Tenerife: from Teide to the old town of La Laguna

In the heart of Santa Cruz, the island's capital, Santiago Calatrava's Auditorium of Tenerife, inaugurated in 2003, has become the architectural symbol of the city with its white cement sail overlooking the port.

Continuing inland, one reaches La Laguna, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the island's first capital: its fifteenth-century street grid was taken as a model for numerous Spanish colonial cities in Latin America.

Rising toward the island's center, one enters the Teide National Park, dominated by the volcano that at 3,715 meters remains the highest peak in all of Spain.

For those with time, the Anaga Rural Park, to the northeast, preserves one of Europe's oldest laurisilva forests, having survived almost intact since the ice age.

A sea of clouds often divides the island in two during the day: climbing Teide in the afternoon, you might find yourself above a gray sky at lower elevations while the summit basks in sunshine.

Combining Teide and Anaga in a single day requires substantial driving time: many visitors prefer to spend the afternoon on just one, saving the other for a second day on the island.