Visit Spain > Regions of Spain > Asturias and Cantabria >Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar

- Booking.com Best Price Guarantee
- Reserve online, pay at the hotel.

Visit Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is in the Cantabria province of the Asturias and Cantabria region of Spain, 30km from Santander.

Santillana del Mar is a wonderful little town, once said by the French philosopher Satre to be 'the most beautiful town in Spain'. Built of a golden sandstone there is a wealth of churches and 15 to 17 th century mansions.

At the heart of the town is a monastery, 'La Colegiata' which was built to house the bones of Saint Juliana. The church dates back to the 12th century and has a superb Romanesque cloister.

If you can visit the town out of season (in the summer there are lots of tourists) it really is like stepping back in time. It is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe.

Visit Santillana del Mar

The main plaza, Plaza Mayor is a delight. One of the mansions on the Plaza is now a parador, the Parador Gil Blas, one of two in the town! The town hall and the Don Borja's tower and Merino's tower are all superb.

One of the best of the mansions is the Casa de los Hombrones close to the Plaza Mayor, but there are many mansions and all have interesting details.

The Colegiata is a Romanesque cathedral and contains lovely 12th century cloisters.

At the other end of the main street from the Colegiata is the Convent of the Poor Clares. This houses a good art collection which started when the nuns were encouraged to collect and restore paintings abandoned during the Civil War in Spain.

There is a small museum of torture in the village, the Museo de la Tortura, full of instruments of torture.