Santander, Spain

Santander is a Spanish city on the Bay of Biscay, the hospitable capital of the province of Cantabria, home of a Catholic diocese. 
With its strategic geographical position, Santander is both a port and a resort town, one of the main holiday centers of northern Spain, as well as a center of international exhibitions and congresses. The special charm of the city comes from the ideal environment in which dockers and elegant shoppers, port pubs and elite cafes merge and combine in a balanced way - an overflowing from murky to shiny appearance, which in no way can be called intrusive. On the contrary, Santander is a favorite destination of many tourists, especially visitors from Britain and Ireland.
The architectural style of the city contributes a lot to this - the majority of Santander is built in styles from the late XIX and early XX centuries. Recently, the city became famous over the controversial issue of the demolition of the last remaining statue of General Franco in Spain. The scales tipped in favor of the historical heritage and it was decided to move it to the future Museum of Cantabria.
Like any resort town, Santander has its own resorts and historical and architectural landmarks. El Sardinero, separated from the city by the Magdalenas Peninsula, is an example of an elegant resort on the coast of the city, a paradise for tourists. Above it rises the Palacio Real or the Royal Palace from the XIX century. It was built by the inhabitants of the city as a gift to King Alfonso XIII and his wife Victoria Eugenia.
Stepping into the central part of the city, the visitor's gaze is attracted by the Cathedral. Extremely interesting are the transparent floor in one part of the cathedral - an old church from the XIII century, under which you can see archeological excavations of a Roman settlement and ancient churches, and the Baptismal dome, used for ritual washing in the former mosque.
Other embodiments of 19th- and 20th-century architectural styles include the richly decorated Coreos Post Office, the Palacete del Embarcadero /Breakwater House/, and the Museo de Maritimo and Museo de Prehistory and Archeology Maritime Museum, which tells with its rich collections about Cantab's historical past.
The local university is also a very interesting architectural building, one of the oldest on the Spanish Atlantic coast. The most attractive creation of architecture, however, is the casino with the appearance of a multi-storey cake, located above the beaches.