In addition to enjoying the landscape and outstanding geological features of Costa Quebrada in the open air, we encourage you to visit our museums. Whether you are interested in learning more about local history and culture, nature, the evolution of education, or the remarkable prehistoric past of the region and its close connection with geology, you will find answers in a network of high-quality museums and exhibitions. These institutions offer a deeper and more enriching immersion into the spirit of Costa Quebrada.

Altamira has often been described as the Sistine Chapel of Cave Art. Its extraordinary scientific and cultural significance makes it one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world. In recognition of this value, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. This designation was extended in 2008 to include other outstanding caves in northern Spain, such as El Pendo, in order to place Altamira within a broader context and enhance our understanding of prehistoric life and material culture in Europe.

Altamira is also the most iconic cave with prehistoric rock art. The discovery of its paintings in 1879 marked a turning point in the study of European parietal art, previously unknown. In a famous controversy that was not resolved until 1902, the scientific community initially rejected the authenticity of the paintings, until new discoveries in France confirmed their prehistoric origin.

The museum was established in 1924 and houses the collections resulting from decades of research campaigns carried out at the site. After the original cave was closed to the public in 1977 for conservation reasons, it was reopened to a very limited number of visitors until the inauguration of the current museum in 2002.

That same year, the exact replica of the famous Polychrome Ceiling was completed. This spectacular gallery faithfully reproduces the original reliefs of the cave, which were skillfully used by prehistoric artists to give volume and realism to the paintings. The bison ensemble is particularly noteworthy, accompanied by depictions of deer, wild boar, goats and horses.

A complementary visit to the MUPAC is highly recommended, as it displays an outstanding collection of decorated objects from the Paleolithic period.

This spacious and modern museum houses one of the richest and most important collections of Paleolithic portable art in the world. It brings together archaeological finds from caves across the region, several of which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage designation led by Altamira.

A visit is strongly recommended to complement tours of Cantabrian caves, particularly El Pendo, as the museum exhibits the remarkable collection of artifacts discovered there.

Of particular interest are the Lower Paleolithic stone tools associated with Homo neanderthalensis, most of which come from open-air sites within the Costa Quebrada territory, as well as the enigmatic Asturian picks from the Epipaleolithic period.

These exceptional collections are complemented by archaeological evidence that allows visitors to trace the prehistory and history of the Cantabrian people, from Roman times and the legendary resistance of Iron Age communities to the Middle Ages.

Although a new headquarters is planned for the future, the museum is currently located in the historic Mercado del Este building.

This popular museum invites visitors to explore the Cantabrian Sea, the history of its people and the development of maritime technology that made the first transatlantic voyages possible from the 16th century onwards.

Its exhibitions address ocean dynamics, humanity’s relationship with the sea, fishing traditions and naval techniques, the historical importance of the Cantabrian coast, marine biology and ecology, and the history of oceanographic science.

The collection has a long historical background, with some holdings dating back to the 18th century. Its origins lie in the Santander Biological Station and the Naval Museum of the Royal Shipyard of Guarnizo. The former, founded in 1886, was Spain’s first marine biology facility and later evolved into the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), established in 1914.

The museum features a carefully curated exhibition area with outstanding scale models and historical reconstructions. Particularly noteworthy are the recreation of the Santander Biological Station’s original laboratory and several specimens from the earliest collections.

The aquarium section presents a variety of marine environments and species, offering an immersive experience that highlights the urgent need to protect oceans and coastlines.

If Altamira represents an outstanding example of prehistoric cave art, El Pendo offers one of the most important assemblages of portable art and ornamental objects in the Franco-Cantabrian region. For this reason, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2008 as a valuable complement.

These artifacts provide insight into the ways of life and worldviews of the cave’s successive inhabitants over the past 82,000 years, from Neanderthals to the Bronze Age. The objects recovered from the cave are currently displayed at the MUPAC.

Scientific research conducted since 1878 has made it possible to reconstruct the geographical environment of Costa Quebrada throughout this long period and to interpret changes in fauna and flora associated with major climatic fluctuations. It also sheds light on how prehistoric communities exploited coastal resources at times when sea levels were significantly lower and the shoreline lay up to 10 km further seaward.

From a geological perspective, the cave is particularly remarkable, as it represents an advanced evolutionary stage and is dominated by large blocks resulting from roof collapses.

The visit culminates with the presentation of an impressive painted frieze measuring approximately 27 metres in length, discovered in 1997. Created using a stippling technique, it depicts deer, goats and horses and appears to have been executed in a single phase around 20,000 years ago.

The museum is housed in the ancestral manor where Pedro Velarde was born, a captain of artillery and a leading figure in the uprising against Napoleonic forces in Madrid on 2 May 1808.

The restoration of the Velarde family residence is a significant example of the adaptive reuse of historic buildings for cultural purposes, anticipating in Cantabria the principles later established by UNESCO and ICOM in 1974.

From its inauguration in 1966 until 1993, the museum presented its collections as an environmental reconstruction of a late 18th-century hidalgo household. Today, it hosts the most important public collection of ethnographic heritage in Cantabria.

Today, it hosts the most important public collection of ethnographic heritage in Cantabria.

Objects have been selected for their interpretive and evocative value and are arranged thematically across eleven exhibition spaces, creating a coherent museographic narrative that highlights the defining features of rural Cantabrian life and culture.

A room dedicated to the historical figure born in the house is also preserved, offering a contrast between different social lifestyles of the period.

* Hidalgo: from hijo de algo (“son of something”), referring to the lowest rank of nobility in 17th- and 18th-century Spain.

Located in the former home of the renowned Cantabrian writer José María de Pereda, built in 1872, the Museum of the School is dedicated to preserving Spain’s educational heritage and researching the historical evolution of schooling.

It houses a rich documentary archive for pedagogical, historical and sociological research, as well as an extensive collection of educational objects and materials that form the permanent exhibition.

Several historical classrooms have been recreated.

Together, they allow visitors to immerse themselves in the atmosphere, teaching methods and pedagogical principles of different periods:

• Early 20th-century classroom
• Classroom from the reign of Alfonso XIII
• Second Republic classroom
• Franco-era classroom
• Natural Sciences laboratory
• Poster and map gallery

This museum is particularly recommended for teachers and members of the educational community interested in gaining deeper insight into the history of schooling.

In the heart of the historic-artistic ensemble of Santillana del Mar stand two adjacent buildings, outstanding examples of 16th- and 17th-century civil architecture.

The northern building, Casa de la Parra, dates from the early 16th century and takes its name from the large vine that once adorned its façade, later replaced by the current timber-and-brick framework. It is a Gothic structure featuring two pointed-arch doorways.