Cantabria · Cantabria
San Vicente de la Barquera
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty.
Living in San Vicente de la Barquera
San Vicente de la Barquera is a dramatic Cantabrian fishing town of 4,000 all but surrounded by water, reached across a long causeway, its hilltop old town of a Renaissance palace and Gothic church looking down on a busy port famous for its seafood restaurants. It's functional rather than pretty at street level, but the setting and the food are the draw. It's a mostly Spanish town, mild and wet green-coast, with cool summers around 22°C and mild winters near 11°C. A hospital and Torrelavega are both about half an hour away, and Santander's airport forty-five minutes.
San Vicente de la Barquera's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is San Vicente de la Barquera's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 96% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 4 km from the sea and mild 22.4°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.4°C
- Rainy days a year 122 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 6
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
Higher than 82% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 4 km from the sea and 30 min to a hospital.
- PISA maths (region) 495
- Registered long-let rent €5.55/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 30 min
- Nearest international school 29 km
Higher than 82% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 4 km from the sea and 30 min to a hospital.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 99%
- Drive to nearest airport 46 min
- Registered long-let rent €5.55/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.4°C
Higher than 79% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick for a retiring couple — 30 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 30 min
- Surgical wait (region) 137 days
- Registered long-let rent €5.55/m²·mo
Higher than 77% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick for American retirees — 30 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 30 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.25 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €5.55/m²·mo
Higher than 73% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A dramatic approach marooned on both sides by the sea, reached across a long causeway — a thriving fishing port with famed seafood restaurants, though functional rather than pretty. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 4 km from the sea and 30 min to a hospital.
- Registered long-let rent €5.55/m²·mo
- Net income per person €13,671
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.4°C
What is the climate like in San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera's reported winter average is 10.5°C, while July–August highs reach 22.4°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.5°C top 17% of 8,131 towns 2.8°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 22.4°C top 3% of 8,131 towns 7.8°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 122 days bottom 6% of 8,088 towns 78% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 6 top 6% of 8,033 towns 50 below the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 3.47 ha/km² bottom 8% of 8,132 towns 1.16 ha/km² above the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 12 bottom 9% of 8,132 towns 6 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 21.8% top 40% of 8,130 towns 1.1% below the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera's nearest health centre is 1.7 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 30 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 30 min top 43% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1.7 km top 9% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 137 days #15 of 17 regions, +34 days vs national 27% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera's reported nearest international school is 29 km.
Schools
- Schools in town
- no local data
- Nearest international school
- 29 km top 32% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 495 #2 of 17 regions, +16 vs national 14 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera's reported asking price is €3,538/m².
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- €3,538/m² asking · Fotocasa Jun 2026 · small sample
- Registered long-let rent
- €5.55/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €4.4/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €6.87/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €13,671 bottom 40% of 8,059 towns 6% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.4% bottom 35% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in San Vicente de la Barquera?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Cantabria, and Spanish-medium teaching is the public-school default. Individual bilingual and international programmes can use other languages, so check the specific school. See the Cantabria region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera's reported population is 3,989.
Who lives here
- Population
- 3,989
- Born in Spain
- 90% 1.2% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.6% 2.3% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.25 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around San Vicente de la Barquera?
San Vicente de la Barquera is a reported 46 min drive from the nearest airport, with 97% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 46 min top 21% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 97% top 15% of 8,132 towns 19% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% top 18% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does San Vicente de la Barquera fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores San Vicente de la Barquera against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 30 min from Torrelavega, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank San Vicente de la Barquera for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Ask what recent sales closed at; the published figure is asking price.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit the school and ask about places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.