Description of the route:
This route covers seven of the more important medieval towns of Cantabria located near the coast, from the West to East:
San Vicente of the Barquera, Comillas, Santillana del Mar, Santander, Santoña, Laredo and Castro Urdiales.
This route, due to its length, is recommended to be divided into two or three days: one day for the towns of the western coast, another one for the Eastern coast and the last one for Santander.
The route starts in San Vicente de la Barquera, a beautiful seaside town in which you will have to visit its historic district. When leaving San Vicente de la Barquera, taking the N-623 road to Santander, make sure you cross the bridge, which has 28 eyes, without breathing until you reach the end as it is said by the tradition that it gives you good luck. Just after this bridge, we have to turn left towards the beach of Tostadero, from where we have excellent views of San Vicente and Picos de Europa, and where we will take the road of the coast to Comillas, our next destination. After enjoying the views that we have all over the road (beach of Merón, natural reserve of Oyambre), we arrive at Comillas, where we have on the left the spectacular Pontifical University and on the right the Sobrellano Palace and el Capricho (the Whim) of Gaudí.
After visiting these monuments, which are a must, we crossed the town towards the beach, which is located near the cemetery of Comillas, with the famous exterminator angel, and the monument to the Marques of Comillas.
We leave the beach of Comillas and take the direction to Santillana del Mar, a gorgeous medieval town perfectly conserved although a little crowded by tourists, mainly during the summer. In this town, you have to go for a pleasant and quiet walk enjoying the picturesque streets and corners of this town. It is especially worthy to stop for some time in front of the Tower of Don Borja, headquarters of the Santillana foundation, and the Parador Gil Blas, as a place of great beauty and harmony, and the collegiate church of Santillana del Mar.
After finishing our visit to Santillana del Mar, we will go to Santander, already well-known by the Romans like Portus Victorie. There is a special section in this Web that describes the monuments and touristy routes in this city.
Next we leave Santander, taking the A-8 highway to Bilbao, to go to Santoña, well-known by its marsh and its excellent anchovies. The traveler should not miss the beach of Berria, before the penitentiary of El Dueso, and the Buciero Mountain that puts Santoña in a shade and where I recommend a trail that leads you to Fort St. Martin.
After visiting Santoña, we will go to Laredo, to visit the beach of La Salve, which is the largest beach of Cantabria, and the Old Puebla, with his always animated port. For those who wish a boat ride, it's possible to cross from Laredo to Santoña on a boat and vice versa: it's taken at the end of the beach of La Salve and it arrives to Pasaje at Santoña.
Finally, the last stop on our route is Castro Urdiales, a beautiful town where we will visit the fishing town, the lighthouse and the gothic church of Santa Maria.
Finally, I leave a list of some of the points of interest near the route:
Other routes in English:
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