Cantabria

Introduction

Terefico Fuente De Picos de Europa

© eTRAVEL

Cantabria is one of the smaller regions, in the north of Spain, and has Santander as its capital city. The region is famous for the large numbers of caves that has pre-historic drawings on their walls. The most famous of them all is the cave of Altamira, which unfortunately is off limits for visitors. There is however a replica of the cave, near the site. Other caves however are opened to visitors. Besides caves the region is also renounced for the cheeses it produces. The region was conquered by the Romans around 29 AD, and left several constructions that can be visited.

Geography

Cantabria lies on the Cantabrian Sea, which it part of the Atlantic Ocean. On the east it is bordered by Basque Country, and in the south by Castile and León. On the west were the Picos de Europa rule the skyline, it borders to Asturias. From the sea the land starts to rise about 10 kilometres inland, with the highest peaks in the Picos de Europa, but also other parts of the region are mountainous.

Cities

Santander

© Herr Bert

By far the largest city in Cantabria is Santander, with a population of around 180,000. The second largest is the nearby industrial town of Torrelavega, with around 60,000 inhabitants.

Sights and Activities

• Santander - Capital and sea port, with a nice city center
• Picos de Europa - Walk the route through the Gorge de Cotos
• Cave of Altimira & Other caves - There are Prehistoric paintings on the walls of many of the caves in Cantabria
• Santilla del Mar - Little town, with a very nice old center

Weather

The weather in the north of Spain is different from that of the rest of Spain. The region is dubbed the Costa Verde (the green coast) for a reason. It has a mild humid climate that is influenced a lot by the ocean. Temperatures a much lower than in other parts of Spain, and rain is a common here, as it is in England. The northside of the mountains see more rainfall than the southside. The best months to visit if you want to increase a dry visit are July an August.

Getting There

By Plane

Just south of Santander lies the airport of Parayas. Iberia and Ryanair are the biggest users of this airport. Iberia (or it's sister Air Nostrum, takes care of national flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, Tenerife-North and Valencia, while Ryanair also has a couple of inland flights to Madrid, Alicante and Reus, it takes care of the most international flights from this airport. Destinations include London-Stansted, Dublin, Rome, Frankfurt-Hahn, Brussels Charleroi, Weeze and Bergamo (north of Milan).

From the airport there are Alsa busses that take you to the bus station, which is in front of the train station in 10 minutes. The bus stop is on the rightside, when you leave the airport. A ride costs 2 euros, and busses run approximately every 10 to 15 minutes.

By Train

There are trainconnections to the neighbouring regions, but also a direct connection through Valladolid with Madrid. For more information and timetables, check the website of Renfe.

By Car

The main road in Cantabria is the coastal highway, A-8 that runs from Bilbao in Basque Country to Gijon and beyond. When coming from the south the A-67 is the best choice. It starts near Palencia, as a split from the A-62. When driving into the mountains in the winter, it is more than advisable to have snow chains with you.

By Bus

Eurolines has connections to and from other bigger and smaller European cities, and has a stop in Santander. Other buslines that connect Cantanbria with other part of Spain, are Alsa and Avanza.

By Boat

Brittany Ferries carries out a direct connection with Plymouth and Portsmouth in the UK and Santander.

Sleep