Laredo

Laredo needs 1 day: walking through the Puebla Vieja, the medieval old town on the hill, and heading down to Playa de Salvé, nearly 5 km of fine sand, one of Cantabria's longest, in the same day. June-September brings the mildest weather. It's mid-priced by Cantabrian standards. Every last Friday of August it holds the Batalla de Flores, a parade of floats entirely covered in real flowers that have competed since the early 20th century, one of Spain's oldest flower festivals.