Santillana del Mar Travel Guide

29km (18 miles) SW of Santander, 393km (244 miles) N of Madrid

Jean–Paul Sartre called the Cantabrian town of Santillana del Mar “the prettiest village in Spain,” and we wouldn’t dispute his judgment. Among the most perfectly preserved medieval villages in Europe, Santillana is now a Spanish national landmark. A monastery houses the relics of Santa Juliana, an Asia Minor martyr who refused to surrender her virginity to her husband. The name Santillana is a contraction of “Santa Juliana”; the “del Mar” is misleading, however, as Santillana is not on the water but inland. Despite all the tour buses, Santillana retains its medieval atmosphere and remains to this day largely a village of dairy farming.

Santillana del Mar is the traditional base for visiting the caves of Altamira, which contain some of the most famous Stone Age paintings in the world. The caves have been closed to the public to protect them, but you can visit an amazingly faithful facsimile.