Spanish courses in Santander

Excursions

The Paseo de Pereda is a magnificent boulevard that separates the coast from the city with its delicious buildings, terraces and gardens. The cathedral of the XIII century, one of most ancient building of the city, is sited in this zone. Inside it is possible to admire the tomb of Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo, realized by Victorio Macho. In the Crypt of El Christ have been discovered several rests of the Roman Age.

The port and El Sardinero

On the other side of the Garden of Pereda, you can admire the Banco de Santander and the Palace of the Embarcadero, from which you can enjoy a fantastic view on the whole bay. In this bay there is the Porto Chico, centre of the navy command and several linked constructions.

In this zone it is possible to admire the most typical aspect of Santander: its beautiful buildings in front of the sea. The most important one is the Palacio de Festivales, planned by Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza, that is the centre of the prestigious Festival Internacional de Santander.

The Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology accommodates a lots of Palaeolithic rests and it is one of the best European collections of this type. The Maritime Museum of The Cantábrico, entire dedicated to the sea, will allow you to discover the Gulf of Guascogna, from its marine biology, to its maritime history until the ethnography of fishing.

Santander can boast wonderful beaches, that are also very quite and protected from the winds. Between the most famous ones we can remember los Peligros, the Magdalena and Biquinis.

El Sardinero is one of the most celebrated and crowed beach of Santander. In front of El Sardinero there are, one after the other, huge buildings like the Great Casino one, that evoke the architecture of the Belle Époque. Near El Sardinero there is also Plaza de Italy, with its terraces, particularly animated above all during summer and the Jardines de Piquío, whose rocked entrance separates the two beaches of El Sardinero.

On the peninsula that separates the old city and the beach of El Sardinero, there is the park of the Magdalena and the King Palace inaugurated in 1913 like summer residence of the king Alfonso XIII. This palace is in English style and accommodates magnificent stables and is encircled from wonderful gardens and forests. Currently, the summer courses of the prestigious Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo take place here.

Gastronomy and not only

Situated between the sea and the mountain, Santander offers a very particular gastronomy.

• From the sea there are the “ rabas ” (fried calamaries), “ bocartes rebozados ” (fried anchovies) and every type of sea fruits.
• From its lands there is the excellent meat cow, the base of one of the most typical plate of the entire region: the “ cocido montañés ” (a stew of veal with beans and cabbage).
• Between the desserts, absolutely you can’t lose the “ quesada ” (the sweet with cheese) and the “ sobaos pasiegos ” (with butter, flour and eggs).