Destinations Menu
RSS
5 Of 6
Laredo
Laredo
No minor tourist retreat, Laredo has earned the nickname “Little Copacabana” since the French seized on this spot in the 1960s and prompted its boom. Besides its quaint old quarter, the main draw to Laredo has long been its expansive, moon-shaped beach of La Salvé, around which the modern tourism infrastructure of hotels, restaurants, clubs, trinket shops and holiday homes has developed.
Sightseeing
At the base of Mount Rastrillar the Pueblo Viejo, scattered in a radial cobbled streets around the 13th-century Gothic Iglesia de Santa María, echoes the town’s storied past, when seafaring rather than sun-tanning was the primary occupation. In 1556 the ailing Emperor Carlos V disembarked at Laredo, spent a few days in the town bestowing it with gifts and praise (and eating the famous sardines, a catalyst for his gout), then headed on the long journey to his final retreat at Yuste in Extremadura, where he died two years later. The 16th-century ayuntamiento, at the center of the Puebla Vieja surrounded by the remnants of medieval defensive walls and gates that have fallen into disuse, bears a melancholic inscription of Carlos V’s parting words.
The Puebla Vieja’s seven streets are at the eastern end of Playa de Salvé next to the Puerto Pesquero (Fisherman’s Port). Atunnel that once connected it to the earliest port has been revamped to serve as an interesting subsurface pedestrian thoroughfare. The architecture in this old quarter is a mix of Gothic and Renaissance highlighted by the Santa María church, the Convento de San Francisco, and a rich assortment of palaces, the most impressive of which is the Palacio de Benito Zarauz on C/ San Francisco.
From the Puebla Vieja, the beachside promenade and Paseo Maritímo run the length of the Playa de Salvé, skirting the modern area of town. Afinger of land known as El Puntal juts into the sea at the end of this promenade, marking the beginning of the next beach, Playa de El Regatón.
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(23)
Restaurants(11)
Attractions(12)
Activities(13)
Map 
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Thu, 11/28/2024 - 01:00
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More