What you can see on the San Vicente de la Barquera webcams
The cameras stand on the waterfront promenade beside the marina. One looks out over the pontoons towards the mouth of the estuary, with the houses of the town and the fishing harbour on the left and the pine woods of the far shore on the right. Another turns inland to the long, many-arched bridge of La Maza and the green hills behind it. A third, rotating camera works its way along the pontoons in close-up, from the motor boats to the trawlers of the fishing fleet. All three take in the promenade, so you can see how many people are out.
San Vicente de la Barquera webcam: the marina and the estuary
This wide camera from Puertos de Cantabria stands on the waterfront promenade of San Vicente de la Barquera, above the pontoons of the marina, and looks out over the boats towards the mouth of the estuary. On the left, the houses of the town climb the hill above the fishing harbour, where red and blue trawlers tie up; on the right, pine woods line the far shore, with a strip of sand at the water's edge where the town's beaches begin.
The promenade in the foreground, with its benches and red lamp posts, shows how many people are out for a stroll, and the broad sheet of water in the estuary tells you at a glance whether the tide is in and whether the wind is up. It is a still image: the refresh button brings the latest one.
San Vicente de la Barquera webcam: La Maza bridge across the estuary
The second fixed camera on the promenade of San Vicente de la Barquera turns the other way, up the estuary. Pontoon B and its motor boats fill the left of the picture, with people leaning on the railings above them, and across the water the long stone bridge of La Maza, with its row of arches, carries the main road into town. Green hills rise behind the bridge, and on the right the waterfront road runs off towards it under palm trees.
Small boats lie on their moorings in the open water, and the hills behind the bridge show at a glance whether low cloud has come down over the coast. Like the other cameras here, it sends a still picture, and the refresh button brings the latest one.
Boats in San Vicente de la Barquera harbour, close up
The third camera on the marina of San Vicente de la Barquera is a rotating one that zooms in on the boats. It works through a round of close-ups and sends a still picture from each: the motor boats along pontoons B, C and D, the promenade railings where people stop to look, and the fishing harbour further along, with its red and blue trawlers and the houses of the town behind. Because it moves, each picture may show a different part of the harbour, and the refresh button brings the latest one.
Seen this close, you can read the names on the boats, see whether the flags are stirring in the wind and tell whether the trawlers are in port.
The last of the Four Towns
In 1210 King Alfonso VIII granted San Vicente its charter, the last of the "Four Towns of the Coast" of Cantabria after Castro Urdiales, Santander and Laredo. The old upper town, the Puebla Vieja, with the castle and the church of Santa María de los Ángeles, has been a protected historic ensemble since 1987. The coastal Camino de Santiago passes through, and this is where the Camino Lebaniego leaves it for the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana in the mountains.
When to watch San Vicente de la Barquera
San Vicente is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The tide, which rises and falls several metres on this coast, changes the look of the estuary through the day. In spring the town celebrates La Folía, a festival of national tourist interest, when the Virgin of La Barquera is carried across the water in a procession of boats.
Around San Vicente de la Barquera
Across the estuary, the beach of Merón runs for more than 2 miles (3 km) to the east and holds the Blue Flag for 2026. It lies within the Oyambre Natural Park, which also takes in Oyambre beach, marshes and woods. Comillas is a short drive further east.
Visiting San Vicente de la Barquera
The town lies just off the A-8 coastal motorway. The marina and the promenade are by the town centre, and the climb to the castle and the church gives views over the estuary and the harbour.
