Things to do in Santander
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La Conveniente
This cavernous bodega has high stone walls, wooden pillars and beams, and more wine bottles than you may ever have seen in one place. Squeeze into the tramlike enclosure at the front or line up for a seat out back (or just snack at the bar). The food offerings are fairly straightforward – tablas (platters) of cheese, embutidos (sausages), ham, pâtés – and servings are generous.
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Walking Tour of Santander
If you'd like to take a self-guided tour, or simply an informal wander, begin within the stately Plaza Porticada, which is surrounded by 64 porticoes.
Proceed down past the post office to the cathedral. Below it, amid a traffic circle, a poignant sculpture recalls the devastation of the 1941 fire. To the east spreads the lovely Jardines de Pereda, named after the Cantabrian writer José María de Pereda, whose seminal work, Escenas Montañesas, is illustrated in bronze and stone here. Opposite the park you'll see the 1950s Banco de Santander building, one of the country's major financial institutions. Going through its grand archway you enter the old quarter. Proceed thro…
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Catedral de la Asunción
Santander's cathedral is composed of two Gothic churches, one above the other. The 14th-century upper church, off which is a 15th-century cloister, was extensively rebuilt after the 1941 fire. In the lower, 13th-century, Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo, glass panels reveal excavated bits of Roman Santander under the floor. Displayed nearby are silver vessels containing the skulls of the early Christian martyrs San Emeterio and San Celedonio, Santander's patron saints. The care of these holy relics, brought (according to legend) from La Rioja to escape the Muslim invasion, prompted the construction of the monastery that originally stood here.
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Cathedral
This building is composed of two 13th-century Gothic churches, one above the other. The upper church, off which is a 14th-century cloister, was extensively rebuilt after the 1941 fire. In the lower Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo glass panels reveal excavated bits of Roman Santander under the floor. Displayed nearby are silver vessels containing the skulls of the early Christian martyrs San Emeterio and San Celedonio, Santander's patron saints.
The care of these holy relics, found on this site, prompted the construction of the monastery that previously stood here.
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Biblioteca de Menéndez Pelayo
In a portentous building, at the same address as Museo de Bellas Artes, the Biblioteca de Menéndez Pelayo is a vast old library that belonged to local intellectual giant Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856–1912), a teacher, philosopher and poet who left the city his precious collection of 41,500 volumes. Next door stands his family home, the Casa Museo de Menéndez Pelayo (Tel: 942 23 44 93; admission free; 10.30am-1pm & 6.30-8pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-1pm Sat).
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Museo Marítimo del Cantábrico
If seafaring is your thing, visit the maritime museum near the bay beaches. The four floors cover all facets of Cantabria's relationship with the sea, and include an aquarium. The displays range from marine biology to maritime history, which is perhaps the most interesting, dealing, for example, with Portus Victoriae, the Roman port town from which Santander later grew. The 60-tonne whale skeleton is a star attraction.
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Península de la Magdalena
These parklands are perfect for a stroll and are popular with picnickers. Kids will enjoy the sea lions and the little train that choo-choos around the headland. The peninsula is crowned by the Palacio de la Magdalena, the former royal palace. It's an exuberant and eclectic pile, built between 1908 and 1912 as a gift from the city to the royal family, which used it every summer until 1930.
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Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo
In the Iglesia del Santísimo Cristo glass panels reveal excavated bits of Roman Santander under the floor. Displayed nearby are silver vessels containing the skulls of the early Christian martyrs San Emeterio and San Celedonio, Santander's patron saints. The care of these holy relics, found on this site, prompted the construction of the monastery that previously stood here.
reviewed
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Escuela de Surf Santander
Surfers emerge in force along El Sardinero when the waves are right. Playa de Somo, across the bay, can also be good. Three or four shops on Calle de Cádiz and Calle Méndez Núñez sell boards and wetsuits. The Escuela de Surf Santander is a surf school (€50 for two hours' private tuition) with boards for rent (€6 per hour).
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Días Desur
The white brick walls, black-and-white photos and space to sit and converse augur something out of the ordinary, and the tapas meet that challenge with their mix of Cantabrian, Andalucian and international flavours. Try a mini chicken tandoori brochette or a quesadilla with ibérico ham and cream cheese, along with a glass of one of the lyrically described wines.
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El Serbal
Probably the best restaurant in town, Serbal is an elegantly understated place beneath a brick apartment block. It offers imaginative twists on essentially typical northern Spanish food – like serving loin of beef with ham-and-truffle ravioli and potatoes cooked in clay. You could let rip with a tasting menu (€56).
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Playa del Puntal
A finger of sand jutting out from the eastern side of the bay roughly opposite Playa de la Magdalena, is idyllic on calm days (but beware the currents). Boats sail there every 30 minutes between 10:00 and 20:00 June to late September, from the Estación Marítima Los Reginas.
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Palacio Municipal de Deportes
Architecture buffs will want to swing by the Palacio Municipal de Deportes, a sports pavilion with room for 6000 spectators that looks like it's from Lost in Space. The stainless-steel-and-glass coating has the air of something cooked up by NASA.
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Cañadío
A tastefully modernised place with art on the red walls, high-backed chairs, fine linen and timber floors, Cañadío offers creative cooking with local inspiration. Hake is prepared every which way. Or you can join the crowds in the front bar for ultra-tempting tapas.
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Museo Regional de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria
Under one roof this museum brings together collections of prehistoric finds across the region, including some elements from the Cueva de Altamira. Among the highlights are copies of cave paintings and some Roman stellae, accompanied by interpretations of their texts.
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Bodegas Mazón
This cavernous wine cellar serves up varied raciones (large tapas servings) at a long timber bar. The selections are chalked on great lumbering vats and behind you are piled huge barrels of wine and sherry. Proceed out the back for a sit-down meal.
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La Flor de Tetuán
A simple seafood delight, offering anything from a crayfish-filled salad to a slab of catch-of-the-day lightly grilled. Most shellfish are sold by weight. It's the best of a strip of four small, packed seafood eateries on this street.
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Museo de Bellas Artes
Santander’s extensive Fine Arts Museum offers an eclectic collection spanning the 16th to 20th centuries. Much of it is secondary Spanish art, though you’ll find the odd curio, such as Goya’s portrait of King Fernando VII.
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Bar Del Puerto
With its grand windows looking out towards the waterfront of the Puerto Chico, this is the perfect spot for damn-near-perfect seafood. Your choice of critter will have a huge influence on the fiscal outlay.
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Bay Tours, Estación Marítima Los Reginas
This boat station runs one-hour bay tours (around €7) daily in summer (on weekends April to June) and a year-round passenger ferry to Somo (with another sandy beach), just beyond Playa del Puntal.
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A,11
Gourmet sophistication and big-city-style bright lights have landed here, a respectful distance from the classic bodegas but packed to screaming point with locals after something a little different.
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Mesón Rampalay
The packed Rampalay is a don't-miss Santander classic. It has a particularly tempting array of tapas, from pheasant breast or sirloin in wine to eggs scrambled with shrimps and asparagus.
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La Floridita
This Cuban-themed pub-cum-nightspot attracts a broad age group. Among its many features, Floridita boasts a luminous green bar and big cocktails. It opens good and early.
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Caféde Pombo
On the square of the same name, this is one of the city's most pleasant and elegant lingering breakfast stops. A hot chocolate on the square comes in at €1.75.
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Rocambole
The action often goes on till dawn at this large but dimly lit bar, which often hosts live bands. Make for the jazz jam sessions from 10pm on Thursday.
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