Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a historic town in Cantabria, often described by the phrase tres mentiras (three lies) attributed to Jean-Paul Sartre: it is neither holy (santa), nor flat (llana), nor by the sea (del mar). Despite the wit of the description, the town is one of the most completely preserved medieval urban ensembles in Spain, with cobbled streets, Romanesque collegiate church, and Renaissance noble houses forming a coherent historic landscape.

The Colegiata de Santa Juliana, a twelfth-century Romanesque collegiate church containing the relics of Saint Juliana, is the spiritual and architectural centrepiece of the town. The church’s carved capitals and portal are among the finest examples of Cantabrian Romanesque sculpture.

The Altamira cave, two kilometres outside the town, contains the most famous prehistoric cave paintings in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose polychrome bison and figures date to around 36,000 years ago. A reproduction in the adjacent Museo de Altamira allows access without damaging the originals. For pilgrims on the Camino del Norte, Santillana del Mar is one of the most celebrated and unmissable stops.