Santander is the capital of Cantabria, a handsome port city on the northern coast of Spain facing the Cantabrian Sea. It has a distinguished, slightly old-fashioned elegance — wide seafront boulevards, a long beach at El Sardinero, and a string of civic buildings that speak to its past as a summer resort for the Spanish royal family.
The city was largely rebuilt after a catastrophic fire destroyed much of the old town in 1941, so what you see today is mostly mid-20th century. The highlights are the Cathedral, partly Gothic and partly rebuilt after the fire; the Palacio de la Magdalena, the royal summer palace set on a wooded peninsula above the sea; and the Gran Casino del Sardinero, which anchors El Sardinero's long beachfront. The Centro Botín, a striking museum of contemporary art designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 2017, juts out over the bay on stilts and has given the city a new cultural identity. Santander is an excellent base for exploring the caves, beaches, and fishing villages of Cantabria.