I suspect many will land in Santander and make straight for Bilbao which was almost our plan but knowing that we would arrive late evening, we decided to stay a few nights to see what the capital of the Cantabria region had to offer, before heading east.
I have to say that our expectations were pretty low. Unlike our usual holidays which tend to be planned months in advance, this trip was booked just over a week before we left. The reason? A sense of fear that we might be stuck at home with a five year old and cabin fever during the Easter school holidays.
Perhaps owing to these low expectations and our general lack of knowledge about what there was to see/do there, we were pleasantly surprised by Santander. Not only that, it turned out to be very practical when our daughter developed a 24 hrs tummy bug. The comforts and hospitality of our fab two-bedroom, centrally located Airbnb apartment were just what was needed and meant we weren’t fretting about where to eat or whether there was a toilet nearby.
It’s true that there isn’t a great deal of sightseeing to be done here but in some ways that was quite refreshing and meant we were able to take our time exploring the city, with plenty of stops in between for our daughter to enjoy the wonderful parks along the seaside promenade and for us to people watch whilst sipping on our cafe con leches.
Worth mentioning were the excellent parks at the Parque de Las Cachavas (near the bus station and ferry terminal), Jardines de Pereda (near the carousel) and the one at the Magdalena Peninsula which also has a small (and free) mini zoo with seals and penguins. They literally kept P entertained for hours.
I would certainly recommend a walk along the promenade which on one side was flanked by Santander’s old town and on the other by a modern and attractive promenade. On/around the promenade you’ll find the beautiful Santander Cathedral, the impressive Centro Botin arts centre (designed by Renzo Piano), and the Los Raqueros statues (dedicated to the children who dived to retrieve coins tossed from passenger ships in the last century).
Despite some spring sunshine, it wasn’t really hot enough to brave the beaches – Playa de la Magdalena, Playa de Bikini and Playa de los Peligros – but they were pristine and I imagine would be very tempting once the temperatures begin to creep up.
If like me, you like to experience a city through its food, then a trip to the local market – the Mercado de la Esperanza – is good for stocking up on a few supplies. Our bocadillo with tortilla was lovely, not to mention a bargain for under 2 Euros.
Sadly we weren’t able to make the most of the amazing Pintxos (tapas) available but we did manage to grab a menu de dia for lunch at Meson Rampalay. For around 14 Euro a head you were able to choose from a selection of typical Calabrian starters, mains and desserts, plus wine or water. Be warned there was no English menu (nor should there be) but the waiter did his best to translate what was there, and ultimately we ended up trying something we probably wouldn’t have chosen! Great value.
If you tire of pintxos, then Pizza Rosso Vero near the Bank of Santander Arch did excellent pizza slices for a couple of Euros. La Gallofa do great pastries (the best chocolate croissant EVER claimed our daughter), smoothies and snacks. Most cafes/bars seemed to offer a coffee plus pintxos/pastry/bocadillo deal for between 2-4 Euros.
All in all, definitely enough to keep us entertained for a day or two before we hopped on the bus along the coast to Bilbao (blog to follow). And we also discovered there was more to Santander than a bank.
Travel for travel's sake 