Las Palmas – the capital of Gran Canaria

for lovers of culture, history and beach

You may think that a capital city of Las Palmas won´t be a perfect match for spending a holiday, but we are sure that after few days here, you would be so fascinated, that you would like to stay for ever. One of the reasons would be the unique 3 km long sandy beach Las Canteras, amiability of the local inhabitants and constantly nice temperature all the year round.

Las Canteras beach with the blue flag for its clear waters will anable you to swim even if you are not very good swimmers. A large part of the beach is protected from the wawes of the Atlantic by a natural barrier. By this barrier, located approximately 200 metres from the shore, you can practice snorkeling and admire interesting ocean fauna and flora when the tide is low.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a cosmopolitan metropolis that on the coast of Atlantic connects the inhabitants, culture and spirit of three continents. Its nice clima, sun and an average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius predestinates it to be an ideal place to spend your holiday any day of the year.

The capital of Las Palmas is situated at the nort-east extreme of the island, 20 km far away from the international airport Gándí. It is a social and economical center and it shares the status of the capital of Canary islands with Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife. Las Palmas with its almost 400 thousands inhabitants is the 8th biggest spanish city.

The history of Las Palmas dates back to 1478, when it was founded shortly after the colonization of the island leaded by Spanish conqueror Juan Rejón. After its foundation the city became an important business center especially thanks to the exportation of sugar cane. In the second half of the 19th century a large port Puerto de la Luz has been constructed and the city became an important commercial crossroad on the way between three continents. Another important reconstruction started in fifties of the previous century, when the tourism entered to the island. To the 21st century Las Palmas walked in as an important commercial center in the Atlantic, with the fully developed infrastructure and a rich cultural offer.

In the port Puerto de la Luz sometimes you can observe interesting thing. Often the large cruisers stop here on their way threw Atlancic Ocean, sometimes they continue from here even to the Carribean. Between the beach Las Canteras and the port, there is a large park Santa Catalina. This area is often a place of various cultural events. The main one is the Carneval of Las Palmas (february-march). There are also many festivals, concerts and celebrations.

Las Palmas offers a lot of possibilities for the culture and art lowers. You can find here a lot of theatres (most known Pérez Galdos and Alfredo Kraus), cinemas, operas, concerts, dance performances. The city hosts musical festival, theatre festival and film festival. Every june the city celebrates its foundation. You can visit numerous museums, for example Canarian Museum, Museum Pérez Galdós, Museum Néstor, Tecnical and Scientific Museum, Marine Museum or the Centre of Moder Art.

Historical Centres

The city of Las Palmas has two important historical centers, separated only by a wide road. The first one is Vegueta, the oldest quarter. You can find here the traditional colonial architecture, narrow paved streets, wooden balconies, tiny squares, museums. The places you shouldn´t miss for sure is the Cathedral of Santa Ana with its square, the square Plaza de Santo Domingo, the square Plaza de Espíritu Santo, Canarian Museum and Museum of Cristopher Columbus.

The second historical center is Triana, constructed shortly after Vegueta, originally as a commercial and marine center. Today the visitors can walk threw the street Mayor de Triana, where you can admire a lot of buildings of historical and artistic value. The street is well apreciated also by the lovers of shopping, because it´s here where you can find the boutiques and fashion shops of all the possible brands. Later on you can relax in the park San Telmo or in the square Plaza de Cairasco and enjoy your coffee on the terrace of some of the local coffee shops.