Photos: San Sebastian by Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Santa Monica by Domenico Convertini, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.
San Sebastian or Santa Monica?
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 San Sebastian for
- food and drink
- getting around
- prices
What lies behind each score is written up on San Sebastian’s own page.
Choose Santa Monica for
- shopping
- families
What lies behind each score is written up on Santa Monica’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: San Sebastian and Santa Monica.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on food and drink and getting around with your weighting.
Wins on shopping and families with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
San Sebastian in July
Santa Monica in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
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. San Sebastian: 1991-2020 normals, San Sebastian / Igueldo (6.1 km from centre). Santa Monica: 1991-2020 normals, Los Angeles Airport (13.4 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | San Sebastian | Santa Monica |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish | - |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | CF230 V, 50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC-8, UTC-7 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 911 |
| Elevation | 6 m | 32 m |
| Main airport | San Sebastián Airport (EAS)16 km from centre11 non-stop destinations | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)11 km from centre177 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 13 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | San Sebastian | Santa Monica |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 189,866 | 93,076 |
| People per km² | 3,118 | 4,270 |
| Museums within 10 km | 14 | 19 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 2 months | None |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow San Sebastian or Santa Monica somewhere new.