Santander is a small city (about 180 thousand population) in the north of Spain. He is the capital of Cantabria Province. In Santander, there are a number of museums that would be interested to visit tourists.
In my article I would like to tell about several museums of this city, who left me positive impressions.
Maritime Museum
The marine museum is located on the bay. His visit can be recommended to everyone who is interested in marine biology and sea in general. The exposition of the museum takes more than 3.2 square meters.
This museum is one of the largest museums on the territory of all Spain dedicated to the sea and maritime inhabitants. The museum tells visitors about the marine life, as well as the relationship between a person with the sea throughout human history.
Exposition
The exhibition is divided into four parts - life in the sea (that is, marine biology), fishermen and fishing, cantabria and the sea in history (that is, a maritime history) and maritime progress.
Life in the sea (marine biology)
This part of the exposition is represented in the form of aquariums that clearly demonstrate to all the wishing to the marine flora and fauna. The volume of all the aquariums of the museum exceeds a million liters.
Fishermen and fishing
The sections dedicated to fishermen and fisheries are told about fishing boats, various adaptations, with the help of which fishing a lot of centuries ago and with which fish in our time, the exhibition also shows visitors the life of fishermen, fish storage options and tells about its sale.
Cantabria and the sea in history
Since ancient times, the sea was part of human life and had a huge impact on the life of the inhabitants of coastal areas. In such cities, ports arose, trade was actively going, which ultimately led to their dynamic development. In this part of the exposition, we are talking about the organization of ports, about marine battles, piracy, trade and marine expeditions.
Naval Progress
Here you can get acquainted with the development of marine, as well as naval technology, consider various types of ships and find out which navigation systems were used earlier, and which are used now.
Opening hours and ticket costs
The museum is open to visiting all the days of the week, except Monday.
In the summer period (i.e. from May 2 to September 30), the museum works from 10 am to 19:30 pm, and in the winter (respectively, from October 1 to April 30), it can be visited from 10 am to 18 pm. In addition, the museum is closed to visit 24, 25 and December 31, as well as on January 1 and 6.
The ticket is completely inexpensive - for an adult it will cost 8 euros, and with a discount - at 5 euros (discounted tickets are sold to children from 5 to 12 years old, older people over 65 years old (in this case it is possible to have a document certifying the identity ), disabled people and owners of a youth card (that is, people from 12 to 26 years). Entrance for children up to 5 years is free.
Now I would like to tell a little about my own impressions from this museum. He is not very big, I personally had two with a little clock to get around it completely. The aquarium is also not very big, in Valencia in the city of art, for example, it is much more. From the exposition I liked the skeleton of a huge whale, he very impressed the children. There are in the museum and small documentaries, by the way, the sounds of the sea are noise of waves, birds screaming, etc. also create an atmosphere.
In the museum building there is a panoramic restaurant where you can have a snack if you are hungry. Prices there, of course, higher than in urban cafes.
In my opinion, the museum is not bad for visitors with children - he is not huge, so children will be able to withstand this campaign. By the way, it was after visiting this museum a daughter of my friendly interested in the sea, the sea inhabitants and generally decided to become a maritime biologist.
An adult museum can also be interesting, especially those who do not plan to spend there all day, but counts on a less short visit.
Museum of Ancient History and Archeology
As you could have already guess the name, archaeological collections are presented in the museum - there you can see archaeological objects found by scientists, which represent different periods of human development history in the province of Cantabria.
The exposition of the museum covers the period from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages.
Of course, the collection of this museum is designed to a greater extent on those who are interested in history or archeology (or both and others). To whom the story does not attract at all, the museum will surely seem boring. The same, who is interested in history, will probably like it there.
As well as the previous museum, the Archaeological Museum is not very big, I was able to bypass it in a couple of hours (at the same time I read the explanations under the exhibits, and not just went around the halls).
By the way, the signatures are presented on three languages - Spanish, English and French (apparently, this is due to the fact that this region is located near France). In Russian, alas, the signs are not presented, but if you own one of the three languages above, then you will understand everything.
Opening hours and ticket costs
In the period from June 16 to September 15, the museum is open to visiting from 10:30 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:30. From September 16 to June 15, you can get there from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00.
The museum is closed to visit on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The price of the entrance ticket is 5 euros per person, for children from 4 to 12 years old - 2 euros, children under 4 years old entrance is free.
The Archaeological Museum is located at Calle (that is, the street) Hernan Cortes, 4.
Lighthouse
In the city center there is an old lighthouse, which was built in the 19th century. It rises above sea level more than 90 meters. Now he does not work, there is a center of arts. To be honest, I would not call him the center, rather there is a small exhibition. Basically, pictures and pictures depicting lighthouses are presented. The situation inside is quite modest, but among paintings and drawings there are very curious (in my opinion). From there, there is also a magnificent view of the ocean, there are also viewing platforms from which you can make excellent photos for memory.
