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SantanderCulture & history

Our most recommended Santander Culture & history

Santander: Picos, Santo Toribio Monastery and Potes Day Tour

1. Santander: Picos, Santo Toribio Monastery and Potes Day Tour

Depart from Santander and head toward Liébana. You will love this region of Cantabria where the landscape is dominated by mountains, forests, and rivers. On the way, prepare to be impressed when crossing the Hermida Gorge, one of the longest gorges in Spain. The first stop will be to visit the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, a holy place for Christianity that houses the Lignum Crucis, the largest preserved piece of wood from the cross of Jesus. After this very special stop, continue the trip towards Fuente Dé, where there is the cable car station to go up to Picos de Europa. Enjoy at least 1 hour and 30 minutes of free time there to enjoy the place, take the cable car, or embark on a horseback riding experience around the area (optional). If you take the cable car, the trip will only last 4 minutes and will take you to a height of 1,823 m above sea level. The views from there are just breathtaking. Finally, arrive in Potes, the capital of Liébana and considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, with its cobbled streets, bridges, and medieval tower, Torre del Infantado. Take a short walking tour of the town and you enjoy free time for lunch and for shopping in one of its many souvenir shops.

From Santander: Santillana del Mar & Altamira Museum Tour

2. From Santander: Santillana del Mar & Altamira Museum Tour

Depart from Santander at 9:30 AM and head to Santillana del Mar, a beautiful village of the Middle Ages. This village with is one of the best-known cultural and tourist centers of Cantabria. You will enjoy a walking tour along its cobbled streets until you reach its Plaza Mayor where you will see the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana. There you will visit the museum of the local sculptor Jesús Otero. Afterward, you will have some free time to visit the Collegiate if you wish and do some shopping around. Afterward, you will head to the Altamira Museum. This museum houses a scale replica of the 'room of paintings', the so-called Neocave. This cave was declared World Heritage by Unesco in 1985. To protect its preservation, it currently allows only 5 people to visit it per week and this is the reason they created this replica from the cave. The cave is a natural cavity in the rock, with paintings dated from 35,600 years ago and it stands as one of the most important pictorial and artistic cycles of prehistoric paintings int he world.

From Santander: Lakes of Covadonga Guided Day Trip

3. From Santander: Lakes of Covadonga Guided Day Trip

Asturias is the region that has it all. Find out why they say that paradise is in Asturias on a full-day trip that takes you past its blue lakes, green hillsides, and stunning coastline. Marvel at the mountains of Covadonga and learn the secrets that they hold. The tour starts from Santander and takes you past many Asturian and Cantabrian treasures. Learn about the history of this region as you drive into Covadonga Mountain National Park and up to Mirador de Entrelagos – the viewpoint between 2 lakes – where you'll take in Ercina and the Enol below. After visiting the Lakes of Covadonga, venture down to the Royal Site of Covadonga, home to the Virgen of Covadonga. Popularly known as La Santina, this site has a majestic Basilica built from stones from the surrounding mountains. The next stop is Cangas de Onís. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias, this small town is home to a charming bridge with an incredible history. Learn all about this town from your guide and snap a picture of the famous victory cross.

Santander: Santander on Fire 1941 Historic Walking Tour

4. Santander: Santander on Fire 1941 Historic Walking Tour

There are many ways to get to know Santander, the capital of Cantabria. You can visit El Sardinero, the nobility of the Magdalena, eat a Regma ice cream, or visit one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Now, do you know what is really behind all this?  To understand Santander, you must understand its historic center and the history of the great fire of 1941, the catastrophe that razed much of the city. See how Santander has been rebuilt into the city known today on a tour which highlights the locations most significant to the fire. A story full of intrigue, decay, anonymous heroes, and fire and destruction wherever you look. It's promised that you'll never see the streets of Santander the same way again after a couple hours with your extremely knowledgable guide.

From Santander: Pilgrimage Day to Santo Toribio

5. From Santander: Pilgrimage Day to Santo Toribio

At 9:00am leave Santander for Potes, the capital of Liébana region. To get there you will cross the impressive gorge of the Hermida, part of a set of narrow gorges along the river Deva. Once in Potes, you will have the opportunity to do a short walking pilgrimage to the Monastery of Santo Toribio, 3 km from the village. This walk is roughly 45 minutes. The Monastery of Santo Toribio is, along with Santiago, Rome and Jerusalem, one of the holiest Christian sites, as it is host to the longest piece of the cross on which Jesus Christ died. The Monastery is also well known for celebrating the Jubileum regularly (the next Jubilee Year will be in 2023). It was Holy Toribio of Astorga, custodian of the relics of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, who transferred a piece of the Cross to Astorga, city of which he was Bishop. This relic was transferred then to Liebana by Christians who wanted to keep it safe from the Muslims who had started the invasion of the peninsula. This place was also a place of pilgrimage, with its own identity due to the curative and miraculous powers attributed to the remains of the Saint of Astorga and to the Relic itself. Once you arrive in Potes, you will have the opportunity to walk the last part of the Lebaniego Way, this is the 3 km route that separates Potes from the Monastery, and attend the Pilgrim's mass at 12:00pm. After the mass, visit the chapel of San Miguel from where you will enjoy beautiful views of Picos de Europa before going back to Potes for lunch. The menu includes a “Cocido Lebaniego”, a stew of chickpeas and meat. This is the perfect local dish to recharge your energy. However, should you prefer another menu, please advise upon booking this tour. In the afternoon you will visit San Sebastian de Garabandal, a small village in the mountains where there were appearances of Virgin Mary from 1961 to 1965. You will have the opportunity here to walk up to the "Sanctuary of Los Pinos", the main place where the Virgin appeared. After the tour, enjoy comfortable transport back to Santander.

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What people are saying about Santander

Overall rating

5.0 / 5

based on 2 reviews

This is a great day trip, helped by the fantastic weather (a bit too hot for me, but better than rain and low cloud in the mountains). Jairo was friendly and informative, particularly on nature and ecology. We had an all English-speaking group and there were 6 of us plus Jairo in a 7 seater vehicle. The cable car ride is an extra cost but absolutely worth it and the highlight of the day. Good value for money.

A very complete excursion for a very good price, tight schedules to be able to make all the visits The spectacular Gema guide, both for her professionalism and for her friendliness and kindness

Today was a wonderful day trip. Our guide was enthusiastic, informative and enjoyable. We also had sufficient time to explore on our own. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you.

Very enjoyable and complete excursion. The guide is very nice and with a sense of humor. It was worth it.

Excellent experience, Mercedes was a fantastic guide!