Universidad Pontificia, Cantabria, Spain

4Malcolm H 5:00 PM May 13, 2016

Beautiful building on the hill
We visited this site out of curiosity, after driving passed what appeared to be rather a Disneyesque building positioned on the top of the hill, on our way into Comillas. A very helpful young lady in the tourist information office identified it as the Universidad Pontificia and we retraced our way on foot, back up the hill. It is possible to take the car however, with the added bonus that for a token fee, you can drive through the magnificent main gate and park right near the entrance to the university building. The outside is quite stunning, built out of red and cream stone. For 3 euros you can have a guided tour of the inside. They seem to take place every hour. Unfortunately the guide only spoke Spanish, but there is a little booklet in English that describes all the main features. It is impossible to get into the building, unless you are part of the tour, but the whole thing only lasts about half an hour and you get to see some beautiful carving in wood and stone, stained glass windows and architecture. Even though the whole thing is relatively new, dating from the late 19th century, it is impossible not to marvel at the workmanship. If you appreciate beautiful buildings and are curious about the unusual, this place is well worth a visit.

4TravellerOxford 5:00 PM Aug 27, 2015

Outside is great: do a tour to get inside
Stunning building from the outside which can be seen from miles around. The only way to get in is to go on a tour (check times before) and again the only tour available was in Spanish - but we took it just to get in. Quite impressive inside and that's just the tiny bit you see. Seemed to us that they were missing a trick here by not offering more guided tours and some in English!