Monte tropical gardens is one of the best places to spend half a day in, especially in 30+ temperatures. The cart selling €15 pina coladas with free refill helps as well.

The gardens have a spectacular display of painted tiles artwork, not to mention lush plants, ponds and tropical flowers.

I was overly optimistic about the casualness of walking up the mountain in mid day sun, but can confirm that the streets go uphill anywhere at 20…45 degrees. I have no idea how to drive this place. But there are cable cars and somehow even buses make the twists and turns hyper casually.

Homogenous architecture can be a plus.

The wildfires caused a lot of damage inland, but some parties seem to have blown off the rooftops, too.