Santander, Port municipality in northern Spain
Santander is a port town on the northern Spanish coast that stretches along the bay of the Cantabrian Sea, surrounded by wooded hills. Beaches lie both in the city center and further east, where residential neighborhoods alternate with parks and promenades.
The settlement grew in the Middle Ages around a fishing harbor and received city status in 1755 after trade relations with overseas ports had been established. A large fire destroyed much of the historic center in 1941, after which urban planners built wide avenues and residential blocks according to contemporary design.
The 13th-century cathedral houses the remains of the two patron saints in its lower church, where locals visit even outside festival times. Streets in the port district carry names of merchant ships that once sailed to the Americas, and restaurants serve fish prepared according to regional recipes from Cantabrian cuisine.
Buses and suburban trains connect beaches, residential areas and the railway station at short intervals, while ferries from the port terminal travel to other cities around the bay. Many paths are flat and suitable for walking, but steep lanes lead to higher neighborhoods with stairs.
In the western part of town sits a small lighthouse on a headland from which fishermen sometimes cast their lines directly from shore. The narrow side streets in the older district still keep paving from the years after reconstruction, running between the newer buildings.
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