In May, Pasaia becomes the most fascinating port in Europe

For four days, the bay of Pasaia hosts the greatest gathering of traditional vessels on the Basque Coast

Poster for the fourth edition of Pasaia Itsas Festibala, designed by artist Roskow.

Tucked between San Sebastián and the French border, the small port town of Pasaia holds a secret that most travellers speed past on the motorway: for centuries, it was one of the great hubs of Atlantic seafaring — a place where towering galleons were built and launched into expeditions that crossed oceans and connected the Basque Country with the world. This May, that story comes roaring back to life.

From 14 to 17 May 2026, Pasaia hosts the fourth edition of Pasaia Itsas Festibala — the International Maritime Festival — and it's shaping up to be the most ambitious gathering yet. Dozens of traditional wooden vessels from across Europe will fill the bay, while the town itself transforms into a living celebration of maritime heritage, both tangible and intangible.

When   14–17 May 2026 (four days)

Where   Bahía de Pasaia, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country

Organised by   Albaola – Basque Maritime Factory & Pasaia Town Hall

Entry   Most activities are free and open to the public

A fleet that spans centuries

The undisputed stars of the festival are always the ships — and the confirmed fleet for this fourth edition is extraordinary. Tall ships, traditional work vessels, and historic replicas from across Europe each represent a different chapter of maritime culture.

The corsair frigate Étoile du Roy, as seen in Ridley Scott's Napoleon.Photo courtesy of Pasaia Itsas Festibala.

The Étoile du Roy is, without doubt, the most cinematic ship in the fleet. This French corsair frigate — known to audiences worldwide from Ridley Scott's epic film on Napoleon — is an imposing replica of an 18th-century warship. With her cannons on deck and sails unfurled over the waters of Pasaia bay, she offers a sight that is genuinely difficult to forget.

The Dutch topsail schooner Morgenster, ambassador of North Sea sailing tradition Photo courtesy of Pasaia Itsas Festibala.

The Morgenster represents an entirely different world: that of working sail in northern Europe. This Dutch two-masted topsail schooner is a magnificent example of the vessels that once carried cargo between the Baltic and Atlantic ports of the North Sea. Elegant, sturdy, and impeccably preserved, she is one of those ships that makes you understand why the Dutch dominated the seas for centuries.
Alongside these two headline vessels, four more remarkable ships complete the big-boat roster: La Recouvrance, a replica of a 19th-century French naval dispatch vessel and maritime ambassador of Brest; the Ring Andersen, a Danish ketch representing Scandinavian sailing heritage; the Grayhound, a British lugger inspired by 18th-century coastal trading and smuggling craft; and Notre-Dame de Rumengol, a traditional Breton work sailboat and rare survivor of a nearly vanished seafaring culture.

The Nao San Juan, launched in November 2025 after eleven years of construction at Albaola's shipyard in Pasaia.Photo courtesy of Pasaia Itsas Festibala.

No visit to Pasaia Itsas Festibala would be complete without seeing the Nao San Juan — and in 2026, she will be there in her home waters. The original San Juan was a 16th-century Basque whaling ship built in Pasaia that sank off the coast of Labrador, Canada, in 1565, where she lay forgotten on the seabed for over four centuries. Her wreck was located in 1978, and Canada's Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Service recovered and catalogued nearly 3,000 pieces, making the San Juan an international reference in underwater archaeology. In 2014, Pasaia's own Albaola workshop began building a painstaking scientific replica using the original 16th-century techniques. 
After eleven years of work, the hull was finally launched into the waters of Pasaia bay in November 2025 with a planned transatlantic crossing to Canada in 2027, retracing the routes of the Basque whalers of the 1500s. Seeing her moored in the very bay where she was built five centuries ago is one of those rare moments when history stops being something you read about and becomes something you can touch.

"Pasaia was for centuries the centre of the most advanced ocean technology of its time. Our mission is to recover and transmit that forgotten knowledge." — Xabier Agote, director of Pasaia Itsas Festibala

More than ships: a living harbour culture

The festival has always been about more than admiring tall ships from the dock. The four days are packed with music, Basque gastronomy, artisan markets, and hands-on workshops in traditional maritime crafts — rope-making, knot-tying, wooden boat building. The whole bay becomes a stage, with activities spread across Pasaia's four distinctive waterside districts.

Why this festival is worth a special trip

The Basque Country already offers more than enough reasons to visit — the food, the architecture, the mountains, the coast. But Pasaia Itsas Festibala offers something genuinely unusual: the chance to see, touch, and board some of the most extraordinary surviving examples of traditional European seafaring, all gathered in one of the most dramatic and authentic harbour settings on the entire Cantabrian coast.

As a biennial event — held every two years — this edition is a rare opportunity not to be missed. If you're planning a trip to the Basque Country in spring 2026, building your dates around the festival is an easy decision.

Getting there & where to stay

Pasaia is just 8 km from San Sebastián, easily reachable by local bus or taxi in under 20 minutes. The most comfortable option is to base yourself in San Sebastián and make the short trip to Pasaia each day. Accommodation in Pasaia itself is very limited, so book well in advance if you want to stay close. Most activities are free, though boarding some vessels may require a timed ticket. Keep an eye on the official website at pasaiaitsasfestibala.org for the full programme as the date approaches.

Pasaia doesn't always make the tourist itineraries — but those who come for the festival tend to leave with a lasting impression: a town that celebrates its history with its eyes on the sea, its ancient wooden hulls bearing witness to centuries of Atlantic adventure.

While you're in Pasaia, don't miss the chance to see the bay from the water itself. GetYourGuide offers a sunset boat tour through both sides of the bay — with a glass of cava included. A perfect way to end a day at the festival.