VacationSelector
Tempio Voltiano on the lakeshore, Como
ComoTempio Voltiano on the lakeshore
La Concha beach and Monte Urgull, San Sebastian
San SebastianLa Concha beach and Monte Urgull

Photos: Como by Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; San Sebastian by Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Como or San Sebastian?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Como for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • day trips
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Como’s own page.

Choose San Sebastian for

  • food and drink
  • beaches
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on San Sebastian’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Como 36, San Sebastian 68: San Sebastian leads by 32 points.
Food & drink. Como 45, San Sebastian 88: San Sebastian leads by 43 points.
Culture & sights. Como and San Sebastian are level on 52.
Nightlife. Como 22, San Sebastian 44: San Sebastian leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Como 82, San Sebastian 72: Como leads by 10 points.
Day trips. Como 87, San Sebastian 80: Como leads by 7 points.
Good for families. Como 47, San Sebastian 66: San Sebastian leads by 19 points.
Getting around. Como 66, San Sebastian 80: San Sebastian leads by 14 points.
Shopping & style. Como 42, San Sebastian 40: Como leads by 2 points.
Affordability. Como 30, San Sebastian 32: San Sebastian leads by 2 points.
Live music & performing arts. Como 34, San Sebastian 45: San Sebastian leads by 11 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Como 44, San Sebastian 50: San Sebastian leads by 6 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Como and San Sebastian.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Como
49match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and day trips with your weighting.

San Sebastian
Best match
60match

Wins on food and drink and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Como in July

27 °Cdaytime high
18 °Cnight-time low
158 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
No seasea
15 hdaylight a day

San Sebastian in July

22 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
92 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
21 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
ComoSan Sebastian

Where the figures come from

San Sebastian's station stands 252 m above the city centre, so the centre is likely a little warmer than the figures say.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Como: 1991-2020 normals, Lugano (23 km from centre). San Sebastian: 1991-2020 normals, San Sebastian / Igueldo (6.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureComoSan Sebastian
Official languageItalianSpanish
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCFL230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation201 m6 m
Main airportMilan Malpensa International Airport (MXP)34 km from centre208 non-stop destinationsSan Sebastián Airport (EAS)16 km from centre11 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days13 days

By the numbers

MeasureComoSan Sebastian
City population83,184189,866
People per km²2,2423,118
Museums within 10 km1114
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km83
Swim season, months above 21 °C-2 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Como or San Sebastian somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.