Monte de San Pedro Park and the Atlantic Dome

Monte de San Pedro is the high park in the west of A Coruña: more than 90,000 square metres of grass and paths above the Atlantic, with the city, the bay and the Tower of Hercules in the distance. It keeps two Vickers cannons that were bought in 1929 and installed in 1933. It is the city's place for watching the sunset, flying a kite or lying on the grass.

What is up there

Besides the cannons, at the top is the Atlantic Dome (Cúpula Atlántica), a covered 360-degree viewpoint that the city council presents as the only one of its kind in Spain: it lets you look at the horizon even when it rains or blows hard. The rest is open space for walking. On the same hill, on the Os Fortes road, there are two restaurants from the same house: Árbore da Veira, with a Michelin star, and its informal version, the Taberna 5 Mares, serving dishes to share with the sea in front of you.

How to get up, now that the lift is closed

The panoramic lift, a glass cabin shaped like a sphere that rises from the seafront promenade to the summit, is temporarily closed, according to the city council's tourism website. For as long as that lasts, you go up on foot or by car. On foot, you reach it from the seafront promenade, which passes at the foot of the hill, and it is a steep climb: wear comfortable shoes. By car, take the Os Fortes road, the same one as the restaurants.

If you come from the centre by bike, the seafront promenade bike lane leaves you at the foot of the hill; do the last part, the climb, on foot.

When to go

At sunset, when the sun goes down over the sea in the west. In wind or rain, the dome lets you look out without getting wet. If you are going to have lunch or dinner up there, book at the restaurants: they are the most comfortable plan for staying until sunset.