A Coruna and the sea breeze

We left Madrid in 40° heat and arrived to a balmy 28° and a sea breeze in A Coruna, north west coast of Spain

A Coruna is an historic fishing town. It has beaches, battlements, museums, sculpture, fantastic cuisine, fishing ports, crystal houses, Roman ruins and the longest seafront in Europe. It has something for everyone. 

On the point by the main harbourfront is the little defensive Castle of San Anton. It has been a strategic sea fort to defend against marauding invaders, a prison and now is a great little musem with some fantastic artefacts and Roman treasures. 

You can just wander about and the coastal views are lovely.

The relics from the ancient chapel are incredible.  They are more or less open to the elements and any tourist that wants to touch them.

Beautiful art trasures that tell the story of the castles inhabitants over time.

I loved finding the underground cistern with a reserve of fresh water. Now it looks like a wishing well with all the pennies tossed into the water with wishes. Fantastic engineering. 

Further along the coast is the Tower of Hercules, the oldest functioning Roman lighthouse  in the world.

You wander along a range of coastal tracks with stunning views out to sea, sculptures and plenty of seats and picnic spots, Perfecto!

The Tower of Hercules had guarded the harbour entrance since the first century AD and it's still working, built to last.

A Coruna is sometimes called the glass city as the original fisherman's cottages were along the seafront and they had glass fronts for the fisherman to watch the weather and for their family to watch for the boats safe return. A large fishing fleet still operates from the harbour. Need to go back at sunset and see all the reflections in the glass.

Virgin of El Carmine, protector of fisherman.

In  addition to fantastic seafood we discovered they have wonderful cakes and pastries in funky little cafes. The hot chocolate was so thick you could stand a duck on it, one a day limit recommended.

What a cracking little seaside town.

Click/zoom in on the photos for greater detail. All contents generated on my phone so I get a free pass for typos, spelling and formatting styles. Haste due to free wifi access.