Of course you can´t miss the beaches! They are located quite close the city centre in a part of the city called the Sardinero. This was created in the 19th century as a way to enjoy the sun and the sea. Even the Spanish Royal Family spent their summer in the city in the 20s and they had a beautiful palace in the Magadalena Peninsula, now open to the public. It´s an expensive part of the city and of course it´s full of tourists specially if the sun is shinning.
You can take a city bus or walk to arrive to the Sardinero and its beaches. If you are tired or you are too lazy, take a city bus from the Post office stop or the Town hall stop. There are a lot of buses but one of the best is the number 1 because it takes you to the last beaches. Anyway if you plan to use the city bus very often , you should buy a bus card and charge it with some money, you can buy it in some newsagents in the city, each time you get in you pass it and it is cheaper than buying tickets to the bus driver.
But if you prefer walking you have three options to arrive at the Magadalena Peninsula. The first one is the Castellar Str.and go along the sea, behind the Palacio de Festivales, until the Peligros beach. Then you can walk along the beach or use the wooden plaform to the Bikini beach next to Magadalena Peninsula. The second option is the Reina Victoria Avenue, it´s quite nice but in some places you can´t have good views because of the trees, you will arrive without problems to Magdalena Peninsula. The third option is to choose the Menéndez Pelayo Str., where there are still some old houses and it has trees along the street. Then you take the Perez Galdos Str. where where you can have a coffee in the Royal Hotel but be careful it is a bit expensive and it hasn´t got any views. You will arrive close to the Magdalena Peninsula if you follow the Perez Galdos Str.
SARDINERO
When you are in the Sardinero, a good option is walking along the beaches and relaxing in the gardens, be careful this is an expensive place but with a lot of charm and the beaches are fantastic.You can walk until the Mataleñas garden and even if you take a path that starts behind some apartments, you will border the Mataleñas Park following the cost line and arrive to one small cove, Los Molinucos Beach. In case that you aren´t tired you can continue walking to the Mataleñas lighthouse where there is another small beach called Mataleñas.
MAGDALENA PENINSULA
Another option to enjoy the Sardinero atmosphere is visiting the Península de la Magalena on foot or using a tourist bus called the Magdaleno. Impressive views! You shouldn´t miss the Royal Palace just in the middle of the Peninsula. It´s used in the summer for university courses but sometimes you can visit it if you reserve in the tourist office. A good place for a coffee is the Magadalena Balneario, take the Horadada Str., at the right of the Royal Tennis Club just outside the main entrance of the Peninsula, and you will find this beautiful coffeehouse to take a drink or eat something just next to the beach.
UNILANG IDIOMAS, SPANISH COURSES IN SANTANDER
