Anchovy Art Gallery

Santoña's anchovy museum is inside the Ana María cannery: it tells the story of salting in the town, shows how anchovies are cleaned by hand (the "sobado") and ends with a tasting. From Monday to Friday, the 12:30 session goes down to the factory, where you watch the craftswomen cleaning and packing. With the combined ticket, you first take a tour of the town on the tourist train.

What the visit includes

General admission gives access to the Santoña Anchovy Museum, to any temporary exhibitions on at the time and to the building itself, which the company presents as a work of contemporary architecture. A video explains the anchovy process, from salting to the tin, and then there is a live demonstration of the sobado, the manual work of cleaning the fillets of skin and bones, followed by a tasting.

The 12:30 session, Monday to Friday, adds a visit to the working factory, where anchovies and tuna are prepared. It depends on the working day, so on public holidays or days without production there may be no factory; if it is what interests you most, ask beforehand.

Prices

Children under 5 enter free on all options. The tourist train leaves from the Carnival monument, at Calle Almirante Carrero Blanco, 25, and tours the best-known places in Santoña with a cultural and historical audio guide. The website does not publish group rates or the exact duration of each option; the gallery visit takes around an hour.

Booking and getting there

Tickets are bought on the website: you choose a date and check the available times, which are not published openly. The website itself encourages booking in advance, especially in summer and on long weekends. For questions, the phone and WhatsApp number is 644 668 848.

The gallery is at Calle Baldomero Villegas, 19, in Santoña. The website gives no information on parking or accessibility; if you are coming with a wheelchair or pushchair, call beforehand.

What to combine it with

If you are interested in anchovies, compare it with the visit to Conservas Emilia, which is free and needs no booking, or with the canning history museum at the Fort of San Martín on its opening days. For shopping, the Conservas Emilia shop also opens on Sunday. And if you have the afternoon free, the boat trip to the Caballo lighthouse leaves from the promenade.