What to see in Potes, the Town of Bridges and Towers

In this article we take you to one of the most interesting places to visit in Cantabria and we tell you which are the best places to see in Potes.
It is the capital of the tourist region of Liébana and is one of the gateways to the Picos de Europa National Park, being only 28 km from Fuente De, from where its famous cable car departs.
Potes is a Cantabrian town that is located about 100km from Santander and that will surprise you if you decide to visit it. Here we tell you the most important things to see in Potes and its surroundings.
What to see in Villa de Potes
The most interesting place to see in Potes is the Torre del Infantado, former House of the Marquis of Santillana, which reminds us of the interesting medieval past of Potes.
The Torre del Infantado, current seat of the Potes Town Hall, dates from the 15th century, has a square floor plan and stands out for the 4 towers with battlements that crown it.
From there you can start your visit to the old town of Potes, declared a Site of Cultural Interest and not to be missed.
Inside we can visit exhibitions that change throughout the year.
The old town of Potes suffered a serious fire caused by the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War but was later restored and today we can admire it in a very special way.
Strolling through the cobbled and steep streets of Potes seems to take you to another era thanks to the mansions found in the famous Barrio de Solana, which is accessed through the famous Bridges of San Cayetano and the Jail that cross the Quiviesa River.
By the way, thanks to them Potes is known as the Villa of Bridges and Towers.
And the towers, which give meaning to its nickname, that we must highlight are those of Linares, Calseco, Orejón de la Lama and Osorio, which together with the previously mentioned Torre del Infantado, give a very characteristic style to the town of Potes.
Among the churches that we must highlight on our visit is the Church of San Vicente, actually made up of two churches, a Gothic one from the 14th century although with extensions from later centuries, and a modern one from the 19th century with several very interesting Baroque altarpieces.
The surroundings of Potes
If you have come to Potes from the Cantabrian coast, you will most likely have already visited the Hermida Gorge
It is a narrow and winding road that runs along the Deva River and that will amaze you thanks to its landscapes and vertical walls that mean that in some places the sunlight does not reach all day.
During the tour of the gorge we also find a pre-Romanesque church that you should not miss, the Church of Santa María de Lebeña, whose construction dates back to the year 925 and whose high bell tower stands out.
Fuente Dé is another very special place in the surroundings of Potes. As we have said before, it is 28 km from this town and from there the famous cable car departs which, after overcoming a drop of 753 meters, is one of the gateways to the Picos de Europa.
From the top you can undertake different hiking and mountaineering routes, of different lengths and difficulties, although the simple fact of observing the views from the top is already worth it.
Also very close to Potes is the Santo Toribio de Liébana Monastery, one of the holy places of Christianity along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Caravaca de la Cruz, so you can guess the importance of this monastery in Christianity..
There we can admire the Lignum Crucis, the largest piece of the cross of Jesus Christ that is preserved.