Cantabria

Cantabria is small but densely packed: barely 60 kilometers separate its surf beaches from the peaks of the Picos de Europa, and in the region's caves, people painted bison on the ceilings more than 35,000 years ago. A vacation in Cantabria combines beaches, mountains, and Stone Age art with a cuisine in which anchovies from Santoña play the starring role.

Between Sea and Mountains

The autonomous community lies on Spain's north coast between Asturias and the Basque Country. Its coastline is shaped by bays, river mouths, and dunes, while the interior is marked by narrow valleys such as the Valle del Pas, where farmers keep cattle on scattered farmsteads known as cabañas pasiegas. The Picos de Europa rise in the west; in the Liébana Valley, the Fuente Dé cable car carries visitors to an elevation of almost 1,850 meters (about 6,070 feet). The climate is damp and mild, and the hillsides are correspondingly green.

Santander and the Coastal Towns

Santander, the capital, sits on a large bay. After a major fire in 1941, the city center was largely rebuilt, but the El Sardinero district, with its Belle Époque hotels and casino, recalls the days when the royal family spent the summer here. On the La Magdalena peninsula stands their former palace, now home to a summer university. Renzo Piano's Centro Botín hovers over the water at the harbor. Castro-Urdiales to the east has a Gothic church on a rock above the harbor, and Laredo has a five-kilometer-long sandy beach. Suances and Ribamontán al Mar, home to the surf spot Somo, are popular with surfers. San Vicente de la Barquera in the west sits at an estuary with views of the snow-capped Picos.

Sights in Cantabria: Caves and Villages

The Cave of Altamira near Santillana del Mar is one of the most important sites of Paleolithic art. To protect it, the original is largely closed to the public, but a faithful replica at the museum makes the bison paintings accessible. Other caves, such as El Castillo near Puente Viesgo or Covalanas, can be visited in small groups. Santillana del Mar itself is a village of stone houses with coats of arms and a Romanesque collegiate church. Comillas has El Capricho, one of Gaudí's early works. Other Cantabria destinations include Potes in the Liébana Valley, with the monastery of Santo Toribio, said to hold a piece of the Cross of Christ, and Cabárceno Nature Park, a former mine turned wildlife park. Torrelavega is the region's industrial and market town, with a large cattle market.

Anchovies, Cocido, and Sobaos

Anchovies from Santoña are filleted by hand and preserved in oil; they are considered the best in Spain. Rabas, fried strips of squid, are eaten as a tapa in Santander. Cocido montañés is a stew of white beans, cabbage, chorizo, and blood sausage, and sorropotún is a fish stew with tuna. Sobaos, a buttery pound cake, and quesadas, a cheesecake, come from the Valle del Pas. To go with them, there is orujo, a pomace brandy from the Liébana Valley.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

Santander Airport has direct flights from a number of European cities, and Bilbao is an hour's drive away. Brittany Ferries connects Santander with England. Narrow-gauge trains run along the coast. The best time to visit is June through September; in high summer, many Spaniards arrive from the hot interior. Rain is possible at any time.