Santillana del Mar
Camino del Norte
Santillana del Mar is the showpiece of the Cantabrian camino — a medieval village so well preserved it feels like a film set, which is why so many productions use it as one. It's also a mandatory stop on the tourist bus circuit, so take a breath and learn to share the cobblestones.
The Colegiata de Santa Juliana is the main monument — a Romanesque collegiate church with a magnificent cloister whose carved capitals are among the finest in northern Spain. At the opposite end of town, the Convento de las Dominicas (also known as the Convento de San Ildefonso) bookends the main street. In between, nearly every building carries some historical significance, and the stone mansions and carved coats of arms lining the cobbled streets justify the crowds.
If you're looking for something darker, the Museo de la Tortura offers a grimly comprehensive collection. It's sometimes misleadingly billed as an Inquisition museum.
The Museo de Altamira, on the outskirts, is the real reason the tour buses come. The original Altamira cave paintings — the Sistine Chapel of the Paleolithic — are closed to the general public, but the museum's replica cave is a remarkable reproduction that conveys the scale and artistry of the originals. Don't skip it.
Restaurants and bars are plentiful and slightly more expensive than neighboring towns. Multiple albergues and hotels serve the large visitor population.
Santa Juliana, the patroness, is celebrated on the 28th of June and San Roque on the 15th and 16th of August.
The Altamira Caves, discovered in 1868 and recognized in 1879, are the most important prehistoric site in Spain and among the most significant in the world. The polychrome bison painted on the cave ceiling are estimated at 14,000-20,000 years old. The discovery was initially dismissed as a hoax — the art was considered too sophisticated for prehistoric people — and the discoverer, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, died before his work was vindicated.
Santillana itself grew around the relics of Santa Juliana (Saint Juliana), a 4th-century martyr from Nicomedia whose remains arrived here in the early medieval period. The Colegiata was built to house them and became the nucleus of the village. The town was never large, but the nobility who settled here built the stone mansions that give it its current character. Jean-Paul Sartre allegedly called it 'the prettiest village in Spain' — a quote attributed so widely it may well be apocryphal, but the sentiment is hard to argue with.
The path through Santillana is well marked with wooden plaques on the stone walls, but they may be difficult to see with the crowds. If you get as far as the CA-131 you have gone too far, turn back and veer to your left towards the main square. The camino passes the nearby Santillana campsite, climbing up to Arroyo before descending into Oreña.
Accommodation in Santillana del Mar.
| Albergue El Convento 17€ 64 |
| Camping Santillana |
| B&B Posada Santa Juliana ⭑ Booking.com |
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| Albergue Gándara 14-17€ 10 Booking.com |
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