Santander
This vast old library with its beautiful wood-lined reading room was built in 1915 to house the 41,500 books bequeathed to Santander by local teacher,…
Must-see attractions in Cantabria
Santander
The family home of celebrated local scholar Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856–1912) stands directly behind the elaborate Biblioteca de Menéndez Pelayo,…
Cantabria
The main draw at the Cueva de Cullalvera is the jaw-dropping vastness of the cave itself (enhanced with some rather overdone light and water displays)…
Santander
Find out all about Cantabria’s long seafaring history at Santander’s maritime museum, 800m east of the Puerto Chico marina. The four floors cover all…
Santander
Tucked deep between two rocky headlands just north of El Sardinero, this tiny golden cove gets packed during the summer months. From the northern end of…
Santander
The pretty, recently refurbished gardens around the Centro Botín are named after 19th-century Cantabrian writer José María de Pereda, whose bronze effigy…
Cantabria
Signposted from Arroyo, 12km southeast of Reinosa, this tranquil monastery has a fine site overlooking the Ebro valley and a history going back to at…
Cantabria
Santoña is dominated by two fortresses, the most accessible of which is the imposing, horseshoe-shaped Fuerte de San Martín, built in the early 17th…
Cantabria
The dwindling remains of this 16th-century fortress crown La Atalaya hill above the Puebla Vieja, accessed by a steep but quick 500m track. From the…
San Vicente de la Barquera
San Vicente’s 13th-century castle, one of Cantabria’s best preserved, rises near the top of the old part of town. Sights inside are limited, and exhibits…
Santander
You can’t miss the splendid 1875 Banco Santander building – notable for its giant arch in the middle – across the street from the Jardines de Pereda. The…
Comillas
Comillas’ main church was constructed in the 17th century – the townspeople, offended, paid for it from their own pockets after the Duque de Infantado’s…
Cantabria
Built in 1885, this cavernous 220m tunnel at the eastern end of town leads under La Atalaya hill to a rugged seafront lookout point. It was originally…
Arqueositio Cántabro-Romano de Camesa-Rebolledo
Cantabria
This fascinating triple-epoch excavation site of a Roman villa buried beneath a Visigothic necropolis and a medieval graveyard sits just outside…
Santander
Lined with trees, ringed with cafes and sporting a gazebo in its centre, this long, rectangular plaza is one of Santander's most popular public spaces…
Cantabria
A Spanish national monument since 1931, the impressive 13th-century Iglesia de Santa María sits at the top of the Puebla Vieja, housing a beautiful 15th…
Santillana del Mar
This grisly exhibition displays more than 70 grim instruments of torture and capital punishment used by the Inquisition and elsewhere in Europe. You may…
San Vicente de la Barquera
The eastern inlet bordering San Vicente, the estuary of the Río Escudo, is spanned by the long, low-slung, 15th-century Puente de la Maza.
Santander
The epicentre of Santander's nightlife scene, Plaza de Cañadío is packed with bars and restaurants that keep buzzing into the wee hours.
Santander
An elegant ensemble of 64 porticoes frames this handsome plaza, constructed in the aftermath of a 1941 fire that ravaged the city centre.
Cantabria
Of Castro’s two beaches, the northern Playa de Ostende is the more attractive: a soft golden arc sprinkled with a few outcrops.
Cantabria
At the southern end of town, this wide sandy stretch of urban beach gets a bit of surf.
