Santander Things to Do

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The communication between the downtown area and the port was difficulted by the existence of a hill. For this reason, the city had always planned to dig a tunnel through this hill that would make communications easier. This project was only carried out in the 40s and, due to the nefast economic situation of the moment, it was entirely done by volunteer workers with almost no technical means.

The tuneel is called Pasage de Peña, after the engineer who designed it and leads to the Stations Square, where both the railway station and the bus terminal are located.

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The Municipal Museum of Arts is located in a building by Leonardo Rucabado which originally made part of the Menéndez Pelayo Library complex. Currently it hosts the art collection of the city of Santander.

The museum gives an overview of the history of the art, but is particular rich in paintings by regional artists (mainly from the XIX and XX century).

The jewel of the crown is a portrait of Fernando VII which was commissioned by the city to Francisco de Goya and presided for years the City Hall's meeting room. The museum also shows several etchings by Goya.

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Menéndez Pelayo, an erudite historicist and author who was an active member of the cultural scene in Santander in the late XIX century, bequeathed his entire book collection to the city. The local authorities decided to build a new library to host this legacy. They chose the do it just by the house where Menéndez Pelayo had lived (second picture).

The Menéndez Pelayo Library is a historicist work of Leonardo Rucabado with a small garden presided by a sitting statue of Menéndez Pelayo by Marià Benlliure. It is one of the most appreciated constructions in Central Santander.

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The Municipal Market on Hope Square is the oldest still working market hall in Santander (the Mercado del Este does no longer work as a market). It is contemporary to the city hall and has loads of local flavor. Particularly of interest are the fishmongers, which have the reputation to sell the freshest fish in the city.

In the mornings there is an outdoor market on the square, which is lined with colourful buildings.

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The turn of the century was a moment of efervescent construction in Santander. The city acquired then some of its most prominent buildings, including the City Hall (Casa Consistorial). It is a sober building in ecclectic style with Modernist influences which was erected in substitution of the former convent of Saint Francis.

The original project for the building was designed by Julio Martínez Zapata, but it was subsequently extended to its present shape and size.

The square is always busy as from here depart the most important commercial streets in the city.

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The Gran Casino del Sardinero is located on Italy Square (formerly known as Square of the handkerchief), just opposite the waterfront.

There has been a casino here since the XIX century, when Santander became a fashionable Summer resort with the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. The first building was much more modest than the one we see today. This dates back to the early XX century, the period when Santander got all the facilities that a holiday place de prestige requires. In these same years, the city also built the Madeleine Palace and the Hotel Real.

According to the tastes of that time, the casino was designed by Eloy Martínez del Valle in the Belle Epoque style, which due to the profusion of decoration and ts immaculate white colour, reminds to many of a wedding cake.

If you are not into gambling, you can still and have lunch in its fancy restaurant.

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The Upper Church was built as an Abbatial church dedicated to the Saint Martyrs, patrons of the city. In the XVIII century, it was promoted to the rank of cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The Medieval building had exactly the same plan as the Lower Church, on which it stands, but the construction works after 1941 doubled its size by adding an abse and a dome which clearly differ in style from the Gothic parts.

The interior of the cathedral was completely ravaged by fire and all you can see now has been brought from other churches or built in the XX century.

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The Lower Church, also known as Parrish of the Christ or Cathedral's Crypt, is the oldest and most valuable religious construction in Santander, as it was not affected by the 1941 fire. It was built in a transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic and has massive voults and coloumns which have to sustain the weight of the two churches. That is why both in the porch and the interior of the church there is an overwhelming feeling of spirituality.

The church is presided by a statue of a Christ, hence the name, and it contains the heads of the Saint Martyrs in two silver relicars which are transported in procession to the main altar of the Upper Church during the main festivals.

The glass floor of the church allows for the examination of the Roman remains discovered during different excavations.