Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Santa Cruz de Tenerife sits on the northeast coast of Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary Islands, roughly 300 km off the coast of Morocco. The city's position at the intersection of European, African and Latin American influences gives it a cultural personality unlike mainland Spain — Canarian Spanish is closer to Caribbean dialects, the cuisine draws on African and South American ingredients, and the climate is subtropical year-round (18–28 °C). The waterfront Auditorio de Tenerife, Santiago Calatrava's wave-shaped concert hall completed in 2003, has become the city's architectural icon, rivalling Sydney's Opera House in silhouette. Behind the auditorium, the old town preserves colonial-era plazas: Plaza de España (redesigned with a reflecting pool by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron), Plaza del Príncipe with its Indian laurel canopy, and the 18th-century Church of the Immaculate Conception whose tower is the city's oldest landmark. The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, held in February or March, is considered the second-largest after Rio de Janeiro — a two-week explosion of murgas (satirical musical groups), comparsas (dance troupes), the election of the Carnival Queen in a costume weighing up to 200 kg, and the Coso (grand parade) that fills the streets with hundreds of thousands of revellers. Beyond the city, Tenerife offers extraordinary natural diversity: Mount Teide (3,718 m), Spain's highest peak and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rises from a vast volcanic caldera; the Anaga Rural Park in the northeast harbours ancient laurel forests and dramatic cliff-top trails; and the southern coast delivers consistent sunshine and resort beaches. Santa Cruz's port is one of the busiest in the Atlantic, a traditional stopover for cruise ships crossing between Europe and the Americas.