Santillana del Mar, the stone village and the cave of the bison.

Santillana del Mar is a village of stone houses, coats of arms and wooden balconies that grew up around a Romanesque collegiate church. Despite the name it has no sea: the coast is a few kilometres away. Two kilometres away is the Museo de Altamira, with the Neocueva, the exact reproduction of the bison cave. Both fit into a morning and an afternoon, and Comillas is twenty minutes away if you want to stretch it out.

Can you go into the Altamira cave?

Not independently. The original cave admits five people a week, 260 a year, and those who enter come from a waiting list formed in 2002 that is now closed: no new applications are accepted. Be wary of anyone selling visits to the authentic cave. What you visit is the Neocueva, a full-scale three-dimensional copy of the mouth, the area where its inhabitants lived and the ceiling of the polychromes, inside the Museo Nacional de Altamira. It is toured in groups, in about 30 minutes.

Admission costs €3, and is free for everyone on Saturdays from 14:00 and on Sundays, and always for under-18s. The museum is closed on Mondays. Free tickets are given only at the ticket office on the same day; if you go on a summer Sunday, arrive when it opens, at 9:30.

How to get there from Santander

It is 24 km, half an hour by car: the A-67 towards Torrelavega, exit for Suances and Santillana on the N-611 and, at the Barreda roundabout, the CA-131 to the village. From Asturias or from Bilbao, on the A-8, exit 234 towards Puente San Miguel and the CA-133. The museum is signposted from the motorway. Without a car, La Cantábrica runs buses from Santander and from Torrelavega; the nearest commuter-train station is Puente San Miguel, 6 km from Altamira.

Where to park

In the two large car parks at the entrance to the village: the old town is toured on foot and it is not worth taking the car in. The Museo de Altamira has its own free, supervised car park, which opens at 9:30. To go from the village to the museum you can take the car again or walk the 2 km along the signposted route.

How long do you need?

Half a day is enough for the Neocueva and a walk around the village. A whole day, to add the zoo if you are with children, or the Santa Justa beach in summer. Sleeping in the village has its reward: at night, when the buses leave, the streets are empty.

When to go

Any month. In July and August the main street fills up by mid-morning: go early or in the late afternoon. In winter and spring the village is quiet, and the museum opens just the same, Tuesday to Sunday. If you want the Neocueva for free, go on Sunday morning; if you prefer fewer people, a weekday.

What to see in the village

The walk around the village goes from plaza de Ramón Pelayo, with the town hall, the Torre del Merino and the Baroque house of the Parador Gil Blas, along calle del Cantón and calle del Río to the collegiate church of Santa Juliana. The collegiate church dates from the 12th century, on a monastery from the year 870, and its cloister of carved capitals is the best of Cantabrian Romanesque. Confirm the opening hours by phone before going.

Where to eat

Celina Bonita, on calle de la Carrera, serves market cooking and is open on Sunday lunchtimes. The Sidrería Casa Miguel, next to the collegiate church, serves sharing plates with a terrace. The restaurant of the Parador Gil Blas serves cocido montañés, Santoña anchovies and quesada pasiega, and that of the Hotel Altamira has a set menu on the Cantón.