Visit Santoña, the Spanish Anchovy Town Where Anchovies are Life

"Santoña es Anchoa" is the slogan in the Northern Spanish village of Santoña, along the Cantabrian coast.

Santona IS anchovies, is how that translates.

Indeed, in the town of Santoña, anchovies are the life blood of the industrial city. A drive just a few minutes off the main highway of your Northern Spain road trip adventure may have you finding mud flats and marshy landings, leading into a town fully built out for the canning business.

As the town comes into focus, you smell the sea, and soon you will taste it. Here's what to expect for a visit to the town of Santoña, in Northern Spain.

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Bonito Cantabrico (Tuna!)

What to Expect in Santoña

That's it. Anchovy factories, a couple anchovy retailers, and one or two cafeterias for a mid morning coffee shot and a pastry.

Plan to spend 1-2 hours in town, including your 1 hour factory visit and tasting.

Street parking is easy along the roadside near this lovely water feature, where the hills of the region come into focus on a clear and sunny day. Beautiful!

Choose Your Anchovy Tour

Arranging a tour in advance is not neccessary (but totally an option with one of these three adventures):

• Tour to the Anchovies Factory and Santoña Marshes with Tasting

• Santoña: Anchovy Factory & Boat Trip with tickets-small groups

• Visit and Gastronomic Experience of the Santoña Anchovy Factory

My family decided to visit Conservas Emilia for their free tour, which runs hourly from 10am to 1pm daily.

On the tour, enjoy a short video explanation (in English) before your guide (the shop keeper) shows you around the main floor of the factory. In the factory, you'll find not only anchovies, but also tuna, calamari, and other seafood.

Quick side note - the factory DOES NOT SMELL LIKE FISH. I know you're thinking, why on Earth would I visit a fish factory? Trust me, there was no smell. You'll be fine! My kid loved the tour too, so don't spend a moment worrying about that.

You'll see workers trimming the anchovies (which, by the way are just baby sardines!), and you'll get some insights beyond the video explanation.

Non-Spanish speakers will have a hard time understanding, so if that is you - consider one of the above organized tours for a translator.

At the end, as all things do, you'll end in the gift shop!

Sampling Anchovies in Santoña

We entered the small shop displaying all manner of seafood in jars from gulas (little noodly looking fish) to vinegar based jars of tuna called bonito. Of course, the store was wall to wall anchovies.

There are two types of anchovy samples that you will likely try in Santoña - anchovies, and boquerones.

The difference is in the way they are prepared.

"Anchovies should not taste like fish", our guide explained. "The best anchovies SHOULD NOT taste like fish!". With this in mind, I tried the anchovies and found them to be salt packed jerky-like gems of seafood - with no fishy flavor.

You will want to take some home.

But the shining star for me is the boquerones. This is a simple vinegar based sardine made with the same baby fish. Deliciously punchy, you can easily eat dozens of these on a saltine cracker with olive oil.

The Takeaway

If I had not visited Santoña, I would not appreciate anchovies or boquerones like I do now. I've lived part time in Spain for over 4 years and typically avoid the anchovy or boqueron pintxos (tapas) when I see them, opting to eat the olives instead.

Santoña is not only a place where anchovies are life, but really, every tapas bar in Spain is.

So, if you want to really get your Spanish tapas pants on and be more like a local in Spain, go to the source of the flavor in Santoña and experience an anchovy factory tour and tasting for yourself!

You'll be an anchovy convert in no time!

While You Are in the Area

Be sure to explore the nearby treasures in Northern Spain from trendy Bilbao and the fisherman's village of Getxo to Santillana del Mar and the Asturian countryside, where cheese and cider reigns king. Go underground and discover prehistoric cave art at the Caves of Altamira, or walk the path of the dinosaurs along the Lastres coast. There is lots to explore and plenty to be enjoyed!