A walk through the Puebla Vieja (the old name for the Cathedral area) brings history to life and has little to do with its original image. Wars, fires, and other incidents have marked this ancient area.
1. Cathedral and Church of El Cristo
Originally built as the Abbey of San Emeter, it was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1931.
2. Plaza de las Atarazanas
Located at the foot of the Cathedral, in the 15th century it was a shipyard area as the sea used to reach here.
3. Bank of Spain
There used to be a castle of the times of King Alfonso VIII on this site which survived until the 20th century with numerous changes. It was in that century that the building known as the Bank of Spain was built.
4. Plaza de Alfonso XIII
Known as the Plaza de las Farolas, it contains two of the most emblematical buildings of the Cantabrian capital: the Post Office and the Bank of Spain.
5. Jardines de Pereda Gardens
Inaugurated in 1905 under the name of the El Muelle Gardens, which went on to be called the Pereda Gardens in 1911 when a monument to the Cantabrian writer José María de Pereda was erected here.
6. Paseo Pereda
Parallel to the Jardines de Pereda runs the Paseo with the same name. Its stately buildings facing the sea, which include the Banco Santander, constitute one of the most important artistic treasures of the city.
7. Banco Santander
Designed in 1875 by Atilano Rodríguez and renovated in 1945 by Javier González de Riancho, the building has over forty balconies of wrought iron and stone. It is crowned by four statues representing the arts, culture, trade, and navigation. On the lower floor there is a large frieze representing banking protecting industries, blast furnaces, mining, and sports. The two façades of the building are divided by a large arch and an underground gallery.
8. Plaza de Porticada
It originated after the fire of 1941. The plaza saw the establishing in 1952 of the International Music and Dance Festival of Santander with the promotion of Ataúlfo Argenta and José Manuel Riancho, the first director of the festival.
