Santander Favorites

Favorite thing: It's always important to check the Weather before the visit.

On this occasion, I give you three links:
- In English
- In English
- In Spanish

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Favorite thing: Santander está en la parte norte de una de las bahías más bonitas del mundo .
Cuando te orientas en Santander , ya puedes distinguir el mar abierto de la bahía , cuesta poco , pero es muy fácil
La bahía tiene su entrada flanqueda por el palacio de la Magdalena , la Isla de Mouro y las Quebrantas , al fondo de la misma se encuentran los muelles y la zona industrial .
La bahía es el sitio ideal para hacer un montón de actividades :
- Pasear por los paseos junto al mar con unas vistas impresionantes
- Ir a la playa , tanto a las que están en Santander : Los Peligros , La Magdalena , Bikini ...,como a las que están al otro lado de la Bahía : El Puntal , Somo , Loredo
- En Pedreña , donde nació Seve Ballesteros ,se puede jugar al golf
- Puedes coger una Pedreñera para pasear por la bahía y también puedes hacer vela o navegar descubriendo sitios maravillosos
- No hay demasiada pesca , pero si la suficiente para pescar desde muelle o desde un pequeño bote y pasar un buen rato
- Puedes ver como entran y salen los barcos

Santander is in the northern part of one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
When you are in Santander you must distinguish the open sea of the bay to get orientated , it takes some time , but it is very easy
The bay is flanked at the entrance by the palace of La Magdalena, Isla de Mouro and the Quebrantas and in the bottom of it are the docks , the airport and the industrial area.
The bay is the perfect place for a lot of activities:
- A walk on the promenades along the sea with stunning views
- Going to the beach, to those in Santander: los peligros , La Magdalena, Bikini ...,or to those on the other side of the Bay: The Puntal, Somo, Loredo...
- In Pedreña , where Seve Ballesteros was born, you can play golf
- You can take a Pedreñera ( Boat ) to get around the bay and you can also go sailing or sailing to discover wonderful places
- There is not too much fishing, but enough to fish from the pier or from a small boat and have a good fun
- You can watch the boats entering and leaving
- Surfing and skate surfing

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Favorite thing: With its mild climate, Santander is a year-round destination; but it shows its most exciting side during the Summer months, when the city gets filled with sea-avid tourists from central Spain and locals are desperate to leave their daily occupations and join the crowds on the beach.

Today we tend to associate Spanish beach culture with the well-known resorts on the Mediterranean or the islands. However, the North coast pioneered in the Spanish sea tourism. When Benidorm or Marbella were still sleepy fishing villages, Santander was already a well-established and fashionable Summer retreat for the Spanish upper classes.

And this beach culture is now well settled among the Santander society. Rather than by shrimp-coloured Northern Europeans, beaches are enjoyed particularly by the locals, who will take advantage of any available occasion to escape to one of the many beaches in the city and its surroundings, each one cattering for a different kind of crowd.

The weather is not totally reliable in Santander and, despite global climate change, overcast and wet days may be common even in August. However, as soon as a few rays of sun appear, the Sardinero district thrives with activity: innumerable scooters with immaculately dressed teenagers incessantly buzz around the beach, while municipal buses drop hundreds of beachgoers who hasten in search of their espace under the sun. Then , there is always time to enjoy an ice cream or a coffee al fresco.

During the colder months, it is a completely different story. Even on the sunniest days, most of the population remains in the comfort of the shop-lined streets of the centre, leaving the solitary beaches to iddle romantic couples, dog-walkers and the occasional surfer.

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Favorite thing: Although they call it a bay, Santancer actually faces a vast estuary. This is indeed the largest estuary in the Northern coast of Spain, although none of the rivers that converge here is significantly long or mighty. To the South, the most important tributaries are the rías of Solía, San Salvador and Astillero, to the East, the rías of El Carmen and Raos and, finally the most important of all, the ría de Cubas, which is how the mouth of the river Miera is known.

It is said that centuries ago the Bay of Santander was double its current size. Different land reclamation projects for residential, industrial and port facilities have modelled its shape, particularly on the side where the city of Santander stands. Currently, the bay is 9 km long and 5 km wide. About half of the population of Cantabria lives around the bay but, there are still a few pockets of swamps and lagoons where you can still enjoy the wildlife.

The estuary is protected by a long sandbar known as El Puntal, which makes for a good spot to spend a beach day. It almost closes the estuary from the open sea and prevents the existence of marine currents or high waves (except when a strong South wind blows) but also difficults the access to the port of Santander.

The Bay can be enjoyed from most of the city's waterfront and, particularly, from the promenade that connects the old port with the beaches and residential areas of El Sardinero offering fantastic views of its beaches and the natural backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

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Favorite thing: There is a beautiful rock in the middle of the bay, near the Madeleine beaches, which forms a natural arch and has a small lighthouse on it. It is called Isla Horadada (Island of the Hole). As the legend goes, this hole was shapened when the heads of the two Saint Martyrs, Saint Emeter and Saint Celedon crashed against the rock.

These two martyrs from the period when Spain was a province of the Roman Empire had been decapitated in Calahorra for their refusal to abjure Christianism. Their heads were thrown to the river Ebro, which carried them to the Mediterranean. After circumnavigating the entire Iberian peninsula, they finally landed in Santander, where their relics are still venerated in the cathedral. They are the Patron Saints of the city and their festivity is celebrated on 31 August.

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Favorite thing: Two terrible tragedies have occured in the recent history of Santander, which explain the loss of most of its Medieval heritage.

The first one happened in the late XIX century (1893), when a cargo ship called Machichaco got fire on the docks of the city. A multitude of curious gathered in the port to watch the event, which appeared as something really extraordinary in a routine-dominated provincial town. What the crowd did not know is that the cargo ship had a load of dynamite (safety regulations had been ignored). When the fire reached the explosives, a violent blast blew out most of the maritime façade of the city and claimed hundreds of lifes, including some of the city's dignataries.

Years later, in 1941, a fire started on Cadis Street. The fire was extended by a strong South wind and it eventually burnt down most of the old city for two days. This tragedy only claimed one life (a fireman), but thousands of people were left homeless. The city had to be totally rebuilt in a period of economic penury, as Spain was trying to stand up again from the wounds of the Civil War and facing the international embargo against the fascist dictatorship of General Franco. This reconstruction has marked the current appearance of the downtown area. The street pattern was carefully laid down and fine buildings were erected for the comfort of wealthy Santanderinos. The less affluent families who had lost their homes, however, were forced to move to atrociously designed new developments in the outskirts of the city, like La Albiricia or Cueto.

Both tragedies are remembered in two monuments located near the port (pictured here).

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Favorite thing: A traditional architectural feature of constructions in North Spain are glassed balconies that typically occupy almost the entire Southern façades of residential buildings. They allow plenty of light into the building while protecting from rain and bad weather. In Santander, most of the older buildings have this kind of balconies, which make for interesting perspectives.

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Favorite thing: Santander is intimely linked to the sea and the port has been since the very beginning the main reason for its existence. The port still plays a very important role in the life of the city and, although it is not very big, it is picturesque and scenic, because of the beautiful mountains in the background.

Today, most of the port activities have moved outside of the city, to the Port of Raos, but the old Docks of Maliaño still are visited by colourful ships. The older Docks of Molnedo and Puerto Chico have no longer a commercial use and they are occupied by a marina and a waterfront promenade.