Santander, Cantabria: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 20 - 500 Jardin Secreto
 Rooms at Jardín Secreto offer a pillow menu, flat-screen TV with DVD player and free Wi-Fi. It is located in central Santander, 300 metres from the F… MoreEUR 51 - 193 NH Ciudad de Santander
 This modern hotel is located between the centre of Santander and Sardinero Beach. The cathedral, shops and restaurants are within walking distance, an… MoreEUR 43 - 120 NH Santander Parayas
 NH Santander Parayas is a short drive from Parayas Airport and has easy access to the A-8 and A-67 motorways. It is in a quiet business park, surround… MoreEUR 45 - 98 Hotel San Glorio
 Hotel San Glorio is situated next to Santander Railway Station and close to the city’s ferry terminal. It features a restaurant, rooms with flat-scr… MoreEUR 89 - 300 Hotel Real
 Hotel Real offers beautiful views over Santander Bay, La Magdalena Palace and El Sardinero Beach. The impressive palace-style building includes a spa,… MoreEUR 55 - 319 Hotel Hoyuela
 This luxurious 4-star hotel is located right by the beach, and only 400 metres from Magdalena Palace. It is within walking distance of the centre of S… MoreEUR 38 - 72 Hotel Picos De Europa
 Hotel Picos de Europa is set in the heart of Santander, just 600 metres from Santander Train Station. This small hotel offers comfortable rooms with f… MoreEUR 40 - 100 Pinamar
 This city-centre hotel is conveniently located between the Plaza de las Estaciones transport hub and the city’s charming, traditional fishing distri… MoreEUR 76 - 92 San Millán
 Set 3 km from Santander’s city centre, this hotel enjoys a peaceful location and varied spa facilities, allowing you to relax in style.
Spend a ses… MoreEUR 59 - 220 Suites Apartamentos Las Brisas
 These comfortable apartments and rooms are located by Sardinero Beach in central Santander, close to Racing Santander stadium. They have free Wi-Fi, a… MoreEUR 52 - 1,146 Vincci Puertochico
 Vincci Puertochico is situated just metres from the Puertochico Marina, with fantastic views over Santander Bay. The soundproofed, air-conditioned roo… MoreEUR 49 - 225 Silken Rio Santander
 Silken Rio Santander is next to Santander’s famous Sardinero Beach, and offers wonderful views of the Cantabrian Sea. Each room offers free Wi-Fi, a… MoreEUR 49 - 234 Silken Coliseum
 This modern hotel is located near Santander Port, 200 metres from the Cathedral and the Fine Arts Museum. It features an impressive façade, free Wi-F… MoreEUR 55 - 297 Santemar
 This well-equipped hotel is situated just 150 metres from Santander’s Sardinero Beach and Casino. The Santemar features a Japanese garden, on-site p… MoreEUR 54 - 346 Sercotel Suite Hotel Palacio del Mar
 This extensive hotel is located 150 m from the beach and Santander’s Convention Centre. Rooms are equipped with free Wi-Fi, and guests have free acc… MoreEUR 50 - 120 Hotel Escuela Las Carolinas
 Las Carolinas is a hospitality school where young hoteliers and chefs come to train. It is a restored 19th-century mansion with 5000m² of gardens, fr… MoreEUR 50 - 180 Hotel Central
 The Hotel Central lies in the heart of Santander, close to the shopping centre, train station and Brittany Ferries Port. It offers free Wi-Fi and a 24… MoreEUR 49 - 194 Don Carlos
 With its modern facilities and privileged location in the heart of El Sardinero, by the beach and next to a casino, this apartment hotel is the perfec… MoreEUR 33 - 125 Estudios Aránzazu
 The Aránzazu Studio apartments are located in the centre of the beautiful Santander city which offers visitors a wide array of things to do and see.
… MoreEUR 61 - 238 Chiqui
 Hotel Chiqui offers great views of the Bay of Biscay and El Sardinero Beach. Set by the sea and just 3 km from Santander Ferry Terminal, it features f… MoreEUR 37 - 98 Chateau La Roca
 Chateau La Roca is located in a residential area just outside Santander, 5 minutes’ drive from the beach. It offers comfortable rooms with free Wi-F… MoreEUR 40 - 60 Cabo Mayor
 This small guest house is located right in the center of Santander, very close to the train station, bus and ferry port. Cabo Mayor offers free Wi-Fi.… MoreEUR 50 - 190 Celuisma Alisas
 The good-value Celuisma Alisas is next to the ferry port in central Santander and has 24-hour reception and a free internet terminal. Santander train … MoreEUR 60 - 413 Gran Hotel Victoria
 Gran Hotel Victoria is located between Santander´s Gran Casino and the Magdalena Palace, just 200 metres from Sardinero Beach. All rooms have fr… MoreEUR 28 - 70 Hospedaje Magallanes
 Welcome to Pension Magallanes, a friendly and comfortable place situated in the very heart of downtown Santander. We have single, double, twin and fam… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Santander, Cantabria: Guide
Santander is the capital and also the largest city of the province of Cantabria in Spain. Santander has some 180,000 inhabitants and is located on the ocean. It features a small historic center and a handful of beaches. Its most famous tourist attraction is the Magdalena Palace which was used as a summer getaway of Spanish royalty.
Get in
You can arrive in Santander via plane (mostly domestic and charter flights; international flights frequently use the Bilbao airport), ferry from the UK, public bus, or car (A8 freeway from Bilbao). Distance to Bilbao is some 100km (60m).
Ryanair flies from London Stansted and from Rome Ciampino directly to Santander Airport.
Get around
Santander is reasonably small. The distance from one end of town to the other are some 6km (4m) and can be walked in 2 hours along the coast road. Within the city center everything is within walking distance (15min walking). Public buses are available at reasonable prices. Specifically, buses can take you to the main beaches some 2-4km (2m) from the city center.
See
Prehistoric and Archaeological Museum of Cantabria (Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria), Casimiro Sainz 4, Tel.: +34 942 207 109, Tue-Sat 9:00-13:00 / 16:00-19:00, Sun 11:00-14:00
Maritime Museum of Cantabria (Museo Marítimo del Cantábrico)
Magdalena Beach (Playa de Magdalena)
Sardinero Beaches (Playa del Sardinero)
Camel Beach (Playa del Camello)
Mataleñas Beach (Playa de Mataleñas)
Magdalena Peninsula (see the penguins in the 'mini-Zoo') & Magdalena Palace (Palacio de Magdalena)
Cathedral
Light house at Cabo Mayor (faro de Cabo Mayor), and the "devil's bridge" (puente del diablo), a bizarre rock formation.
Do
Picnic on Magdalena Peninsula
Learn how to sail
Enjoy the beaches
5 city walks: go to the Santander Tourist Office in the city center (Old Market, near the Old Banco Santander) and get a free city guide; the free city guide describes these 5 itineraries; alternatively you can find them on http://www.ayto-santander.es/Concejalias/Turismo/Turismo_itinerarios1.htm; these 5 itineraries are enough to keep you busy for 1-2 days.
Buy
Eat
The best area to eat fish is the district close to fishing harbour (Barrio Pesquero).
Seafood:
Drink
Sleep
Learn
The Universidad Internacional Menéndez de Pelayo (http://www.uimp.es/) 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.
Get out
Santillana del Mar - Picturesque stone village 1 hour away by bus visit the famous cave of Altamira.
Bilbao - Lively home of the famous Guggenheim
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.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Santander, Cantabria". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.