Dog Walkers in Santander, Spain

Santander is built on a peninsula overlooking one of the largest bays on the Cantabrian coast, and that elongated shape defines how walking works here. The city has two very different waterfronts: the bay side, sheltered and calm, with the Jardines de Pereda and the quayside walk; and the open-sea side at El Sardinero, exposed to the northern swell and considerably harsher in winter. Choosing one or the other according to the day solves half the planning by itself.

The tip of the peninsula is the jewel. La Magdalena covers some twenty-five hectares of meadows, cliffs, trees and the palace at the top, and works as the city's great park: mostly flat, with a perimeter circuit and the sea in view almost the whole way round. Further north, the coastal path from Mataleñas to the Cabo Mayor lighthouse follows the cliff edge and is probably the best walk in the city for a dog with energy.

The climate is oceanic and temperate, without extremes on either side: cool summers that rarely bother anyone and mild but very damp winters. It rains often, though less than in the interior of the northern coast, and the north-westerly wind can make the open side unpleasant while the bay stays calm.

The inland neighbourhoods — Cazoña, Peñacastillo, Cuatro Caminos — run on a more urban and less spectacular logic, with the Parque de las Llamas as their main green outlet. It is a wide, modern space with a dog area, and it carries the daily routine of a good share of the population without forcing anyone down to the centre.