Tabakalera is the most interesting contemporary culture space in San Sebastián, installed in a massive brick tobacco factory built in 1913 and rehabilitated in 2015. The building is just south of the train station, its industrial bones — heavy walls, tall windows, internal courtyards — now housing a cinema, exhibition spaces, residencies for artists and film-makers, the headquarters of the Donostia Kultura cultural body, and an excellent terrace café.
The programming runs from contemporary art exhibitions to film retrospectives, often with a connection to the film festival. The building itself is worth exploring: the internal street through the ground floor connects to the courtyard café, and there are usually several things happening simultaneously. This is where San Sebastián's art and film community actually works and socialises — less tourist-oriented than the old town, and all the better for it.