Santander Attractions
The port of Santander in Old Castile, chief town of its province and the see of a bishop, lies in a beautiful bay on the north coast of Spain, ringed by hills and within easy reach of the highest peaks in the Cantabrian Mountains, the Picos de Europa.
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Biblioteca Menéndez y Pelayo
The same building that houses the Municipal Museum of Art also contains the Menéndez y Pelayo Library, the library of 40,000 volumes assembled by the scholar of that name, with his study preserved in its original condition. On the far side of the garden is the house in which Menéndez y Pelayo worked and died, now a museum.
Regional Museum of Prehistory and Archeology
A little way north of the Puerto Chico the Regional Museum of Prehistory and Archeology has a large collection of finds from prehistoric caves, including the so-called ''bâtons de commandement'' made from stags' antlers, the function of which is not known. The collection includes Roman antiquities and some very interesting funerary stelae erected by the pre-Roman Celtic population of the area.
Santander Regional Museum of Prehistory and Archeology
Calle Casimiro Sainz 4
E-39003 Santander
Spain
Calle Casimiro Sainz 4
E-39003 Santander
Spain
Hours
June 16 to September 14
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | |
| Open | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | |
| Close | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 |
September 15 to June 15
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 11:00 |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | |
| Open | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | |
| Close | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 |
Cathedral
Just to the west of the Avenida de Alfonso XIII, on the eastern edge of the old town, stands the Cathedral, originally Gothic (13th century), which was restored after the fire. In its large crypt, the Iglesia del Cristo (c. 1200), are the remains of two martyred saints, Celedonius and Emeterius. In the cloister (rebuilt) is the tomb of the Santander-born writer and scholar Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (1856-1912).
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 |
| Open | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 |
| Close | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 |
El Sardinero
On the north side of the peninsula is the beautiful beach of El Sardinero, which still preserves something of the atmosphere of the Belle Epoque with its seafront terraces, and its numerous hotels and restaurants.
Harbor
To the east and southwest of the Avenida de Alfonso XIII, extending along the Muelle de Maliaño and beyond this to the southwest, is the harbor, with the Custom House and the Marine Station (Estación Marítima). A specially cut channel allows large vessels to enter the industrial harbor of El Astillero, in the south of the bay.
La Magdalena
Calle Castelar and the Avenida de la Reina Victoria (fine views) continue east from the Paseo de Pereda to the peninsula of La Magdalena, on which is the summer palace of Alfonso XIII (1912), now occupied by Santander's International University.
Municipal Museum of Art
From the Avenida de Alfonso XIII, going west along the Avenida de Calvo Sotelo and turning right into Calle Cervantes and then left into Calle Rubio, we come to the Municipal Museum of Art, which contains a portrait of Ferdinand VII and several etchings by Goya, as well as a rich collection of works by regional artists and Italian, Flemish and Spanish painters of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Hours
June 16 to September 14
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | Closed |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | |
| Open | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | |
| Close | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 |
September 15 to June 15
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Closed |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | |
| Open | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | |
| Close | 20:00 | 20:00 | 20:00 | 20:00 | 20:00 | 20:00 |
Museo Marítimo del Cantábrico
From the Avenida de Alfonso XIII the Paseo de Pereda runs east, flanked by beautiful gardens, to the Puerto Chico (Little Harbor). At its east end is the Museo Marítimo del Cantábrico, an interesting museum and aquarium, with preserved specimens of marine fauna, objects and documents illustrating the life of fishermen and ship models.
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | |
| Open | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | |
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 |
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Good Friday - Christian (Apr 06)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Good Friday - Christian (Apr 06)
Railroad Stations
From the west end of the Avenida de Calvo a tunnel under the hill on which the old town is built leads to the railroad stations.
Santander Surroundings
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Comillas, Spain
Comillas is an old bathing resort, popular even in the time of Alfonso XII. The town centers around the Plaza Mayor and has several attractions of note, including a pavilion by Antonio Gaudí.
Cabo Mayor
3km/2mi north of El Sardinero is the Cabo Mayor, with a lighthouse and the Puente Forado, a large natural bridge in the local limestone rocks.
Covalanas
Location: 36km/22mi southeast of Santander. Features: Two long galleries; in the right-hand one (70m/77yd long), paintings in red (stags, bisons).
Cueva de la Pasiega
Location: Province of Cantabria; in the Pico del Castillo, southwest of Santander. Features: A maze of passages, with well preserved monochrome Palaeolithic paintings.
Cueva del Castillo
Location: Province of Cantabria; in the Pico del Castillo, near Puerto Viesgo, 22km/ 14mi southwest of Santander. Features: Several galleries (total length 300m/330yd); paleontological finds (in Prehistoric Museum, Santander); 750 figures of animals.
Cuevas de las Monedas
This little known cave complex has several examples of prehistoric painting. Unlike Cuevos de Altamira, there are no visitor restrictions.
La Finca Puente San Miguel
La Finca Puente San Miguel is on a miniature scale with Spanish and Islamic styles of gardening. The garden is surrounded by a large and romantic 18th century landscape park in which branches of unpruned trees sweep down to the ground. The collection included one of the largest Magnolia grandiflora in Europe which is over 200 years old that covers 700 sq. m, an exceptionally fine coastal redwood and many other good specimens.
Laredo, Spain
Beyond Limpias is Laredo, beautifully situated in Santoña Bay, which has become one of the leading resorts on the Cantabrian coast, with a continually expanding modern district adjoining the crowded old town. The 13th century church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, with a 16th century doorway, contains some fine sculpture and pictures.
Laredo - Midsummer Night
(In Laredo, Spain)
On June 24, every year, Laredo celebrates the Noche de San Juan, when the young men of the town dress in women's clothes and wash their feet in the sea.
Limpias
N 634 continues through the fertile delta of the Río Asón to Colindres, where a road branches off on the right up the Asón valley to the pilgrimage center of Limpias (7km/4.5mi). In the parish church is the much venerated 17th Century image of Santo Cristo de la Agonía, which is said to have shed tears of blood in 1919.
Punta de Sonabia
Beyond Laredo the road begins to climb, with beautiful rearward views of the town and the wide sweep of Santoña Bay. Thereafter it follows a winding course to the Punta de Sonabia, after which there is a magnificent stretch along the rocky coast to Castro Urdiales. From there N 634 continues to Bilbao.
San Vicente de la Barquera, Spain
C 6316 finally joins N 634, which continues along the coast to La Revilla and San Vicente de la Barquera, an old-world little port town with a large beach which makes it also a popular holiday resort. It lies at the mouth of the Río Escudo, which is crossed on a long bridge. It preserves part of an old battlemented wall, a ruined castle and the fortress-like church of Santa María de los Angeles (13th-16th century), with a Romanesque doorway and Gothic monuments.
Solares, Spain
N 634 runs south from Santander and then round the Bahía de Santander in a wide curve to Solares, a little spa, beautifully situated on the Río Miera, which is also noted for its table water.
Attractions in Other Popular Destinations
