Get to Know Cantabria: Potes
If you haven't been to Potes yet, this is your sign.
Tucked into a valley at the foot of the Picos de Europa, Potes is one of those places that doesn't show up on the standard "moving to Spain" checklist — but it should be near the top of your list once you've settled in Cantabria.
Not Rioja, Not the coast — something else entirely
Potes isn't trying to be a beach town or a city. It's a medieval mountain village built along the Rio Deva, with stone bridges, narrow streets, and the Picos rising dramatically on every side. It's the kind of place that makes you understand why people fall for Cantabria beyond the coastline — this region has as much mountain character as it does sea.
What makes it worth the trip
The setting. Potes sits at the gateway to the Picos de Europa National Park, which means it's not just a pretty village — it's also your jumping-off point for some of the best hiking and mountain scenery in northern Spain.
Market day. If you can time a visit around the weekly market, do it. Local produce, cheese, and regional products fill the old town, and it's a genuinely good way to get a feel for how life moves at a different pace here.
Orujo. Potes is closely associated with orujo, the local spirit distilled in the surrounding valleys — it's worth trying at least once, ideally somewhere that makes its own. Sierra del Oso, a family distillery founded in 1991 just outside Potes in Ojedo, still uses the traditional alquitara lebaniega method — a slow, careful distillation that's largely disappeared elsewhere.
Local produce worth seeking out
Potes and the surrounding Liébana valley have their own food traditions, and a couple of local producers are worth building into a visit:
Quesos Río Deva — a small, family-run cheesemaker in nearby Camaleño, at the foot of the Picos de Europa. They make traditional quesucos de Liébana by hand, aged anywhere from twenty days to nine months depending on the variety, and it's the kind of place where the person selling you cheese is often the person who made it.
Sierra del Oso — mentioned above for its orujo, but worth a second mention here as a genuine local institution. It's grown into one of the region's larger orujo producers while still distilling using the old alquitara method.
Between the two, an afternoon in the Liébana valley can easily turn into a small, informal food-and-drink tour — no reservations required.
A few hikes worth knowing about
If you want to see the landscape around Potes rather than just the village itself, there are several well-marked routes starting right from town, ranging from an easy afternoon walk to a proper mountain ascent:
Monte Arabedés (6.4 km, ~290 m elevation gain, ~2.5 hours, medium difficulty) — a former vineyard hillside with a wooden viewpoint overlooking Potes.
Potes to Armaño, through oak woods and meadows (8.8 km, ~200 m elevation gain, ~2 hours 50, medium difficulty) — the longest of the four but the gentlest in terms of climbing.
Monte Tolibes and the Ermita de Valmayor (5.8 km, ~350 m elevation gain, ~2 hours 45, medium-high difficulty) — passes through Cantabria's largest cork oak forest en route to a 10th-century hermitage.
Monte La Viorna (8.2 km, ~800 m elevation gain, ~4 hours 10, high difficulty) — a genuine mountain hike to a 1,095m summit, with views over the Monasterio de Santo Toribio and the Picos de Europa. Recommended only for those reasonably fit.
Full route details are available via Camino Lebaniego, which maintains an up-to-date guide with maps.
The pace. After the paperwork, the moving boxes, and the logistics of relocating, Potes is a reminder of why you're doing this in the first place. It's slow in the best way.
A local favorite for a reason
Potes is one of the places we consistently recommend to clients once they've settled — not because it's hidden or exclusive, but because it's an easy, rewarding day trip that captures a side of Cantabria that doesn't always make it into the brochures.
If you're planning your move and want to know what life here actually looks like beyond the paperwork, this is exactly the kind of thing we talk through with clients — the practical and the parts that make it worth it.
Part of our "Get to Know Cantabria" series. Read next: A Few Cantabrian Wineries Worth Visiting Once You've Settled In.
