the path to success. Five centuries later, that recipe is still valid in a world dominated by noise and sensationalism. And it is precisely this way of thinking (and acting) that has turned Xarmantalife into a true  case study when organizing premium events and stays for domestic and foreign companies in the Basque Country. This incoming travel agency has achieved something almost miraculous: making success seem like a coincidence. But the truth is that behind the ar ..read more