La Laguna looks like a city that was planned on paper, because it was. Founded in the late fifteenth century after the Spanish conquest of Tenerife, it was laid out on a grid without fortifications and became a model for colonial towns in the Americas. UNESCO listed the old centre in 1999, and the pastel houses, wooden balconies and tiled patios make a pleasant half-hour on foot. The university here is among the oldest in the Canaries, and the student crowd keeps the cafes busy.
The setting is the thing to understand. La Laguna sits about 550 metres above sea level on a fertile plain, in the trade-wind belt, so clouds roll over it on many days and the air is cooler and damper than on the south coast. Seen from the road, the whole Anaga massif rises behind it, covered in laurel forest that is a relic of subtropical woodland once spread around the Mediterranean. Locals will tell you the city has its own weather, and they are right. A rain jacket stays in the top box.
The airport called Los Rodeos, now Tenerife North, lies in the municipality, and it is the site of the 1977 runway collision between two jumbo jets in fog, the worst accident in aviation history. Fog is the point worth remembering as a rider as well: when the cloud comes down on the plateau, visibility can fall quickly, so slow down and put your lights on.
For riding, La Laguna is the start of two very different days. West and south, the TF-24 and the roads through the pine forest climb toward Mount Teide, at 3,715 metres the highest peak in Spain, with its landscapes of lava fields and pale volcanic scree. Northeast, the narrow roads into Anaga twist through villages and ridges with hairpins and blind corners. Surface quality is mostly good, but cloud, wet leaves and rock fall can interrupt the flow. Early morning is calm. Afternoon traffic around Santa Cruz is dense.
Practically, with a population of over a hundred and fifty thousand, there is fuel everywhere, cafes in every square, and the sweet, strong barraquito coffee that is a Tenerife habit. The tram links to Santa Cruz, which makes a good spot to leave luggage or keep a bike overnight.