A stroll through Getaria (Basque Country). From the Balenciaga Museum to the famous restaurant Elkano.

In a small coastal town in the province of Guipuzcoa (Basque Country) called Getaria, the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum is, as it was here that the consecrated born designer. This picturesque seaside town is also known for being the birthplace of the sailor Juan Sebastian Elcano. the first man who went around the world. They are famous for its restaurants serving grilled fish and white wine with designation of origin grown in its vicinity and is called Getaria Chacolí.

Getaria also unveiled, because its port all coastal scenes were filmed successful Spanish film Eight Basque surnames.

The collection of the museum that houses Cristobal Balenciaga, formed largely to the collaboration of people linked to the couturier and their families, It is an important sign of tangible and intangible heritage left us Cristobal Balenciaga.

Cristobal Balenciaga was born in Getaria Eizaguirre (Basque Country) he 21 of January of 1895, within a working family. Son of a fisherman father and seamstress mother who worked for the family of the Marquises of Casa-Torres. From very young he was in contact with the office of his mother and elegance and good taste of the Marchioness for her mother worked, which he helped to encourage their talent and become one of his first clients.

His Parisian stage is certainly enshrining him as one of the most influential designers in history. Pushed by the Spanish Civil War, Balenciaga moved to Paris and installs their classrooms in the number 10 George V Avenue. This decision puts you in touch with a cosmopolitan clientele of great social relevance, economic and cultural life and in the spotlight of international media.

His perfectionism earned him the admiration of his colleagues and contemporaries like Christian Dior who called “the master of us all”, Hubert de Givenchy who referred to him as “the architect of haute couture” Coco Chanel branding him as “authentic couturier”.

The museum has a collection of clothing designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and produced mostly in the homes of Paris, Saint Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona.

After seeing so many mannequins I could not help me a picture with my own “pose maniquie” against a background wall which I found very elegant.

and finally, nothing better than going to eat a delicious grilled turbot in the famous restaurant Elkano, one of the most emblematic dishes of the Michelin guide restaurant founded in 1964.