Hondarribia

Hondarribia sits at the mouth of the Bidasoa facing Hendaye in France across the water, and its position made it a fortress: walls and bastions enclose the upper town, entered through the Puerta de Santa Maria, with the castle of Charles V, a tenth-century foundation rebuilt in the sixteenth century, at the top and now a parador. Below, La Marina is the fishermen's quarter, a run of narrow streets where the houses have wooden balconies painted in strong greens, reds and blues with fishing motifs, now largely occupied by pintxo bars. The town was besieged repeatedly, most famously in 1638 when a French siege was lifted, an event still marked by the Alarde parade each September. A small boat crosses to France.

What you actually see

• The walled upper town - bastions and gates around the castle quarter.
• La Marina - painted wooden balconies in the fishermen's streets.
• The parador castle - Charles V's fortress converted into a hotel.
• The French border - Hendaye across the Bidasoa, reached by small boat.

When to go

May, June, September and October; the Alarde on 8 September is the town's great day, though it has been divided for decades by a dispute over whether women may march in the ranks, which produces two parallel parades and protests.

Honest expectations

The Alarde dispute makes early September tense in the town and is not a straightforward spectacle. Pintxo bars in La Marina are crowded and priced for visitors. Rain is frequent on this coast.

Nearby

San Sebastian lies twenty kilometres west; Hendaye and the French Basque coast are across the river.