Photos: San Sebastian by Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Seattle by Caio, Pexels License.
San Sebastian or Seattle?
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
- beaches
- day trips
- food and drink
What lies behind each score is written up on San Sebastian’s own page.
Choose Seattle for
- live music and the arts
- nature and the outdoors
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Seattle’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 Seattle.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on beaches and day trips with your weighting.
Wins on live music and the arts and nature and the outdoors 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
Seattle 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). Seattle: 1991-2020 normals, Seattle-Tacoma Airport (17.3 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | San Sebastian | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 40 m |
| Main airport | San Sebastián Airport (EAS)16 km from centre11 non-stop destinations | Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA)18 km from centre135 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | San Sebastian | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 189,866 | 737,015 |
| People per km² | 3,118 | 1,996 |
| Museums within 10 km | 14 | 27 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 0 |
| 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 Seattle somewhere new.