Santander, the relaxed and attractive capital of Cantabria, was the second place we ever visited in Spain. The intervening 25 years have dulled my memories of the place, but not the impression of a friendly place where we ate well, took walks along the seafront, and admired the elegant architecture of a town that is affectionately known as the Bride of the Sea. I was looking forward to reacquainting myself with it.
We only had a day – our last day of a three week odyssey across the north of Spain – to spend in Santander, but it was enough to know the town is worth a third visit. Despite its location on the sheltered Bahía de Santander, with a collection of golden beaches and an array of Belle Epoque buildings, tourism is pretty light. Santander feels like somewhere people pass through rather than dwell for any length of time.
In large part this is due to its reputation for ugly urban planning that was the result of the need to rebuild quickly after a devastating fire in 1941. The fire tore through Santander’s historic centre destroying most of its oldest and most beautiful buildings. While that is a shame, it still has much going for it. The streets of the old town are full of restaurants and bars, and the whole place has a vibrant feel to it.
This is something those Spanish tourists who flock here understand. In the 19th century it became an up-market resort for the bourgeoisie. A reputation cemented when King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia built their summer residence here on a peninsula at the start of the 20th century. The town attracted the wealthy and they built attractive Belle Époque houses, many of which survive today.
This gentle appearance belies the fact that Santander is every bit a working port. Huge ferries from the English ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth dock here, and you can spot cargo vessels from around the world sailing into the modern port that stretches around the bay. Santander’s long history as a seafaring town dates back to the Romans though, and it’s been an important trading centre ever since.
We started our day in a cafe next to the Cathedral, which remarkably survived the 1941 fire. It was also largely untouched by another famous disaster, the 1893 explosion of the cargo ship Cabo Machichaco. Docked only a few hundred metres away it carried a cargo of 1,700 boxes of dynamite. A fire broke out and the explosion resulted in the massive destruction of homes, as well as killing 590 people and injuring at least another 2,000.
After coffee we visited the cathedral and then the Mercado de la Esperanza through the narrow streets of the old town. It’s an interesting area, dotted with small plazas and with lots of tapas bars that we would return to later. As befits a fishing port, the market has an excellent range of seafood, as well as fruit and vegetables. Sadly, we weren’t in the market, so to speak, and headed to the Jardines de Pereda.
The gardens are the start of the promenade and a walk along the waterfront to reach the Magdalena Peninsula, where the royal summer house sits. It is also where you find the Centro Botin. Designed by architect Renzo Piano – best known for the Centre Pompidou in Paris – this futuristic arts centre was intended to replicate some of the success of the Bilbao’s Guggenheim Centre when it opened in 2017.
It may not have met with the same success, and when it was first proposed many locals opposed it fearing it would ruin the waterfront, but it’s a great space and the exterior walkways offer views of the bay and town. There was a slightly bonkers exhibit of musical instruments made from household items by Japanese artist Yuko Mohri, as well as the permanent exhibition that features Spanish and international artists.
After this bit of culture, we walked to the Magdalena Peninsula. Along the way are several good beaches should you want to take a dip – or there’s a ferry across the bay to Playa El Puntal de Somo if you want a less urban beach. My recollections of the royal residence, the Palacio de la Magdalena, were quite positive. It’s true the pleasant park and sea views are great, but the house isn’t anything special.
We could have happily not found the ‘marine park’, a neglected zoo for a few unfortunate penguins and seals. It was pretty disgusting: small pens, dirty water, and one of the seals seemed to be dead. Quite shocked, we went back to town and decided we needed a stiff drink and some tapas to recover. Luckily for Santander, our final memories of it were delicious food in busy and friendly tapas bars.
