Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the largest city in the Canary Islands and the capital of Gran Canaria. The old town includes the areas of Vegueta and Triana in the southern part of town. Especially Vegueta is very attractive. There you will find numerous manorial houses, which bear influences of latin-American colonial style. One of the main sights in the Vegueta district is the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, where you can see an important collection of contemporary art. To the north the city has even spread on the nearby island of La Isleta. The district of Ciudad Jardín is dominated by British architecture. It was built at the end of the 19th century, when the British dominated the island. Along the coast are several busy boulevards, as well as the lively district of Santa Catalina and the harbor area of Puerto de la Luz. The main beach is the 3 km (1.8 miles) long Playa de Canteras. At its eastern end sits the land bridge to La Isleta.

There are several interesting sights in Las Palmas. The Casa/Museo de Colón (House/Museum of Columbus) is built in original Canarian style, but it is not known if Columbus actually lived there. It has exhibitions of pre-Colombian items brought back from South America by the early explorers, as well as models of the ships they used. The building is a reminder to the fact that the ships of Christopher Columbus made a stop-over on Gran Canaria on their first journey to America. The Gothic and Neoclassical Catedral de Santa Ana was built over a period of 350 years and is always very busy on Sundays. It is on the square of Santa Ana, as are the Archiepiscopal Palais and several nice buildings in the typical Canarian architectural style. Religious art and old manuscripts can be seen in the Museo Diocesano nearby. It is in a two storey building around the Patio de los Naranjos.

The most important museum in Las Palmas is the Museo Canario, where you can learn about Gran Canaria's pre-conquest history and its original inhabitants, the Guanches. The museum houses the world's largest collection of Cro-Magnon skulls. The best place to see modern art is in the Centro Canario de Arte Moderno. Other interesting museums include the Museum of Arts and the Museum Pérez Galdós, which is located in the very house the writer was living The Nestor-Museum is close to the Pueblo Español and was created by the artist himself.

The Pueblo Canario is situated in the beautiful gardens of Doramas Park and was created by Canarian artist Néstor de la Torre. It represents the islands' typical architecture and every Thursday and Sunday colorful folkloristical performances are organized there.

The main shopping area is situated around the pedestrians only Calle Mayor de Triana.

There is a wide range of accommodation in Las Palmas, as well as many bars and restaurants. Many hotels, shops and large amounts of bars are near Playa de las Canteras, while there are also many hotels near Santa Catalina beach and the port. A wide variety of cultural events takes place in Las Palmas every year. The city's cuisine is known throughout the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria's main airport is near Las Palmas and the city has ferry connections with most other islands in the archipelago. Las Palmas is probably the only city in the Canary Islands that is so large that you might need to use the public transport service to get around.

About 8 km from Las Palmas is the Jardín Canario, or the 'Canarian Garden'. It exhibits the incredible variety of plants on the Canary Islands. No less than 500 species exist exclusively on Gran Canaria.