The exact routes and times for each company are published a few weeks beforehand on the official Tamborrada website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Everything starts at twelve sharp in the Plaza de la Constituci\u00f3n, with the raising of the city flag and the first drumroll. The square fills up long before that, and so do the arcades and the surrounding streets.<\/p>\n If you want to be inside it, get there at least an hour early. If you don't, no harm done: at that same moment drums start up across half the city, and the moment works just as well from any street in the Old Town or in Gros.<\/p>\n From then on there is no pause until the following night. The companies spread out by area \u2014 the centre, the Old Town, Gros, El Antiguo, Amara \u2014 and each neighbourhood has its own rhythm through the day.<\/p>\n In Gros, where our apartment<\/a> is, around twenty-five companies parade over the course of the day. It is one of the easiest areas to follow the celebration in: wide streets, flat ground and companies passing practically at the front door.<\/p>\n At midday some fifty children's groups set off and go through the Boulevard and the Old Town. It is the moment we recommend most to families: children of all ages dressed as cooks and soldiers, very serious, concentrating hard on keeping time.<\/p>\n You get a good view from the Boulevard, there is less crowding than in the small hours and it finishes at a sensible time to eat afterwards.<\/p>\n The celebration closes at twelve on the night of the 20th, once again in the Plaza de la Constituci\u00f3n. The city's oldest company lowers the flag, the last drumroll sounds and the square applauds. Then silence, all at once: one of the strangest and finest contrasts of the year.<\/p>\n Book your accommodation well in advance.<\/strong> It is the most in-demand date of the year in San Sebasti\u00e1n and the city fills up months ahead. If you are coming, lock in somewhere to stay as early as you can.<\/p>\n Warm clothes and waterproofs.<\/strong> It is January on the Cantabrian coast: cold for certain and rain likely. Footwear that copes with water, layers and a hood. You are going to be outdoors for hours.<\/p>\n Forget the car.<\/strong> A good part of the centre is closed to traffic during the day. If you drive here, leave the car in a car park on the edge of town and move around on foot or by city bus. From Paseo de Francia everything that matters is walkable.<\/p>\n Eat when you can, not when you should.<\/strong> The local habit is to snack between companies, at the counter, standing up. The bars are full all day, so you eat before or after the peak hours, without a fixed plan.<\/p>\n Don't just plant yourself in the square.<\/strong> The classic mistake is staying in the Plaza de la Constituci\u00f3n all day. The celebration is in the neighbourhoods: walk, follow a company for a while, change area. Meeting a tamborrada head-on in a narrow street beats any reserved spot.<\/p>\n If you are travelling in a wheelchair<\/strong>, Gros and the Boulevard are the easiest areas: flat, with wide pavements and dropped kerbs. The cobbled streets of the Old Town are passable, but the crowds that day make them considerably harder. We go into the detail in our guide to accessible San Sebasti\u00e1n<\/a>.<\/p>\n When is the San Sebasti\u00e1n Tamborrada 2027?<\/strong> Do you have to pay to get in?<\/strong> Where is the best place to watch it?<\/strong> Is it a celebration for children?<\/strong> What if I can't come on 20 January?<\/strong> The 2027 Tamborrada falls on 20 January, as it does every year. It is San Sebasti\u00e1n's big day: twenty-four hours straight of drums and barrels crossing the whole city, from midnight to the following midnight. More than 150 companies, some 19,000 adults and 8,800 children. It is not a show put on for visitors. It … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":805,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions\/805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The flag-raising, at midnight<\/h2>\n
The neighbourhood tamborradas<\/h2>\n
![\"Children](\"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tamborrada-infantil.png\")
<\/figure>\nThe children's tamborrada<\/h2>\n
The flag-lowering, at midnight again<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tamborrada-companias-gros.png\")
<\/figure>\nHow to do it right<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
\nOn 20 January 2027, from 00:00 to 24:00. The date never moves: it is always 20 January, whatever day of the week it falls on.<\/p>\n
\nNo. The Tamborrada takes place in the street and is free. There is no enclosed venue and no tickets of any kind.<\/p>\n
\nThe Plaza de la Constituci\u00f3n for the raising and the lowering; the rest of the day, any neighbourhood. The centre, the Old Town and Gros are the areas with the most companies.<\/p>\n
\nYes. The children's tamborrada at midday is designed for them and the general atmosphere of the day is family-friendly. The small hours, on the other hand, are crowded and loud.<\/p>\n
\nJanuary and February bring more: the cider houses opening, the caldereros and Carnival. We go through it all in San Sebasti\u00e1n in winter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"