Puerto de la Cruz Holidays

Puerto de la Cruz sits on Tenerife’s north coast, amid a landscape of tropical fruit plantations. There’s a traditional feel to the place, with its quaint harbour and pretty old town, but it does sophistication well, too. Nouveau cuisine's served in Colonial-style restaurants, while the bars mix cocktails with singers from across the Canary Islands. As for the coastal scene, you’ve got a duo of architect-designed beaches to enjoy.

The main beach, Playa de Jardin, is a kilometre-long stretch of black sand that comes with sunloungers, changing rooms and beach kiosks, plus the sort of choppy waters that windsurfers love. The late Canarian architect César Manrique put in a backdrop of tropical gardens with waterfalls, foot bridges, sun terraces and restaurants. And he made the second beach, Playa Martiánez, equally pretty, too.

Just 10 minutes' drive out of town you’ve got the Botanico Gardens at La Paz. Here, there are more than 5,000 exotic trees and plants, including the aptly named Palo Borracho, or Drunken Tree, and Árbol de las Salchichas – the Tree of Sausages. Or you might want to book a trip to Mount Teide, which at 3,718 metres is ttallest point in Spain. Equally, you could drive to the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 30 minutes for the designer shops and Sunday’s huge flea market.