Las Canteras (Las Palmas), Spain

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria sits on the northeast coast of Gran Canaria, Spain, with around 380,000 residents. Juan Rejón founded the city in 1478, and the Vegueta old town still holds the 1497 Santa Ana Cathedral alongside the Casa de Colón, where Christopher Columbus stayed on his 1492 voyage to America. Along the shore, the 3-km Las Canteras beach ranks among the longest urban beaches in the world. The 1973 Alfredo Kraus Auditorium occupies the headland, while the Casa Museo de León y Castillo dates from 1880.