Date and time of visit: May 1, 2016, around 10 a.m.
It was a peaceful and beautiful village in the mountains.
May Day Tourism
I have been traveling to Europe during Golden Week every year for the past 10 years, and I have been troubled by May 1st every time. It’s a national holiday “May Day” in many European countries. Because it is Labor Day, many shops and tourist attractions are closed, so it is very difficult to go sightseeing. In fact, on this day, the museum of Altamira ruins in the suburb of Santillana del Mar, where we stayed the night before, was closed. Especially in the case of local sightseeing spots, I feel there are many places that are closed quite often.
Of course, this holiday is not an exception in the beautiful villages, but fortunately, visiting a beautiful village is often not such a hindrance to tourism, as it is often just a “walk” through the village. In other words, whether it is a holiday or not, the style of tourism remains the same, just walk around.
A peaceful village in the mountains
Well, this Lierganes in Cantabria is a small village on the outskirts of Santander. On the map, it doesn’t look so far from Santander, but it’s more mountainous than it looks and the road to here is steep. It’s true that there is a lot of green.
This area is really rich in nature. Maybe that’s why there are so many national parks in Cantabria, although they are small.
This beautiful village is surrounded by greenery, mountains and hills, and this place has been a village since around the 17th century. However, as far as I can tell from the official website, it doesn’t seem to be a standard history like the beautiful villages in Aragon and Castile, where the village originated in the time of Muslim rule and was later Christianized after the completion of the Reconquista.
There seems to be a small station in this village, and there was a spacious parking lot in front of it. We parked there and started sightseeing.
This was the village sign in the parking lot. Lierganes is located in the southernmost part of this valley. It seems that this area is crowded with hikers and trekkers.
First of all, we went to the Church of San Sebastián, which is perched on a hill overlooking the village. We followed a small alley leading to the church.
I don’t have to tell you, I couldn’t get inside.
It was cloudy when we left Santillana del Mar this morning, but by the time we arrived in this village it was clear. The view from the hill is very beautiful.
Then, we walked around the village. Buildings may have been well maintained and reconstructed, I felt very well maintained, but I do not feel like a home. However, it was very quaint because it was probably rebuilt with the old town in mind. The view of the stone houses never gets bored no matter how many times I see it. But if you look closely, you will see many signs saying “VENDE” (for sale).
I had an impression that there were unexpectedly many tourists in this small village. Maybe it was because it was close to Santander, or maybe it was famous.
Beautiful view from the Mayol Bridge
Finally, we went to the old bridge “Mayor Bridge” which spans the stream that runs through the village.
I think the view from here is probably the most beautiful in this village. Even if there is such a view, it raises the rating point of the beautiful village (the number of ★ next to the title, our own score).
The two distinctive mountains (hills?) in the back are very impressive. are very impressive.
This is the end of our tour of beautiful villages in Cantabria. In fact, there are some more beautiful villages in the west of the province, but this time, due to time constraint, this is the end. I’m sure I’ll visit them again soon. (Continue)
