Santander Spain Cantabria
29
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Atlas Ocean Voyages (1 Cruises)
Ponant (10 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
Right in the centre, at the terminal that also handles the ferries from England. Ten to fifteen minutes' walk brings you to the shopping streets, gardens and cafés.
The Centro Botín and the Pereda gardens, then the shoreline walk out to the Magdalena peninsula, and the Sardinero beaches if time allows. It all unfolds along the water, no car needed.
An art centre by Renzo Piano, its rounded ceramic-clad volumes standing on stilts over the water a short walk from the quay. The exhibitions are worth a look, and so are the walkways: they reach out over the bay and frame the mountains on the far shore.
A headland crowned by the palace the city presented to King Alfonso XIII, part English style and part French Belle Époque. Its public park opens onto cliffs, a sandy cove and views along the whole coast. Allow about thirty minutes' walk from the centre, or take a TUS city bus.
Yes. The Sardinero beaches, broad crescents of pale sand, are about 2.5 kilometres from the centre. In summer the parasols line up by the hundred; off season, surfers and walkers take over.
Because it was one. In the early twentieth century the Spanish court summered here, leaving elegant avenues, villas and the Gran Casino, whose white facade from another age still presides over the Plaza de Italia.
Rabas, fried squid meant for sharing, coastal anchovies and shellfish from the Cantabrian shore. The pintxo bars near the cathedral pile their bites onto bread, and the Esperanza market, an iron and glass hall, comes alive from early morning.
Less than elsewhere, in fairness: the centre was rebuilt after the fire of 1941. The cathedral and its thirteenth-century crypt are worth the stop, and the surrounding streets concentrate the shops and tapas counters.
Yes, it is one of the easiest in northern Spain. Flat ground along the water, the Magdalena park to run in, beaches a bus ride away. Nothing requires a booking.
June to September. The Cantabrian coast is green because it rains: locals walk the seafront in every season, umbrella included, and a light waterproof stays useful even in summer.
