Santander

Santander is the capital and largest city of the province of Cantabria in Spain. It's on the north coast, with many beaches, ferries from Britain, and a small historic centre. The bars and restaurants of the old town are popular with tourists, as is El Sardinero beach a couple of kilometres away.

Understand
In 2018, Santander was home to 172,000 people.

The port is still very active and a regular ferry service operates to the United Kingdom. Fish and seafood dominate the local cuisine.

The city has a mild climate typical of the Spanish northern coastline with frequent rainfall and stable temperatures. Cold snaps and heat waves are very rare.



History
There appear to be good practical reasons for ancient settlers to have chosen the north side of the bay, sheltered from it and safer from the storms of the Bay of Biscay, on the north side of the promontory of Somorrostro and along the ancient Becedo estuary. Moreover, the hillside provided good visibility for spotting potential attackers, making this the ideal place for the foundation of a stable settlement, which was to evolve throughout the Middle Ages.

In the 9th century Alfonso II the Chaste founded the Abbey of the Holy Bodies in the existing chapel on the hill of Somorrostro, housing as holy relics the heads of Saint Emeterius and Saint Celedonius and the graves of other unknown martyrs, giving the abbey its name. By the end of the 15th century Santander had a population of about 4,000 or 5,000 inhabitants.

The city owes its existence to the excellent harbour of the Bay of Santander. Santander was an important port for Castile in the later Middle Ages, and also for trade with the New World. It became a city in 1755.

Santander fell victim to a great fire in 1941. Fanned by a strong south wind, the fire burned for two days. The fire destroyed the Old Town Hall, Jesús de Monasterio and Vargas streets and Atarazanas square buildings. It led to a major change in the architecture of Santander, away from the older small stone and wood buildings with balconies to the enormous blocks of flats built during the reconstruction. There was only one casualty of the fire, a firefighter from Madrid killed in the line of duty, but thousands of families were left homeless and the city was plunged into chaos. The fire destroyed the greater part of the medieval town centre and gutted the city's Romanesque cathedral

By plane


The Alsa bus runs to the bus station every 30 min (06:30-23:00) from outside Arrivals, taking 10 min. Buy tickets (€2.90) from the machine in Arrivals (which also sells tickets to other cities) or from the driver.

Taxis from the airport to Santander are available in front of the terminal (see pricing below). You can also hire taxis with English-speaking drivers, you can ask for the price of your trip and make reservations. Credit cards are accepted.

Santander Airport has direct access to motorway A8 to Bilbao.

By bus
or Estaciones is the local name for the trio of the bus, Renfe railway and Feve railway stations, all adjacent in city centre. The bus station has the most facilities. Local buses drop off and pick up on the surrounding plaza, including the airport bus south flank of the terminal building. Most is underground, with cafés, ticket offices & machines and left-luggage. Long-distance buses run from the lower basement.

The station timetable is online. The main operator is ALSA, with buses to Santander from Madrid (5 hours), Barcelona via Zaragoza (9 hr), Gijon, Oviedo, Bilbao (90 min) and Irun. International buses don't come here nowadays, change in Madrid.

By train
There are two rail stations in Santander almost next door to each other. Both stations are run by ADIF and departure times can be found on at their website.

When facing them from front, the one on the right has standard Iberian gauge tracks and in served by renfe main line trains and renfe local services on the C-1 line. Mainline (which are all operated by renfe) trains run 5-6 times a day to Santander from Madrid Atocha & Chamartín, taking 4-5 hours via Segovia, Valladolid and Palencia. A few of these trains start from Alicante.

The station on the left (formerly FEVE) is served by narrow gauge lines with infrequent services to/from Bilbao, San Sebastian and Irun/Hendaye (for SNCF trains across France), and west from  Oviedo (for Gijon), Aviles, Ribadeo and Ferrol. There are frequent modern local electric services on lines C-2 & C-3.

Although renfe operates all the trains their long, medium & regional distance and local services (Cercanías) are operated separately and use different websites & ticket machines.

By boat
Britanny Ferries sail to Santander from Plymouth and Portsmouth. The routes are:
 * Plymouth to Santander (20 hours) sails Mar-Oct on Sa, plus May-Sep on Tu, and returns M and W.
 * Portsmouth to Santander (24 hours), twice a week year round, sailing days vary. They also sail to Bilbao. There is a ferry from Rosslare to Bilbao.

All routes cross the Bay of Biscay, notorious for Atlantic swells and upchucking.

is very central, off Calle Antonio Lopez near the bus and railway stations.

By car
France: Santander is 246 km (150 mi) from Biarritz, 437 km from Bordeaux, 537 km from Toulouse, 937 km from Marseille and 1103 km (685 mi) from Nice.

Spain: Santander is 832 km (517 mi) from Alicante, 709 km from Barcelona, 279 km from León, 399 km from Madrid, 1014 km from Marbella, 364 km from Salamanca, 763 km from Santiago de Compostela, 250 km from Valladolid, 505 km from Vigo and 401 km from Zaragoza.

Portugal: Santander is from Lisbon and 648 km from Porto.

On foot
Santander is reasonably small. The distance from one end of town to the other is about 6 km (4 miles) and can be walked in 2 hours along the coast road. Within the city centre everything is within walking distance (15 min walking).

By bus
Public buses are available at reasonable prices. Each journey costs €1.30 (more for journeys out of the city), or €0.66 with a rechargeable card at tobacco shops or kiosks which costs €1 and requires a minimum charge of €5-6 (2024). Buses can take you to the main beaches some 2-4 km from the city centre. Timetables and a route planner are available from the TUS website.. There are network maps at most bus stops. Unfortunately Google Maps doesn't have any information about local buses but the Moovit! smart-phone app does work here.


 * Hop On Hop Off Bus, departs from the Cathedral Fr-Su at 10:45 and 11:25, 12:00, 13:15, 13:55, 16:45, 17:20, 18:00 and 18:35, with stops at Pasea Pereda, Museo Maritimo, Palacio de Festivales y Planetario, Palacio de la Magdalena, Casiono/Playa de Sardinero, Faro de Cabo Mayor, Matalenas/Campo de Golf. Estadio, Universidad, Avenida Valdecilla, Cuatro Caminos and Barrio Pesquero, the entire journey taking about 75 min. Internet rates: for 24 hours €21.00 per adult, €11.00 per child (5 to 15). Children under 5: free of charge. Explanations given in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Japanese plus a commentary for kids.

By taxi
Taxis are widely available throughout the city.
 * Radiotaxi: . Tariffs: M-F 06:00-22:00, Sa 09:00-15:00: €1.41 plus €0.96 per km, min €4.15, waiting time €18.82/hour). M-F 22:00-06:00, Sa 00:00-08:00, 15:00-00:00, Su holidays: €1.83 plus €1.25 per km, min €5.25, waiting time €25.05/hour; luggage €0.68, airport supplement €7.06, interurban fares are 30-40% lower (2020)

By bicycle
The city offers bicycle rental, for a very low price, at a number of locations around Santander (Jardines de Pereda, El Sardinero, La Magdalena). Bikes are loaned for the day, so get in early to avoid missing out.

See




Parks

 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.
 * Parque de La Magdalena: see earlier listing.

Do



 * Picnic on Magdalena Peninsula
 * Learn how to sail
 * 5 city walks: go to the Santander Tourist Office in the city centre (Old Market, near the Old Banco de Santander) and get a free city guide; the free city guide describes these 5 itineraries. These 5 itineraries are enough to keep you busy for 1-2 days.
 * Boat round trip: There is a regular boat service through the Santander Bay, boats run from Santander to Pedreña, Somo and back. For a 45-minutes round-trip you have to pay €3.90 and the boats starts at least every hour.
 * Football: Racing play soccer in Segunda División, the second tier. Their home Ground Campos de Sport de El Sardinero (capacity 22,200) is 2 km east of town centre near the beach.
 * Enjoy the beaches. Walk up to the lighthouse at Cabo Mayor, visit the museum and enjoy the view from the top.

Beaches
Santander has a lot of fine beaches.
 * Mataleñas Beach (Playa de Mataleñas)
 * Magdalena Peninsula (see the penguins in the 'mini-Zoo') & Magdalena Palace (Palacio de Magdalena)
 * Lighthouse at Cabo Mayor (faro de Cabo Mayor), and the devil's bridge (puente del diablo), a bizarre rock formation.
 * Playa de Bikinis, safe and lovely beach on the Peninsula de la Magdalena, protected from big waves, very calm.
 * Playa de Covachos, Cotero (Santa Cruz de Bezana), one of the most attractive beaches,
 * Playa de El Bocal, Corbanera, peaceful and quiet,
 * Playa de El Camello, Avenida de la Reina Victoria, near Magdalena Peninsula,
 * Playa de El Puntal, Somo (Ribamontán al Mar),
 * Playa de La Concha, in the middle of Sardinero,
 * Playa de La Magdalena, Ensenada del Sardinero, with fine views of the bay,
 * Playa de La Maruca, Monte,
 * Playa de la Virgen del Mar, San Román, peaceful and quiet,
 * Playa de Langre, Langre (Ribamontán al Mar), spectacular situation between the cliffs,
 * Playa de Los Molinucos, small beach north of Segunda Playa,
 * Playa de Los Peligros, Avenida de la Reina Victoria, quiet beach in a sheltered bay,
 * Playa de Mataleñas, between Cabo Mayor and Cabo Menor, the 'luxury' beach of Santander,
 * Playa de Somocuevas, Liencres (Piélagos), with fine golde sands,
 * Playa de Valdearenas, Liencres (Piélagos), fine sand dunes,
 * Playa Primera de El Sardinero, Plaza de Italia, the most famous beach of Santander,
 * Playa Segunda de El Sardinero, Playa de Castaneda.
 * Somo Beach is a little bit outside of Santander. It can be reached from downtown Santander by boat. Boats leave every 10 minutes and the boat ride takes about 10 minutes. Somo Beach is about 3 km long and is less crowded than beaches in Santander.
 * Playa Primera de El Sardinero, Plaza de Italia, the most famous beach of Santander,
 * Playa Segunda de El Sardinero, Playa de Castaneda.
 * Somo Beach is a little bit outside of Santander. It can be reached from downtown Santander by boat. Boats leave every 10 minutes and the boat ride takes about 10 minutes. Somo Beach is about 3 km long and is less crowded than beaches in Santander.

Festivals

 * Fiestas Virgen del Mar (Lady of the Sea festival): May 19
 * Los Baños de Ola: July 16 until 20
 * Fiestas de Santiago (St.James's Festival): July 25
 * Mercado medieval (medieval market): second half of August
 * Romería del Faro (pilgrimage to the lighthouse): August 23

Learn
The Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo offers summer courses for university students, including Spanish language courses for foreigners, that take place both at the Magdalena Palace and at Residencia Las Llamas.

The Universidad de Cantabria offers Spanish language courses of 4 to 10 weeks duration throughout the year through the Centro de Idiomas (CIUC). CIUC also coordinates exchange students at the university.

Eat
Santander's cuisine is characteristic of Cantabria in that it is based mainly on seafood. Popular shellfish include almejas (clams) and navajas (razor clams); fish include seabream, red mullet, anchovies, seabass and sardines; and squid and cuttlefish are also commonly eaten.

Some typical dishes from the city of Santander are the fried calamari called rabas, double donuts, bean stew called cocido montañés, and seafood dishes ranging from seabass and sardine to products such as morguera.

The best area to eat fish is around the fishing harbour (Barrio Pesquero), although locals usually regard this as a tourist trap.

Santander has many Regma ice-creamery outlets, with servings of 8 popular flavours. Other chains such as Capri on Paseo de Pereda have a greater range of choices.

Lots of low-priced cafés are in and around the bus station. A coffee and pincho for breakfast won't exceed €3.

Drink
The main spot is Plaza de Cañadío in the centre of old town. It's a hive for young Santanderinos and exchange students, with many bars and restaurants. A favourite drink is calimocho, a red wine/coca-cola combo.

Go next

 * Castro-Urdiales: seaside village east of Santander with a nice Gothic church and lighthouse.
 * Laredo (Spain): another seaside village to the East, the old quarter is worth a visit.
 * Potes: this small village is the key to the Picos de Europa mountain range (which is a national park), and the Liébana region. Good eating place, and the local orujo (a strong spirits drink) is highly recommended.
 * Reinosa: the main town on southern Cantabria, it's a good base to explore the Cantabrian mountain range (Cordillera Cantábrica), with the Alto Campoo sky resort, the Roman city of Julióbriga and several Medieval churches close by.
 * Santillana del Mar: Picturesque stone village 1 hour away by bus; visit the famous cave of Altamira.
 * San Vicente de la Barquera - Sea-side fishing village, about 30 minutes by bus. See the fishing vessels unload what Madrid will be eating tomorrow. Fantastic tides, so stay for at least 6 hours. Nice Roman bridge.
 * Valles Pasiegos: for a taste of rural Cantabria, no better place than the Valley of the Pas river, especially Toranzo, Selaya, Villacarriedo, Vega de Pas, San Roque de Riomiera and San Pedro del Romeral. Try the typical sobaos and quesadas, two traditional desserts.