After the Maratón Martín Fiz: San Sebastián

The Route: Vitoria-Gasteiz → San Sebastián → Bilbao Airport (or Biarritz) Logistics: Coach from Vitoria-Gasteiz, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Two nights, then coach to Bilbao Airport. Marathon Month: May Duration: 2 nights

Vitoria-Gasteiz ──(1 hr 15-1 hr 40 mins coach)──> San Sebastián (2 nights)
                                                       │
     Bilbao Airport (BIO) ◄──(about 1 hr 15 mins coach)──┘

The Maratón Martín Fiz is run inland, on the Álava plateau. San Sebastián, on the coast of Gipuzkoa, is the natural place to finish the trip: a city built round a scallop-shaped bay, with a promenade that is flat for kilometres and some of the best bar food in Spain.

May in San Sebastián is late spring on the Atlantic. In most years the days are mild, in the high teens, with the sea still cold and rain possible on any day; carry a waterproof. The beach is quiet and the old town busy but not packed, before the summer.

Coaches run from Vitoria-Gasteiz bus station to San Sebastián's bus station at Riberas de Loiola in about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, several times a day; check times and book with the operator. The bus station is about 15 minutes' walk from the centre along the River Urumea.

Nights One and Two: San Sebastián

The primary recovery asset is the Paseo de La Concha, the promenade that follows the bay from the old town to the Miramar Palace and on to Ondarreta beach, about 3 km of flat, paved walkway with its white iron railings, benches and views of Santa Clara island. At post-marathon pace it takes about an hour one way. At the far end, Eduardo Chillida's steel sculpture the Peine del Viento, the Comb of the Wind, is fixed into the rocks where the waves break.

The Parte Vieja, the old town, sits between the bay and Monte Urgull. Its streets are level and packed with bars whose counters are covered with pintxos. At the harbour end, the Aquarium is an indoor option for a rainy morning. Monte Urgull itself, with its castle and statue of Christ, is a steep climb and can wait. On the second day, the promenade along Zurriola beach in the Gros district across the river is another flat walk, with surfers.

The second day can be spent on a different kind of height. At the far western end of the bay, the Monte Igueldo funicular, running since 1912, climbs the hill in a few minutes to a viewpoint over the whole of La Concha, with an old-fashioned amusement park at the top. From there the curve of the beach, the island and the city are laid out below, and the ride down costs the legs nothing.

The San Telmo Museum, in a sixteenth-century Dominican convent at the foot of Monte Urgull, covers Basque history and society, with a cloister and new galleries on level floors. Across the river in Egia, Tabakalera, a former tobacco factory, is now a contemporary culture centre with a rooftop terrace and a café.

Where to stay. The Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra stands on the promenade above La Concha, so the flat walk starts at the door. The Hotel María Cristina, the city's grand hotel by the River Urumea, is a short, level walk from the old town and the bus station.

Where to eat. In the Parte Vieja, La Cuchara de San Telmo, hidden in an alley behind the San Telmo museum, cooks its pintxos to order; Gandarias, on Calle 31 de Agosto, has a long counter and a restaurant behind it for a sit-down meal of grilled fish or steak.

Getting to Bilbao Airport

Coaches run from San Sebastián bus station to Bilbao Airport (BIO) in about 1 hour 15 minutes, several times a day; book ahead. Biarritz Airport (BIQ), across the French border, is about 45 minutes by road and has some UK flights.