Santander: houses facing the sea and underground tunnels (IV)

Hi Arch lovers! I return to this great community sharing another article about houses. More houses, but this time it's not in Chicago (I think I'll return to that series of articles on one of the iconic cities of architecture later). But now I want to share my vision and what I have seen on my recent trip to the north of Spain, specifically to the city of Santander.

I have already published some walks and well-known and representative places of this city located in a bay of the Cantabrian Sea, but there are still things to see, and speaking of the sea, here are spectacular houses that look out over that sea.

And we begin this new walk, in this case with a look more focused on facades and styles, design and architecture, from now on the end of Paseo de Pereda where I already told you about the Palace of Festivals, a complex building that surely the saltpeter of the sea has contributed to the bronze color turning green, giving the modern design of the building a note of color that makes it more original or bizarre.

But going forward, towards where we want to go, we start the indicated route, the entire avenue Avenida Reina Victoria. A walk along the sea, a bit from above, but if we look to the other side we begin to see an endless number of houses on the hill from which its inhabitants can contemplate the bay, the opposite coast from where some small towns can be seen, El Puntal (a spit of sand in the middle of the water), the ferries that go to El Puntal from the city, other larger ships that arrive from the UK and the beaches, even the Magdalena peninsula of which I have shared photos and phrases in my previous article from yesterday.

What stands out the most in this whole area is the variety of colors, decorations and styles, it seems to be a kind of fashion catwalk but of architecture on this occasion. Different houses seem to compete to be the one who most attracts the attention of passers-by, to be the one who receives the most flashes from the camera or to be the target of the most glances, perhaps with envy...

Here everyone decides which one they like best, whether bigger or smaller, more decorated or more sober... but there also seems to be some on the other side of the street, even closer to the sea but also other buildings even a maritime museum too. Lucky ones. Because those who live there are lucky, it is not a simple residential neighborhood, but, obviously in this case, it is an area where people with more money and power live.

In fact, there are some of these houses that are actually more like castles or palaces, and one of them undoubtedly stands out there. This brown stone castle, whose style evokes a childhood story, or some somewhat sinister setting from a movie, is the property and home of the Botín family, currently Ana Patricia Botín, who is the president of a Spanish bank. international bank that perhaps some of you know: Banco Santander.

It is the best-known family in the city, patrons of it, let's not forget that years ago her grandfather and her father were already inaugurating works in the city, like the one also mentioned in my first article about Santander, the modern Botín museum.

And there are more imposing houses, even some more castle.

And after having reached the end of Avenida Reina Victoria, we turn left and continue until we reach an essential point in the city, the Sardinero beach on the right and on the other side, another imposing building. This is the Casino, where the bourgeoisie and wealthy people of the early 20th century especially had fun during their summer stays.

Now we should go back, but not by the same path, we can take a shortcut and almost reach the center of the city again, no longer seeing the sea, this time going underground. Because just a few months ago they reopened a tunnel that was used centuries ago by the railway (1892) and now it can be used by anyone who wants to cross part of the city below and save a trip along the coast. It is the Pombo Tunnel, which welcomes us with green plants around it and cold air at its entrance, the temperature changes radically, and the air becomes cold and very humid, in fact we can see that there are leaks, that perhaps it is not yet as finished and improved as it should be, or perhaps that is simply its charm. Upon leaving, a warm breeze welcomes us in another neighborhood and from there a short walk takes us back to the central streets.

And in the center we continue looking at houses, and especially facades, some evoke Paris at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century, elegant houses with dormer roofs, where at night if we look we discover, curiously, illuminated Christmas trees … But these houses are not really that old, the fire of 1941 destroyed practically everything, so many were rebuilt later.

Also some de of them have been converted into other spaces, like the Post Office building or such as one of an intense yellow color that is now an institute (Santa Clara) where the bustling life contrasts with the serenity of its elegant architecture.

And through the streets of the center, not far from the sea, and above the ground we can continue discovering more houses, facades and even suddenly another tunnel called Pasaje de Peña, this one more modern, usually traveled by its people who rush to the the same as the vehicles that in this one can pass. It is short and simply allows two other areas to be joined without having to go further in a city with a strange layout and orography (bay and mountains in an urban space).

And who knows which side of the tunnel we will exit and what more houses, facades, castles or palaces we will discover... But we will continue discovering more details of Santander shortly.

More about Santander and its surroundings soon!

More tours and more about these days in Santander, Spain, here:

• Santander: the charm in the Cantabrian Sea (I)
• A magical tour around Christmas lights in Santander (II)
• Santander: the peninsula of the Magdalena (III)

Thanks for reading! Have a charming and nice day.

The text is totally mine, by ©Duvinca
and all the photos are mine too!

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