Santander Cathedral

Santander Cathedral featuring heritage architecture
Santander Cathedral which includes heritage architecture
Santander Cathedral featuring a pond, a statue or sculpture and a square or plaza
Santander Cathedral showing a square or plaza, heritage architecture and a statue or sculpture
Santander Cathedral


This fortress-like building is actually two churches combined and stands on a pile of Roman ruins. Inside, see religious works of art and sacred relics.

Santander Cathedral has been a dominant presence since the 13th century, an austere Gothic structure on the incline of a hill. Explore this grandiose medieval church which occupies a site that once housed Roman baths and later an abbey.

The religious complex is actually two overlapping buildings, the principal basilica and the lower parish church, now a crypt.

Start your visit in the main church building. It suffered serious damage during the devastating fire that almost destroyed Santander in 1941. Consequently, many of the altarpieces are new or come from other churches. Visit the handful of centuries-old side chapels. Study the piece of marble near the sacristy that is inscribed with carvings in Arabic. It is believed to have been taken by Cantabrian sailors during the Siege of Seville in the middle of the 13th century.

Stop by the tomb of the Santander polymath Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo who died in 1912. Browse the works of art including a copy of The Visitation, an early 16th-century painting by Raphael that depicts Mary the mother of Jesus Christ visiting her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with St. John the Baptist.

Access the lower church via the Romanesque doors. See the reliquaries that contain parts of the remains of St. Emeterio and St. Celedonio. Both were Roman legionnaires who were beheaded for professing their Christian faith. According to legend, their severed heads were brought to the city aboard a boat made of stone. Look through a glass section of the crypt's floor to see the remains of Roman thermal baths that were excavated in the early 1980s.

Enjoy a stroll around the colonnaded Gothic cloister which used to surround a secluded orange garden.

The cathedral is open daily although it closes for a few hours each afternoon. Admission is free. Arrive by bus or taxi or drive and park for a fee in nearby garages. If you are already in the center of the city, the Santander Cathedral is a short walk from other attractions such as Plaza Porticada and the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria.

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Popular places to visit


Top Santander Cathedral Hotel Deals

Hotel Bahia

Hotel Bahia

4 out of 5
C/ Cádiz, 22, Santander, Cantabria
Hotel Bahia
Hotel Santemar

Hotel Santemar

4 out of 5
C/ Joaquin Costa, 28, Santander, Cantabria
Hotel Santemar
Hotel Picos de Europa

Hotel Picos de Europa

2 out of 5
Arco Iris 2, Plaza Numancia, Santander, Cantabria
Hotel Picos de Europa
Hotel Faranda Alisas Santander, Ascend Hotel Collection

Hotel Faranda Alisas Santander, Ascend Hotel Collection

2 out of 5
C. Nicolás Salmerón 3, Santander, Cantabria
Hotel Faranda Alisas Santander, Ascend Hotel Collection
Soho Boutique Palacio de Pombo

Soho Boutique Palacio de Pombo

3 out of 5
CALLE MARCELINO SANZ DE SAUTUOLA, 2, Santander
Soho Boutique Palacio de Pombo
Hostal La Mexicana

Hostal La Mexicana

2 out of 5
Calle de Juan de Herrera, 3, Santander
Hostal La Mexicana
Eurostars Hotel Real

Eurostars Hotel Real

5 out of 5
Paseo Perez Galdos 28, Santander, Cantabria
Eurostars Hotel Real
Vincci Puertochico

Vincci Puertochico

4 out of 5
Calle de Castelar, 25, Santander, Cantabria
Vincci Puertochico
Estudios Aranzazu

Estudios Aranzazu

2 out of 5
Mies del Valle, 4, Santander, Cantabria
Estudios Aranzazu
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