Fodor's Expert Review Paseo Marítimo

To see why sailors once nicknamed A Coruña "la ciudad de cristal" (the glass city), stroll the Paseo Marítimo, said to be the longest seaside promenade in Europe. Although the congregation of boats is charming, the real sight is across the street: a long, gracefully curved row of houses. Built by fishermen in the 18th century, they face away from the sea—it's said that at the end of a long day, these seafarers were tired of looking at the water. Nets were hung from the porches to dry, and fish was sold on the street below. When Galicia's first glass factory opened nearby, someone thought to enclose these porches in glass, like the latticed stern galleries of oceangoing galleons, to keep wind and rain at bay. The resulting emblematic glass galleries spread across the harbor and eventually throughout Galicia. The 13 km (8 miles) of flat surface with ocean views make it a wonderful jogging spot.