Visit to the Conservas Emilia factory

A short, free visit to a factory that carries on working while you watch: how Santoña anchovies are cured, cleaned and packed. No booking: you arrive on the hour and go in if there is room. There are no sessions on Sunday; its shop on Avenida de Carrero Blanco does open.

What you see inside

Conservas Emilia is one of the anchovy canneries that keep Santoña's tradition alive, the town that made salting its industry. On the factory floor you see the real work of the day, not a re-creation: Cantabrian anchovies that have spent months in salt, the washing, the hand cleaning (sobado) and hand filleting, and the packing into tins and jars. What is done depends on the time of year and the workload, so each session may show a different stage of the process.

The company makes two lines of Cantabrian anchovy, the Oro series and the Plata series, as well as marinated anchovies (boquerones), octopus cooked in its own juices, northern tuna, ready meals and pâtés. On the way out it is easy to understand why Santoña anchovies sell for a high price: almost all the work is done by hand.

Timetable and how it works

The cannery publishes these sessions, free and without booking:

• Monday to Friday: on the hour, from 10:00 to 13:00.
• Saturday: at 11:00 and 12:00.
• Sunday: no visits.

Capacity is limited and it is first come, first served, so in August and on long weekends it is best to turn up a few minutes early. The website does not give the exact duration; allow a little under an hour including the walk round. If you are in a large group, call 942 66 32 32 beforehand, because there may not be room for everyone in the same session.

Getting there

The factory is not in the centre but on Avenida de Lons, unit 2, in the Las Marismas de Santoña industrial estate, outside the old town. The easy way is to go by car; the website gives no parking directions. The shop, on the other hand, is right in the centre, at Avenida de Carrero Blanco, 25 (942 67 16 54): if you want to buy, you can do so there afterwards, or order through its website, which ships Monday to Thursday.

What to combine it with

A morning is enough for the visit and for another side of the anchovy: the Anchovy Art Gallery, at the Ana María cannery, with a hand-cleaning demonstration and tasting, or, in season and on long weekends, the Fort of San Martín, with the town's canning history museum. Afterwards, the boat trip to the Caballo lighthouse leaves from the promenade, and for harbour fish there is El Restaurante de Pilar, above the marshes.