Santillana del Mar and Altamira
A few kilometres inland, Santillana del Mar is one of the best-preserved and well-kept examples of a medieval village which can be seen today. These historical surroundings take us back through the centuries, to the times of the hegemony of the Marquesses of Santillana, who created around them families of noblemen whose rich coats of arms can be seen on the front of the stately houses. The medieval streets lead towards one of the highlights of Cantabrian architecture: the romanic collegiate church of Santa Juliana with its magnificent cloister. Following the y-shaped layout of the village, we can first follow the longer arm formed by a street which, with different names (Carrera, Cantón and Calle del Río), leads down to the church square at the entrance to the collegiate church; on either side we pass fine houses such as that of the villa family (Los Hombrones) and those of the Bustamante, Quevedo and Cossio families. The return journey along the shorter arm takes us into the Ramón Pelayo square, dominated harmoniously by the towers of Don Borja and the Merino and the houses of Aguila and La Parra.
Following along Juan Infante street, the splendid houses of the Estrada, the Velarde and the Tagle families stand as silent witnesses to the passage of time and history. Typical of this harming village are the peace and silence of the winter months, the street stalls selling milk and "bizcocho" (traditional sponge cake) and the hay-carts still drawn along the streets by horses and mules.
Altamira
Altamira, not far from Santillana, is the site of the most important examples of quaternary cave paintings, scenes of bison and deer painted by cave-dwellers of the Paleolithic Period. Visits to the cave are nowadays strictly controlled to prevent deterioration of the paintings.
