It sits next to Calle Aldamar, in the middle of the old quarter, and is spread over two levels. Upstairs there are conventional shops; downstairs, below ground, are the food stalls, which are the part to see. A fishmonger with produce straight from the auction, butchers with aged beef txuleta and txistorra, farmhouse greengrocers and a cheesemonger.<\/p>\n
If you would rather go round with someone than on your own, there are cooks in the city who do the shopping with you here and then cook what you have bought; the best known among our guests is Chef Ben, and we cover it in our article on his cooking classes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Opening hours: Monday to Saturday mornings, with most stalls closing around 14:00. Closed Sundays. Access is step-free and there is a lift down to the food floor.<\/p>\n San Mart\u00edn is the neighbourhood market, on Calle Urbieta, five minutes from the Buen Pastor cathedral. The current building opened in 2005 on the site of the 1884 market, so from outside it looks modern while inside it keeps the same old logic.<\/p>\n You see fewer tourists than at La Bretxa and it shows in the way you are treated: more time to ask questions, more conversation and the occasional piece of unsolicited cooking advice. The produce is the same, with fish, meat, vegetables, cheese, bread and a few stalls selling prepared food.<\/p>\n Opening hours: Monday to Saturday mornings, with stalls that open very early. Some of the businesses inside the market also open in the afternoon.<\/p>\n If you are staying in a flat with a kitchen, this list will put half of Gipuzkoa on the table without any complications:<\/p>\n The markets empty of produce as the morning goes on, so the earlier you go, the better you choose. Saturday has more atmosphere and also more queueing. You are served by turn, not by the order you reached the counter: walk in and ask who is last.<\/p>\n Talk to the stallholder. Asking what is good today is not a beginner's move, it is exactly what locals do, and the answer usually changes the shopping. Bring your own bag and some cash, although almost every stall takes cards. And if something needs to travel for a few hours without refrigeration, say so: they will pack it with that in mind.<\/p>\n Being able to shop at the market and cook at your own pace is the best advantage of staying in a flat rather than a hotel. You do not need to know how to cook: some fried peppers, a plate of cheese, a board of txistorra and a bottle of txakoli already make a Basque dinner that stands up to anything you will try out.<\/p>\n Our apartment<\/a> has a full kitchen and is ten minutes' walk from La Bretxa and twelve from San Mart\u00edn, all flat and across the Kursaal bridge. You shop in the morning, cook in the afternoon and have dinner with the Urumea in front of you. It is also one of the best plans there is for a rainy day<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which market should I visit if I only have time for one?<\/strong> Do they open on Sundays?<\/strong> Are they wheelchair accessible?<\/strong> Can you eat inside the market?<\/strong> Is it worth it if I am not going to cook?<\/strong> To understand how people eat in San Sebasti\u00e1n you do not have to start with the restaurants. You understand it sooner in the markets, which is where households shop and where the city's kitchens have always shopped. Here the produce matters more than the technique, and that is clearer at a fish stall at nine … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-764","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\/764","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=764"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":766,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764\/revisions\/766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mercado-san-martin-interior.png\")
<\/figure>\nSan Mart\u00edn, the Ensanche market<\/h2>\n
![\"Idiazabal](\"https:\/\/rentalsansebastian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/queso-idiazabal-mercado.png\")
<\/figure>\nWhat to buy: the essential list<\/h2>\n
\n
How shopping works here<\/h2>\n
Cooking in the apartment<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
\nLa Bretxa, for its location and its building: you are in the Old Town and can follow the visit with a walk round the old quarter. If you want a local feel and fewer people, San Mart\u00edn.<\/p>\n
\nNo. The food stalls in both markets work Monday to Saturday mornings. For Sunday, do your shopping on the Saturday.<\/p>\n
\nYes. Both have step-free access and a lift down to the food floors, although the aisles narrow considerably at peak times. Early in the morning you move around much more easily.<\/p>\n
\nAt San Mart\u00edn there are prepared-food stalls and somewhere to have a drink. At La Bretxa the bar atmosphere is in the surrounding streets, not inside.<\/p>\n
\nYes. It is half an hour of covered walking, free, with the best display of produce in the city. And you can always take home tinned fish, cheese or a bottle of txakoli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"