| Santander Santander | ||
 | ||
Coat of arms and flag   | ||
| State | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Cantabria | |
| Altitude | 0 - 70 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 34.76 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 172.044 (2018 census) | |
| Name inhabitants | santanderini (santanderinos) | |
| Prefix tel | 34 942 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 39001-39012 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
Position
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| Tourism site | ||
| Institutional website | ||
Santander is the capital of the Cantabria.
To know
Santander is a modern industrial city and an important natural harbor located in a deep inlet of the Bay of Biscay (the Bay of Santander), squeezed between the northern buttresses of the Cantabrian Mountains that descend to the coast. The port was already very active in Roman times.
Thanks to its beautiful beaches and mild climate, the city is also an important seaside resort. The first tourists arrived in Santander at the end of the 19th century but the baths were not recommended due to the impetuousness of the sea until the first establishment, the Balneario del Sardinero, still existing.
The doctors of the time advised people suffering from obesity a sort of slimming treatment called the "Wave Baths" (Baños de Ola) which consisted of being hit several times by the waves. The stratagem was then also considered a remedy for rheumatism. Even today, every year, in July, the feast of the gods takes place in Santander Baños de Ola whose participants wear the funny swimsuits of the time.
Santander's take-off as an internationally renowned tourist center is due to King Alfonso XIII who chose Santander to vacation there with his family and court. As a token of gratitude, the municipality of Santander gave the king the Palacio de la Magdalena, then resold by Juan Carlos in 1977 to the same municipality for 150 million pesetas, oblivious to the fact that his grandfather had received it as a gift.
In addition to the Palazzo della Maddalena, there are other vestiges of the "Belle Époque" such as the Gran Casino Sardinero and the Hotel Real.
How to orient yourself
Santander: full screen map.Paseo de Pereda it is the best known street in Santander. For a while it forms the seafront. The paseo is dedicated to José María de Pereda, writer and short story writer from Santander to whom a monument at the height of the gardens is dedicated. Its extension to the east is avenida Reina Victoria which leads to El Sardinero, Santander's beach described below.
Neighborhoods
El Sardinero - The most important district of Santander from a tourist point of view. Many hotels were built along its beaches in the early 1900s. It is located to the east of the center, at a distance of less than 4 km from the railway station and extends over the small bay bordered to the south by the promontory on top of which is the Magdalena palace.
How to get
By plane
- 1 Santander Airport (IATA: SDR), @[email protected]. Santander has an international airport, also known as Aeropuerto de Parayas. Ryanair operates flights from Bergamo-Orio al Serio, Pisa is Rome-Ciampino.
- A city bus line shuttles between the airport and the center with terminus at the railway station. Their frequency is 30 minutes. The bus lines ALSA make direct connections from the airport to other centers in Spain (Bilbao, Gijón, Oviedo is Laredo are the most popular destinations) but reservations and seats are required.
By car
Santander is 108 km from Bilbao and 197 km from Oviedo.
Santander is connected to Plymouth by a ferry service, managed by the company Brittany Ferries. The crossing takes about 24h.
On the train
- 2 Santander Adif station. Santander is connected to Madrid and ad Alicante through trains RENFE Alvia. The station is also at the terminus of the line coming from Palencia completely electrified but with double track only on some sections. However, it is a scenic railway as it passes through the Cantabrian mountains.
- Regional trains are operated by Feve, a branch of Renfe.
By bus
- 3 Suburban bus station (Estación de Autobuses de Santander), Navas de Tolosa (In front of the train station).
How to get around
What see
- 1 Palacio de la Magdalena, Península de la Magdalena.
- 2 [link not working]Cathedral (Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Santander).
- 3 Museum of modern and contemporary art (Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria), Calle de Rubio 6 39001 Santander.
- 4 Maritime Museum of the Cantabrian (Maritime Museum of the Cantábrico).
- 5 Museum of Prehistory and Archeology of Cantabria (Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria).
Events and parties
- Cavalcade of the Three Kings.
January 5th. Costumed procession through the streets of the center, from the Festival Palace to the Town Hall Square. - Fiestas de la Virgen del Mar. Whit Monday. Patronal feast.
- Children's party (El Día Infantil de Cantabria). First Sunday of June. It takes place at the Palazzo della Maddalena.
- The bonfires of San Giovanni (La hoguera de San Juan). June 24. The party that celebrates the beginning of summer takes place mainly on El Sardinero beach but bonfires are also lit in other areas of the city (Albericia and Barrio Pesquero).
January 5th. Costumed procession through the streets of the center, from the Festival Palace to the Town Hall Square.- Feast of Santiago (Fiestas de Santiago). July 25.
- Santander International Festival (Santander International Festival). August. One of the oldest Spanish music festivals with concerts, opera and dance performances at the Palace of Festivals and also in churches and city parks. In the past, famous bel canto artists have performed at the festival, from Montserrat Caballé to Plácido Domingo.
- Feast of the Holy Martyrs (Fiestas de los Santos Mártires). August 30th. In honor of San Emeterio and San Celedonio, patrons of Santander.
- Fiestas de la Virgen de la Bien Aparecida. September 15. Feast in honor of the patroness of the diocese of Cantabria.
- Festival del Mar. It recurs every four to five years. The last edition took place from 30 August to 2 September 2014 and the next one will take place in September 2019.
What to do
Beaches
- 1 El Sardinero.
- 2 Playa de "Los Peligros".
- 3 Playa del Camello.
- 4 Playa de La Magdalena.
- 5 La Maruca.
- 6 Playa de Molinucos.
- 7 Playa de Mataleñas. According to the opinion of the most playa de Mataleñas it is the best beach in Santander.
Shopping
- Mercado del Este (plaza del Este), Calle Hernán Cortés, 4. Mon-Sat 08: 00-23: 30. Covered market from 1842, one of the first of its kind to be inaugurated in Spain. It is 40 meters wide and 60 meters long with a total area of 2400 m². In the year 2000 the city council carried out a restoration which involved controversial demolitions, retaining few of the original elements. Today the market houses several bars and stands that sell floral items, gastronomic products and souvenirs. There is also a tourist information office.
- 1 Mercado de la Esperanza. Fruit and vegetable market, renowned above all for the sale of fish products.
How to have fun
Shows
- 1 Botín Center. Center for Art and Culture in a structure designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and inaugurated on 23 June 2017.
- 2 Sports Palace (Palacio de Deportes).
Night clubs
- 3 Santander Escenario, Av. Constitución, 39, ☎ 34 942 28 52 28.
Where to eat
Average prices
- Radio, Av del General Dávila, 103, ☎ 34 942 23 26 28.
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
- 4 Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno. The park occupies an old iron mine in the town of Cabárceno, in the Pisueña valley, 17 kilometers from Santander. Specimens of rhinos, deer, fallow deer and monkeys are hosted there in a semi-freedom regime. It can be visited by car or even by cable car.
- 5 Puente Viesgo (28.5 km via the carretera N-623 from Santander to Burgos) - Location in the Pasiegos valley, famous for its green landscapes and four nearby caves where Paleolithic paintings have been found. The most interesting cave is the one called "El Castillo" registered in 2008 in the UNESCO list of world heritage. There you can admire paintings depicting human hands (Panel de las Manos) dating back to about 40,000 years ago according to the dating established with the uranium-thorium method. The paintings were made from the first examples of homo sapiens, joints in Europe fromAfrica.
