Comillas offers different focal points for planning your trip: grand architecture, natural areas and coastal activities. Palacio de Sobrellano and El Capricho represent different chapters in architectural history. Around half of the municipality’s area belongs to Oyambre Natural Park, together with San Vicente de la Barquera and Valdáliga. When choosing a hotel, you can start by asking yourself whether culture, nature or water sports will shape your trip.
Architecture and protected sites
Palacio de Sobrellano and its chapel-pantheon form a monumental ensemble in the Neo-Gothic style and with Modernist aesthetics. It was designed by Joan Martorell. The chapel-pantheon was conceived as a small cathedral with an ambulatory and also serves as a family mausoleum. This building brings its architecture and its particular function as a burial place into focus together.
The palace can be visited on a guided tour that takes you through its most important rooms: the billiard room, dining room, throne room, library and the museum of the 2nd Marquis. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. This gives you a specific time frame for this activity; check the latest tour information before your visit.
Comillas itself was also designated a historic-artistic site, on 29 March 1985. Another striking building is El Capricho de Gaudí, also known as Villa Quijano. Built between 1883 and 1885, it was Gaudí’s first work outside Barcelona. Since its historic-artistic designation in 1969, it has been protected as an asset of special cultural interest. In 2010, El Capricho opened to the public as a museum. Check the latest access arrangements before your visit.
Among Comillas’s striking landscape features is the sculpture “El Ángel exterminador” by Joseph Llimona. It crowns the ruins of an old Gothic monastery. The monastery and the Palacio ensemble offer different ways to explore the town’s architectural and artistic history.
Nature: estuary, protected area and walking areas
Oyambre Natural Park is another focus for planning your trip: around half of the municipality of Comillas belongs to this protected area, together with San Vicente de la Barquera and Valdáliga. The Ría de la Rabia estuary is an ecologically valuable habitat for waterbirds. They spend the winter there or use the estuary as a stopping place during their migrations. These two seasonal connections are distinct: alongside wintering, bird migration also plays a role.
There are walking areas on Monte Corona. Stands of native beech, birch, chestnut and oak trees have been preserved there, contributing to the recreational use of this landscape. For nature enthusiasts, the themes are therefore quite distinct: the estuary focuses on waterbirds and their seasonal use of the habitat, while Monte Corona offers woodland species and walking areas.
Coast, festival and getting there
The coast of Comillas is suitable for water sports such as diving, sailing, traineras rowing races and windsurfing. Conditions and providers may vary. If water sports are an important reason for your trip, bear this caveat in mind when planning rather than assuming that the offering is uniform.
On 29 June, Comillas celebrates the San Pedro festival with the “San Pedruco” dances. If the festival date is a deciding factor for your travel dates, check the programme for that year. This makes the date a useful guide without assuming a particular programme.
If you are driving from Santander to El Capricho de Gaudí, you can take the A-8 and use exit 249 towards Comillas. Check current road conditions before setting off. This route information relates specifically to travelling from Santander to El Capricho.
Tailor your stay to your interests
The approximately 45-minute guided tour gives you a specific block of time; check the festival programme and latest visitor information in advance. This way, you can look for a hotel in Comillas based on the focus you want to give your stay.
Discover more destinations: Ruiseñada, La Ventona, Selaya, Villar, Lavín, Argomilla, Arredondo, Herada.
For the broader travel overview: Cantabria.
