Santillana, Santander, or other Small Northern Town?

Maybe your map is different than mine, but neither Santander (more of a large town or small city, by the by) nor Santillana is on a conventional route to Dublin. (Please correct me if you have some crazy ship or airplane routing.)

What are you looking for in the small town experience? Quaintness? Deliverance-esque inbred hostility? A back to nature experience of a rural tourism sort?

If I were you, I would stay close to the BCN airport, in order to maximize your time in town, and not traveling to the town. If you want a quaint seaside town, you might try either Sitges or L'Escala. (option 1 has better nightlife, option 2 is less touristic). Looking for banjo music in Spain, Pals (near Roses, Gerona) would probably fit the bill -- of course, you'll be hard put to find anybody there who speaks Spanish, so arm yourself with patience.

Besalú is a great "living museum" medieval town, that might offer a good combination of photographic interest, back to nature stuff, and a whiff of the authentic Spain, but without having to worry about stepping in cow paddies.

On the other hand, why ask for advice, Spain is filled with tiny little towns, each with its own quirky character. Rent a car and just explore the area. When you find someplace that touches your fancy, stay for the night. (Most small towns will not have a hostel, but I've never know one that didn't have somebody willing to rent a room for the night. Just ask at the butcher shop, bread store, or, town hall or barracks of the Guardia Civil.)

Enjoy the trip.

Hello! Thanks for your help! We are looking at a flight out of one of the towns through RyanAir to Dublin :-), but we are open to other suggestions too! We are going by Eurail so we aren't renting a car, otherwise I would love to just explore! I think we just want to see what smalltown Spain is like, its at the beginning of the trip so we aren't needing tranquil, but if it is tranquil thats great too! Thanks!

Would you recommend Besalú over Santillana? Thanks!

Assume that travel from Barcelona to the Santander area will require a full, exhausting day. Unless you have some powerful reason to spend that time on a train ride, I don't understand why you would do so rather than spend 45 minutes to an hour traveling to any one of dozens of small towns within a very close distance to either Gerona or Reus, either of which has regular, inexpensive flights to Dublin. As anybody who has ever lived in a small town will tell you, they're all special, and they're all the same.

aweso me we are taking your advice! Besalu caught my eye, but is there another one you would recomend more? Thanks a ton!