Laredo

Laredo is a harbour town on the Cantabrian coast, long connected by sea with the ports of northern Europe and by road with Castile. Its importance as a royal port is remembered in the final journey of Emperor Charles V. Having abdicated, he sailed from the Low Countries and landed at Laredo on 28 September 1556 with his household. From here he travelled inland toward the monastery of Yuste, where he spent the last years of his life.