Featured Travel Photo Western Europe Summer 2011

San Sebastian Panoramic – The Most Beautiful City in Spain?

Carlo -

From one beautiful city to the next, we traveled from Barcelona to the northern city of San Sebastian, or Donostia, as it is known in the native Basque Country language of Euskara. This has probably been our favorite city of our entire trip so far. Maybe second favorite behind Barcelona. There are a hundred different amazing things about this city, but looking back at this panoramic shot it is easy to say that this view, and the beauty of this beach, are reason number one. The late night casino where I couldn’t lose might be number two.

As always, you can click the photo to enlarge it.
This photo is a combination of eleven photos and was taken from atop a large hill right along the shore. The shoreline see is probably between two and three kilometers in length. The hill is adorned with a large statue of Jesus Christ that looks over the city. Originally the hill served as a strategic location and it is also home to a large fort that protected the city. This was my first attempt at taking, and putting together a panoramic shot. Seriously, my first attempt ever, so I had no idea what I was doing and it is far from perfect. I hope, however, it gives you an accurate glimpse of the beautiful crescent beach of San Sebastian, Spain, and all that it has to offer.

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34 comments

John D. Wilson at

Nice article about San Sebastian.
Good job on the panoramic shot – great for the first time, actually.
Cheers,
John D. Wilson
1. Matt at
  
  Thanks a lot!
Christy @ Ordinary Traveler at

Great job! I never really got into taking panoramas, but I enjoy seeing other people’s shots.
1. Matt at
  
  Yea, as I said this is my first, and I feel myself getting a little addicted to it!
Donna at

I can see why this is one of your favorite cities. This panoramic view says it all.
1. Matt at
  
  Yes, it definitely is a beautiful place.
Annie at

Nice job on your first try! I tried taking Panos before, and did not work out that well. Any tips? 😀
1. Matt at
  
  Well, I bought a program called DoubleTake that helps a ton. One thing I did was open the pano shot up in lightroom after it was stitched together to try to edit out some of the exposure issues (some shots more exposed than others, etc)
Christy @ Technosyncratic at

Wow, fantastic photo – it looks beautiful full-size! I think the sign of a good panoramic shot is that you can’t tell it’s stitched together, and you really can’t with this one. 🙂
1. Matt at
  
  Glad you like it, thanks!
ayngelina at

Your first time? wow I am impressed
1. Matt at
  
  Thanks! I was fortunate enough to have a very nice place to try it out!
robin at

Wonderful panorama – I’m a bit jealous; the pinxtos in san sebastian are legendary!
1. Matt at
  
  Yea, they were a bit expensive to make a whole meal out of them but we indulged a few times and each time it was incredible!
David at

What were you playing in the casino to win money?
1. Matt at
  
  Blackjack of course!
Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista at

Great shot. . . and this was your first panoramic? Very nice!

I have not been to San Sebastian but am kicking myself for not going now! I was about 10 km away in St Jean de Luz in France once. Missed opportunity – guess I will have to go back 🙂
1. Matt at
  
  That is the beauty of travel, you can always go back 🙂 Hell I’ll probably go back and I have already been there!
Andrea at

Very nice panoramic! I’ve been trying to take these this year but not sure how they will come out as I’m without my photoshop software =)
1. Matt at
  
  I used DoubleTake. Had to buy it but it isn’t too much and it helped quite a bit. As I mentioned above, after I made sure it was stitched up correctly in DoubleTake I took it back to Lightroom to edit out any obvious flaws.
The Travel Chica at

Very impressive! Maybe I’ll have to try this for myself. I might need a tutorial 🙂
1. Matt at
  
  I’ll be more than happy to try and help if you want to shoot me an email through my contact form.
Grace at

It worked out well. I never did have the patience to stitch the photos up for a panoramic view. Did you use any special software?
1. Matt at
  
  Yup, DoubleTake! Did a vast majority of the work for me.
adventureswithben at

Well done for your first shot!
1. Matt at
  
  Thank you, thank you.
Michael Figueiredo at

I remember when I went to San Sebastian with my sister, back in 1995, thinking that it resembled Rio de Janeiro in a way. This is a great panoramic photo & thanks for bringing back great memories of the place!
1. Matt at
  
  Glad I could spark some memories for you!
migration to new zealand at

Nice article
San Sebastian is really a beautiful place & amazing destination for holidays.Thanks for sharing this information.
migration to new zealand
Adrian B. at

I’m not a pro, but I think the photo looks really great. I love it!
1. Matt at
  
  Thanks Adrian, I appreciate the kind words!
Jeremy Branham at

Beautiful photo! Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to explore this area of Spain. Maybe on my next trip! 🙂
1. Matt at
  
  There is always next time!
Last Minute Cheap Flights at

Nice article about San Sebastian.
Good job on the panoramic shot â€“ great for the first time, actually.
Cheers,