Cantabria

Cantabria is a region on the northern coast of Spain, considered part of Green Spain for its maritime climate. It's bordered to the west by Asturias and to the east by the Basque Country. South across the mountains is Castile and León, on the dry plateau more typical of mainland Spain.

43°5′42″N 3°55′12″W

Map of Cantabria

• 43.466667-3.81 Santander is a seaside resort, university town, transport hub and capital of the region.
• 43.414-3.412 Laredo is the fishing village that gave its name to the towns on the Texas / Mexico border.
• 43.384444-3.2153 Castro Urdiales is a small seaside resort.
• 43.350556-4.0491674 Torrelavega is industrial and commuter belt for Santander.
• 43.393333-4.1047225 Santillana del Mar is a picturesque medieval village.
• 43.387-4.2896 Comillas was a 19th century holiday resort for the aristocracy, so it has many fine buildings.
• 43.385-4.47 San Vicente de la Barquera has an imposing medieval church and castle, but the main draw is Oyambre National Park, with pristine beaches and dunes.
• 43.002-4.1388 Reinosa is mostly modern but is a base for exploring the southern hills.

• 43.21-4.841MISSING WIKILINK Picos de Europa National Park is a popular destination for hikers and trekkers
• 43.189202-3.5689492 Soba Valley has the waterfalls of Gándara River and Asón River.
• 43.35-3.8522223 Cabárceno Nature Park is 15 km from Santander in an old iron extraction mine, in the town of Cabárceno.
• 43.2275-3.857784 Valles Pasiegos has picturesque mountains, hiking trails & rural villages.

Cantabria belongs to Green Spain, the name given to the strip of land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains, so called because of its particularly lush vegetation, due to the wet and moderate oceanic climate.

The climate is strongly influenced by Atlantic Ocean winds trapped by the mountains; the average annual precipitation is about 1,200 mm (47 inches). Due to the gulf stream, Cantabria and the rest of "Green Spain" have a much more temperate climate than might be expected for its latitude, which is comparable to that of Oregon. The region has a humid oceanic climate, with warm summers and mild winters. Snow is frequent in the higher zones of Cantabria between the months of October and March. Some zones of Picos de Europa, over 2,500 metres high, have an alpine climate with snow persisting year round. The driest months are July and August.

Santander Airport (SDR ^IATA) has Ryanair flights from various cities in west Europe, Britain and Ireland. Iberia fly from Madrid, and Vueling fly from Barcelona.

Renfe trains run 5 times a day from Madrid Chamartín via Segovia, Valladolid and Palencia to Reinosa, Torrelavega and Santander.

A slow Cercanias train trundles twice a day from Bilbao to Santander, but the line further west to Oviedo has been lost.

Britanny Ferries sail to Santander from Portsmouth year round, and from Plymouth Mar-Oct.

From Madrid follow A-6 north past Valladolid towards Reinosa and Santander.

A-8 is the coastal motorway from the French border and Bilbao to Santander and onward to Oviedo.

Since many interesting places are outside Santander in small villages in the countryside a car is useful. Alternatively public buses are available to larger towns. Frequent public buses are available between Santander and Bilbao. The Alsa company has bus lines between Santander and the main cities of Cantabria.

The Cercanias lines cross the Cantabrian territory in the shape of a "T". The southern branch goes to Palencia passing through Torrelavega and Reinosa. The east branch goes to Bilbao, passing through Lierganes and Limpias. The west branch is perhaps the most attractive as it follows the course of the river Saja to Cabezon de la Sal and then passes through Unquera until it reaches Asturias.

Cantabria has sea and mountains, it is the ideal place for all kinds of trips. From the tourist who wants to spend his time on the beach where he has to choose from, with fine sand and surrounded by greenery. From Castro Urdiales (next to Vizcaya), to Unquera (next to Asturias) you can visit countless beaches.

If you want to see art, here you can find "the Sistine Chapel" of rock art, the Altamira Caves and Museum in Santillana del Mar. From Mozárabe (Lebeña), the Romanesque (Reinosa), through the Gothic (Castro Urdiales) to monumental buildings of Catalan modernism (Comillas).

If you like the mountains, you are also in the right place, you can visit the Picos de Europa on the border with Asturias.

• Monte el Castillo Caves
• Covalanas Caves
• El Pendo Caves
• Hornos de la Peña Caves
• El Soplao Caves
• Roman spa in Camesa Rebolledo
• Cabárceno Nature Park and Zoo

You can surf at the beaches of Somo, Los Locos in Suances near Torrelavega and Meron in San Vicente de la Barquera.

Cantabria's canned fish is very famous. If you visit Santoña, be sure to buy its appreciated Cantabrian anchovies, you can find them canned or semi-preserved in glass jars. You will also find bonito del norte and even salads with seafood.

In the inland valleys, craftsmanship is of excellent quality, both in ceramics, fired clay and wood.

In pastries you can find exquisite sweets, such as Corbatas from Unquera, Quesada pasiega, Sobaos pasiegos (in the Pas valley) and Pantortillas de Reinosa among others.

Milk: in its time it was highly appreciated and of excellent quality, but nowadays it is difficult to find fresh milk. In Santillana del Mar in the arcades next to the collegiate church you can taste boiled milk (to avoid health problems) with homemade sponge cake.

Taste the Orujo of the region.

If you are coming from the Basque Country the logical continuation is to go to Asturias. Just follow the coastline westwards.