Hotel Altamira restaurant

A dining room in the heart of the Cantón

The Hotel Altamira occupies a 16th-century Cantabrian manor house that belonged to Juan de Valdivielso, the town's notary, at number 1 calle del Cantón, the street that runs down from Plaza de Ramón Pelayo towards calle del Río and the collegiate church. Its restaurant serves a set menu and à la carte dishes using regional produce and recipes, in the indoor dining room or on the hotel terrace. It is handy for eating without leaving the old town: you are in the middle of the walk through the town, with no need to go back to the car.

What they cook

The hotel's website describes its cooking as regional, with a set menu and à la carte, but does not publish the menu, the dishes or the prices. For that reason we cannot recommend a particular dish: ask when you arrive what is on the set menu that day and what is on the à la carte. If you want to try Cantabrian cooking with a published menu, on the square the Parador Gil Blas restaurant details its own, with cocido montañés and quesada pasiega; for portions with cider, the Sidrería Casa Miguel is a few steps away, on calle del Río.

When to go

The restaurant's opening hours are not published and the website does not say whether it serves non-residents: call 942 818 025 to confirm it is open and to book, especially in August and on long weekends, when the town fills up. In good weather, ask for a table on the terrace; in winter, the dining room of the manor house.

Getting there

Santillana's old town is pedestrianised. Leave the car in one of the two car parks at the entrance; the one nearest the hotel is about 200 metres away, according to its website. From there you walk up the main street to the Cantón. If you come by bus from Santander or Torrelavega, see the La Cantábrica lines.

What to combine

A typical morning: visit the collegiate church and its cloister first thing, stroll along calle del Río and the square, lunch here and, in the afternoon, the Altamira Museum and the Neocave, about 4 km away, or the Santillana zoo if you are with children. With more time, Santa Justa beach, with its hermitage in the rock. If you stay the night, the hotel has 32 rural-style rooms, some of them family rooms.

The tourist office has information on opening times for the collegiate church and other places to eat.