2025 , July 28 , Monday

Welcome to the website of the Posada San Telmo

Minimum Resolution 800 x 600 - Internet Explorer & Netscape 6 © Copyright  2025, Posada San Telmo

Customer service
Tel.: (+34) 942 840 054
Cellular: (+34) 696 961 588
E-mail:
reservas@posadasantelmo.com

This page is intended to offer interesting information about Cantabria, both to newcomers to our region and to its inhabitants, focusing mainly on cultural activities. Remember that if you´re calling from abroad, you should dial the Spain´s international prefix (+34) before these numbers. These are the areas covered:

Index

• Cantabria in 7 days.
• More Museums
• Papers for the client (PDF format)
• VIDEOS about CANTABRIA.

CANTABRIA EN 7 DAYS

INDEX

This article offers your our counsel on how to get to know our region, how to DISCOVER CANTABRIA IN 7 DAYS. This doesn’t mean that these are the only options, but they are indeed those we consider better in order to enjoy the environment of Cantabria and more useful considering the geographical location of the Posada San Telmo. All these routes can be complemented with activities from the field of the so-called Active Tourism, with visits to cultural centres, caves and all kinds of museums.

This section is intended as an appendix to the INTERESTING VISITS and REGIONAL GASTRONOMY sections. All the information that you can find inside them will be helpful in planning your stay in Cantabria during 3, 5 and 7 days and learning what’s fundamental about this area of Northern Spain. You can design various combinations depending of the days of your stay, but one thing we know for sure is that the following are visits you shouldn’t miss (and the order in this list doesn’t imply more or less importance):

• Jewels of Cantabria: the Neocave of Altamira, the Nature Park of Cabárceno, the Ucieda Mountains, the Cave of El Soplao and the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana.
• Interesting towns: Santillana del Mar (medieval town), Suances, Santander, Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera, Liérganes, Potes, Bárcena Mayor, Carmona.

 DAY 1: SANTILLANA DEL MAR

• In the morning: Visiting the thrilling Altamira Museum and the Zoo of Santillana del Mar. Eating in Santillana del Mar.



• In the afternoon: A walk through Santillana del Mar: the Collegiate Church of Santillana, the Diocesan Museum, the Museum of the Inquisition; a visit to the Towers of Merino and Don Borja; and, as the final treat, enjoying a good glass of milk with sobaos from the Pas Valley.

Altamira caves	Zoo of Santillana	Collegiate of Santillana	View of Santillana

 DAY 2: CABÁRCENO and LIÉRGANES

• In the morning: Visiting and enjoying the natural grandeur of the Nature Park of Cabárceno. Eating in the restaurant that can be found inside its premises.



• In the afternoon: Visiting the village of Liérganes, One last recommendation: treating yourself to a good cup of chocolate with churros in the old Spa of Liérganes is priceless!!. Another alternative is to visit Puente Viesgo, a few kilometres away.
  
  Close to Puente Viesgo you can find Monte Castillo, were a set of caves featuring prehistoric art of outstanding value can be found. These are the Caves of El Castillo (The Castle), Las Chimeneas (The Chimneys), La Pasiega (in reference to the Pas Valley) and Las Monedas (The Coins); finally, there’s one last cave, less known and more recent, La Flecha (The Arrow).
  
  This set of caves presents a great diversity of art from the Upper Palaeolithic, maybe the greatest in Cantabria, with more than 150 figures of animals and a great number of signs. The testimonies they provide, although not as impressive as those of Altamira, are practically matchless, and they’re priceless both as an archaeological site and because of their cave paintings.

Cabárceno	Cabárceno	Liérganes	Puente Viesgo

 DAY 3: UBIARCO-SUANCES

• In the morning: By choosing the route that goes form the 'Sable Beach to the Santa Justa Beach' and then on to Puerto Calderón (spectacular area of unspoiled cliffs), we can walk through one of the most beautiful and best preserved traits of the Cantabrian coast. We start our journey in La Tablía (Suances) and we walk along the edge of the coast until we arrive to Punta Ballota, following then our journey across the beaches of Sable, in Tagle, and San Telmo, until we get to the inlet and beach of Santa Justa. From that point on, we can reach the Inlet of Puerto Calderón, where the high cliffs stop us from continuing our journey; from La Tablía to this final point, there’s barely 10 km.
  
  We can eat in Tagle or in Suances, having some 'tapas', good fish, seefood, etc.
  



• In the afternoon: A walk through Suances. We can enjoy the Beach of La Concha and the fishermen’s port, the area around the lighthouse and the wonderful panoramic views from the Beach of Los Locos.


If the weather is good, we cannot fail to visit the Santa Justa Beach in Ubiarco or the beach of El Sable in Tagle.

Cliffs-Ubiarco	Puerto Calderón	Cliffs-Suances	lighthouse-Suances

 DAY 4: SANTANDER

Although Santander is not a big city, we may very well need two days to get to know it. Below you can find different routes than you can spend the whole day following (the bus n. 1 of the local transport network crosses the city lengthways and is the perfect way to move around; it can take you to all the places listed below).

• Route 1:
  We start our journey from Puerto Chico, the colourful yachting harbour in front of Calle Castelar. We walk on and by the harbour and we get to the Maritime Museum of the Cantabrian Sea (which is a really interesting place to visit). The panoramic views of the Bay are breathtaking, with Peña Cabarga and the Beach of El Puntal right in front of us.
  
  Starting here, we walk up the street until we get to the Palacio de Festivales, in order to start our walk along the Reina Victoria Avenue and to the Peninsula of La Magdalena, a magical place that will delight the children and offers panoramic views of the whole of the Bay of Santander and the famous beaches of El Sardinero.
  
  Once we have enjoyed the Magdalena, we can move on to the beaches of El Sardinero and the area of the Casino and the Piquio Gardens (which is the park dividing the so-called “first” and “second” beaches of El Sardinero). From the Piquio Gardens we can go down to the promenade by the beach and walk right to the end of it, to the Hotel Chiqui. Once we get there, we will have completed about 8 km.
  
  
  EXTENDED ROUTE 1: :
  
  CHIQUI-BEACH MOLINUCOS-CABO MENOR-MATALEÑAS-LIGHTHOUSE
  This is a wonderful journey, a couple of kilometres long, very easy and with no difficulties, that allows us to enjoy the beauty of a great environment.
  
  Once we get to the area around the Hotel Chiqui, we walk back for some 300 m and we can find, on our left, a set of stairs that will take us to the small and cosy Beach of Los Molinucos. As we walk down this path we will always have on our left the Park of Mataleñas (which we can visit through an entrance located in front of this beach), and, on our right, the sea. Once we have left the beach behind, we will still have around 500 m of straight path to walk until we get to the end, where we can find Cabo Menor. The views, the sea breeze and the peace that you can feel in this place is something cosmic, filled with good sensations. Just sit down for a while, breath deeply and let your imagination fly away. Body and mind feel instantly regenerated; soaked in positive energy, ready to go on in our journey.
  
  We still have to walk up a bit, leaving the Golf Course on our left, and take the path leading to the Mataleñas Beach (yes, that one down there!). Now we can see the Lighthouse of Cabo Mayor to our right. Once the path is ended, we take the boulevard to our right and head towards the Lighthouse, crossing the fields (from the parking lot). After having walked to the top of the hill we can find a sort of concrete bunker. If you want, you can climb it and behold the wonderful panoramic views of the coast of Santander. From that point on, there’s a small path that takes you to the Lighthouse.
  
  By the Lighthouse you can find a small bar with a lot of tables outside. Don’t think twice and sit down to enjoy a good meal while you get your strength back. “Let’s go to the lighthouse and have a vermouth and rabas”; that’s a typical phrase you’ll hear from people of Santander who like having tapas (rabas being squid rings fried in batter), something that’s even more pleasant if you have around you, as is the case, an environment of astounding natural beauty. It’s just priceless!!
  
  And now we have to go back to the starting point. During the summer, we can take the bus number 15 to get to the Lighthouse. You can take it to get back into the city, and go down in one of the two stops there are in Calle Castelar, right in front of Puerto Chico. The other alternative is to go back to the place where we found the stairs and take the bus number 1.



• Route 2:
  This route allows us to walk through the centre of the city, visiting, among others, the Town Hall Square, the Cathedral and the Plaza Porticada. All this in an area of less than 500 m2. After that, we can enjoy a good ice cream (REGMA is my favourite shop, by the way) while we stroll along the beautiful Paseo de Pereda until we get to Puerto Chico.
  
  And there we can take route 1. Maybe this is too long a journey, so we’ll have to either abandon the idea of the extended route or use a vehicle to do it (bus number 1 or the car).

 DAY 5: COMILLAS-SAN VICENTE DE LA BARQUERA

• In the morning: We head off to Comillas. Before we get there, we pass through the village of Cóbreces, where, for lovers of good cheese, buying the renowned cheese of Trapa is a must. Once we are in Comillas, we can visit its beach and its beautiful town centre, and the Gaudí´s Caprice, the Pontifical University (where we can enjoy wonderful panoramic views of the surroundings) Llimona´s Angel sculpture and the Palace of the Marquis of Sobrellano.

Comillas: Pontifical University

• In the afternoon: We arrive to San Vicente de la Barquera after having taken the road that winds up and down the coast. We visit the church and the medieval castle.



• Where to eat: If we eat in San Vicente de la Barquera, my recommendation is you have Tuna marmita or a seafood paella. If the weather is good, you can also spend the day in the Beach of Comillas, the huge Oyambre Beach (6 km away from Comillas), or the long and wonderful beaches of San Vicente de la Barquera.

Comillas	Comillas	Oyambre	San Vicente de la B.

 DAY 6: LEBEÑA, POTES, SANTO TORIBIO DE LIÉBANA and LOS PICOS DE EUROPA.

• In the morning: We visit the small church of Santa María de Lebeña, the medieval Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana and Potes, where we can eat the famous stew form the Liébana Valley (Cocido Lebaniego).



• In the afternoon: We visit Fuente Dé and take the cableway that will lift us up to the Picos de Europa. We can take a walk to the Parador de Áliva, but we have to remember that up there it is usually quite cold, and we should take warm clothes with us. We could also be lucky and enjoy a day without fog; down in the valley the weather can be good while up in the mountains it’s bad and vice versa. .

S. M. Lebeña	Potes	Sto. Toribio	Fuente Dé

 DAY 7: CUEVA DE EL SOPLAO, CARMONA, MONTES DE UCIEDA and BÁRCENA MAYOR

• In the morning: We can visit the breathtaking Cave of El Soplao and enjoy its surroundings. After that, we head towards Carmona and we have a walk around this beautiful village, where we can find local people still devoted to old works of craftsmanship, such as the carving of wooden albarcas (clogs).



• In the afternoon: We have the chance to visit the wonderful Ucieda Mountains (Saja Wildlife Reserve) and the charming village of Bárcena Mayor. On our way back to the Posada, it’s interesting to visit Cabezón de la Sal and enjoy a good coffee or tea in one of its taverns and pubs.

• Where to eat: In Carmona and Bárcena Mayor you can taste a good Mountain Stew (my favourite dish; but be careful, it’s a dish that stands for a whole meal!) and a Deer Stew. The alternative is the Ucieda Mountains, where we can just have a good sandwich (bought or prepared by ourselves), lay down on the grass contemplating the leaves of the trees (oaks, beech tress) or just have a nice walk through the mountains.

This a day packed with things to do, so if you want to enjoy everything, you’ll have to make an effort and get up early. It’s worth it!

Cave of El Soplao	Carmona	Ucienda Mountains	Bárcena Mayor

 OTHER ROUTES

• Reinosa-Fontibre-Argüeso-Alto Campoo (Very nice route)
• Laredo-Castro Urdiales
• Valle del Asón
• Alto Campoo

INDEX

 

Other MUSEUMS

INDEX

Santander:

Local Museum of Fine Arts
Rubio, 4. Tel. (+34) 942 23 94 85. Permanent exhibition of paintings and sculptures from the XV to the XX centuries. Works from the Italian, Flemish and Spanish schools of the XVII and XVIII centuries. The highlight is Goya´s "Portrait of Fernando VII". Works by prestigious Cantabrian artists. Free entrance.
Monday to Friday, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00; Saturdays, from 10:00 to 13:00.

Maritime Museum of the Cantabrian Sea
Promontorio de San Martín. Tel. (+34) 942 27 49 62. Marine biology and aquarium, fishing etnography, maritime history, traditional boats. Free admission. The animals are fed at 12:00 h.
Opening hours during the Summer: Tuesday to Saturday, from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. Holidays, from 11:00 to 14:00.
Opening hours during the rest of the year: Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00. Holidays, from 11:00 to 14:00.

Regional Prehistory and Archaeology Museum
Casimiro Sáinz, 4. Tel. (+34) 942 21 50 50. Important collection of items from the Paleolithic Era, with materials from the Caves of Altamira and Puente Viesgo. Giant Cantabrian Steles. Free admission.
Tuesday to Saturday, from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. Holidays, from 11:00 to 14:00.

Menéndez Pelayo Stately Home
Rubio, 6. Tel. (+34) 942 23 45 34. Historic and artistic monument with more than 42,000 volumes from the private library of the renowned Cantabrian writer and historian. Consultation limited to researchers. Free admission. Turns each half of an hour.
Monday to Friday, from 9:30 to 11:30.

 

Cantabria:

CILLORIGO-CASTRO
Etnographic Museum of the Liébana Valley
Manor house from the end of the XVII century with coat of arms. Wide collection of household goods, and tools for the distillation of wine and liquors, and typical rural implements from the Liébana Valley. Free admission.
Open from the 15th of July to the 15th of September, in the mornings and afternoons.

HAZAS DE CESTO
Beranga Museum of Bolos
Paintings and photographs regarding the typical Cantabrian skittles game, with exhibits showing old implements and manuscripts.
Open during the weekend, from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00.

MURIEDAS
Etnographic Cantabrian Museum - Casa Velarde
Heroes Dos de Mayo, s/n. Tel. (+34) 942 25 13 47. Typical rural Cantabrian mansion from the XVII century where Captain Pedro Velarde was born. To mention the collections of spinning tools, ancient folk furniture, fire irons, tools from traditional trades and a wide display of maps, photographs and carvings. Guided and free visit.
Opening hours during the Summer: Tuesday to Saturday, from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. Sunday and holidays, from 11:00 to 13:30.
Opening hours during the rest of the year: Tuesday to Friday, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00. Sunday and holidays, from 11:00 to 13:00.

PÁMANES
Contemporary Museum of the Elsedo Palace
Tel. (+34) 942 52 82 73. Exhibition with works from important Cantabrian painters (Solana, María Blanchard, Cossío...) and contemporary sculptures in the gardens. Free admission.
Saturday, Sunday and holidays, from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00.

SANTILLANA DEL MAR
Regional County Museum
Casonas del Águila y la Parra. Tel. (+34) 942 81 83 98. Permanent etnographic exhibition: folklore, fire irons, rural implements and traditional Cantabrian trades. Free admission.
Opening hours during the Summer: Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:30.
Opening hours during the rest of the year: Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00.

SILIÓ
Vijanera Museum
An exhibition displaying all the characters from the most ancient Cantabrian carnival: the Zarramacos, the Bear and its Master, the Zorroclocos, the Trapajón... and many old masks and costumes.

TUDANCA
Tudanca Manor House Library and Museum
Tel. (+34) 942 72 90 25. Old Cantabrian manor house from the XVIII century that belonged to the renowned writer José María de Cossío. The library contains more than 25,000 volumes, among which we must highlight the enormous quantity of manuscripts from the most important writers of the Spanish Generación del 27. Free admission.
Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:30 to 14:00.

VEGA DE PAS
Museum of the Three Towns of the Pas Valley
Tel. (+34) 942 59 41 43. Reconstruction of an old Pas Valley kitchen, and information on the physical and cultural world of the dwellers of the Pas Mountains.
Visits agreed beforehand from Tuesday to Friday. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, from 16:00 to 18:00.

INDEX

 

INFORMATION FOR OUR CLIENTS

Papers in PDF

01- Active Tourism Companies 02- Services close to the Posada 03- Emergency Phone Numbers 04- External Safety for the Visitor 05- Hill Walking through UBIARCO 06- Notions on Eco-Tourism 07- Places to Visit 08- Cantabrian Festivals 09- Neocave and Altamira Museum 10- Cabárceno Nature Park 11- Cantabria in 7 days

 

VIDEO ABOUT CANTABRIA

VIDEO YOUTUBE: Santillana del Mar, Cabuérniga


VIDEO YOUTUBE: Santander, Trasmiera


VIDEO YOUTUBE: Liébana, Picos de Europa


VIDEO YOUTUBE: Alto Campoo


VIDEO YOUTUBE: Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera


VIDEO YOUTUBE: Valle del Asón

Rural Lodgings of Cantabria: Green Tourism in Cantabria.
Bookings in the Posadas of Cantabria. Spanish Tourism.