Basilica of Santa María del Coro

At the end of Calle Mayor, right in the heart of San Sebastián's Old Town, the Basilica of Santa María del Coro takes passers-by by surprise with its façade squeezed in between the houses, just where the street meets Calle 31 de Agosto. The first thing to catch the eye is its main doorway, conceived as an altarpiece set between two towers, as if the inside of the church had spilled out onto the street.

It is well worth pausing to take in this doorway at leisure. It features the martyred figure of Saint Sebastian, the patron saint who gives the city its name; higher up you can make out the papal symbols that attest to its status as a minor basilica, and at the very top, crowning the whole ensemble, the city's coat of arms. It is a Baroque portico with Rococo touches, one of the finest of its kind in the city.

The building was completed in 1774 and, although its prevailing language is Baroque, Gothic, Churrigueresque and Neoclassical elements sit side by side within it, a showcase of styles that reveals the richness of its construction history. The church is dedicated to the Virgen del Coro, a devotion much loved by the people of San Sebastián, and it was raised to the rank of minor basilica on 12 February 1973.

There is an urban detail that few visitors notice: if you stand with your back to the entrance and look straight ahead, you will discover that the façade is perfectly aligned with the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. Between the two churches runs an axis that follows Calle Mayor, continues beyond the Boulevard along Calle Hernani and reaches Calle Loyola. It is worth walking its length to link the city's old heart with its 19th-century extension.