Spain – Cantabria – Santillana del Mar (En)

From Basque Country, we went to the Cantabria region, to a town called Santillana del Mar, known for its medieval towers, Renaissance palaces and the Romanesque Santa Juliana Collegiate Church. Southwest of town, the National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira focuses on prehistoric life and art discovered in the nearby Cave of Altamira. I have been in the cave when I was small with my parents, but now it is closed to the public and you can only see the Museum with replicas of the cave.

We parked in a motorhome area with electricity and filled and waste of water for 16 euros, next to the Collegiate Church, just 3 minutes from the town. We stayed two nights as the town is small but it has a lot to see with several museums. On the first day, we went to see the beautiful town with stone streets and houses. We saw the Collegiate Church, several squares and palaces and Jesus Otero Museum. Jesus Otero was a sculptor who donated his art to the town.

We went to one of the many restaurants in the town to have lunch. We shared chorizo in a cider salsa and cachopo which is a beef fillet stuffed with different things. We ate one stuffed with serrano ham and cheese. Yummy!

The next day we went to see the rest of the town. They do tours by horse and pony for children and we saw the Museum of torture of the Holy Inquisition. We finished the day eating lemon and mandarin ice cream.

Thanks to the town of Santillana for thinking of the motorhomes and offering an area to stay. The town is amazingly beautiful and we recommend visiting it if you are in the area. And from here we went to the Asturias region known for its cheeses, beans and cider!