Santander, Spain
Santander a beautiful city In the northern Cantabria region of spain has a bit of everything, beautiful beaches, mountains, architecture galore, a huge range of shops and somewhere to eat and drink at every corner.
Looking at Santander now, It's quite hard to believe that much of the old city actually burnt down in 1941 - but what it lacks in charm it certainly makes up for in character and absolute natural beauty.
Three of us went for a 3 day/2 night trip, after cheap flights popped up on Ryanair which we booked via SKYSCANNER. We went on booking.com, booked a studio/apartment from a private host, in a great location and explored.
Nothing was to far away and we could easily book taxis via the cabify app (Spain's version of uber). We didn't use the local transport but buses were running super frequently from what we could see, so getting about really isn't a problem in Santander. And if you really want to explore and save the leg work, we spotted an hop on, hop off bus.
My top 3 must visits in Santander:
1. The Beach - If you're all about the beach life, you have 13 beaches to choose from in the Santander area alone - and that's just the tip of the iceberg as the region of Cantabria boasts another 80! With crystal clear blue waters, surfers and mountain views, we couldn't help but feel we had found a little piece of paradise.
2. Palacio de la Magdalena - After checking out some of the beaches, we explored Palacio de la Magdalena, a beautiful palace located on the Magdalena Peninsula of the city, which was built between 1909 and 1911 to house the Spanish Royal Family. The palace is absolutely stunning, but what was even more stunning was the views once up there. You can see the Cabo Mayor Lighthouse (which has been watching over the entrance to Santander Bay since 1839), mountains, cliffs... everything nature has to offer.
3. Centro Botín - We only visited from the outside due to the little time we had in Santander and the many things we wanted to do, but Centro Botín an arts center designed by Pritzker Prize-winner architect Renzo Piano, in collaboration with Luis Vidal and Architects Is located in a privileged part of Santander and uses a broader urban intervention to integrate the city center and the historic Pereda Gardens with the Bay. Again views from here are amazing and most definitely worth a visit whether going inside or not.
