Zurriola beach

This guide to Zurriola beach in San Sebastian spends most of the twentieth century on an empty shoreline, where hotels went up facing the open Atlantic but almost nobody swam, the currents too violent to risk. You'll hear what changed in 1994, when the city built a breakwater at the mouth of the river Urumea, and how the calmer water it created drew a crowd San Sebastian had never had before. The guide follows the surfers who now queue for a wave called Mompas, within sight of the Kursaal's glass cubes down the sand. Watch from the promenade at high tide to see the break at its most reliable.