Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Things to Do Tips by Maria_75 Top 5 Page for this destination

CARNAVAL

February is carnaval time in Las Palmas, and it lasts about 3 weeks with many different events, competitions and attractions. On the 29th of January they had the competition for ´Reina del Carnaval´ - Queen of the Carnaval - and it was really a beautiful show.

Most of the shows take place in the Santa Catalina park and over the next weeks there will be more similar shows, so check them out if you are nearby! When the Carnaval is finished in Las Palmas they start celebrating it in the south of the island.

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PARQUE SANTA CATALINA

In the middle of Las Canteras in the west and the harbour in the east, you find this beautiful park. A lot of the festivities, events and concerts that take place in the city, is located in this park. The carnival (february/march), for example, has it's main stage here, and the park is full of people.

Many touristbuses have their stops here, and it's a good place to start your sightseeing of Las Palmas.

In the park you can see a sculpture of an old woman feeding the animals. She was actually an old homeless woman living in the park, and her was Lolita Pluma. Pluma means feather, and she was called like this because she always had plenty of feathers on her from the birds she was feeding. Everyday she was feeding the animals, and after she died the city made a sculpture of her and placed it in the park. I think it's a nice, and quite different, gesture.

In the streets around the park are many nice cafées, bars, restaurants and shops.

CENTRO ATLANTICO DE ARTE MODERNO

Situated in Vegueta, close to the cathedral. It is hidden behind a traditional fasade, that used to belonge to a hotel. This centre is worth visiting especially because of its spectacular interior design with white walls, marble stairs and acres of glass.

The museum organizes exhibitions, mainly of avant-garde art. But you can also find a collection of works created by artists that have had an influence on canarian art.

Free entrance.

Address: Calle Los Balcones 11, Vegueta

Phone: 928 311824

Website: http://www.caam.net

CASTILLO DE LA LUZ

This fortress defended the natural harbour of Las Palmas for several centuries. The name means Castle of light. It is located on the southern coast of La Isleta, and was built in 1541 on the foundations of an old fort.

The solid fortress was equipped with a platform for eleven cannons. But it suffered severe damages during the invasion of Dutch pirates in 1599 and burnt out completely.

It was later rebuilt, extended and improved. In 1941 the Castillo de la Luz was declared a national historic monument. This well-preserved fortress was restored in 1990 and serves today as a cultural and exhibition centre.

CASA DE COLON

This is an old building from the 1400's. The islands first governor, Pedro de Vera, used to live here. In 1492 and 1493 Colombus (Colón in spanish) lived here when he was preparing his trip to the new world.

Today the house is a museum dedicated to his travels and explorations. You can also find paintings from the Prado museum in Madrid.

Located in the Vegueta district, surrounded by museums and other old and important buildings.

Address: Calle de Colón 1, Vegueta

Directions: Vegueta district, south in Las Palmas.

MUSEO CANARIO

Here you will find the biggest and most important collection of things from the guanches. They have different kinds of tools, ceramics, pintaderas (for making symbols/patterns) and statues.

You can see maps and pictures that were drawn when the spanish first arrived on the islands. And paintings of how they think the guanches lived and looked like. You can also see small scale models of the guanche buildings and villages.

There is an impressive collection of skeletons and craniums, and even mumies that the guanches made. You can still see the hair and nails on the mumies.

The museum is not so big, and it's located in the Vegueta district where there are plenty of old buildings and other museums. You can easily check out this museum and many of the other things around here in one day.

Address: Calle Dr Verneau 2, Vegueta

Directions: The museum lies very close to the cathedral in the area of Vegueta, south in Las Palmas.

LAS CANTERAS

On the westside of the city you can find the lovely beach of Las Canteras. It's almost 3 km long, and lined with a boulevard of bars, restaurants, shops, apartments and hotels.

This is one of the most famous attractions of the city. On daytime it's full of life around the beach, and in nighttime the bars and discos take over.

In the south of the beach is the Alfredo Kraus auditorium and Las Arenas shoppingcentre. From here the promenade takes you along the whole beach and up to La Isleta in the north. This was actually an island, but as the city has grown it is now part of the mainland.

Out in the water is a reef where it's very popular to go surfing. On the inside of the reef the water is very calm and perfect for swimming.

PARQUE DORAMAS

Parque Doramas is a beautiful park that lies in the district of Ciudad Jardin, in the middle of Vegueta and Las Canteras. After a day walking around in the city it is great to come here and relax.

Sit down on one of the many benches, watch the water cascades and the statues, and explore the beautiful plants and flowers that you can find here.

The park is named after the guanche king Doramas, who fought against the spanish for a long time, but in the end he was killed in Arucas.

PUEBLO CANARIO

Located in Parque Doramas is Pueblo Canario. This is a copy of a typical canarian village. The canarian painter Néstor de la Torre is the man behind this.

Everything is artificial, but it is still a nice place to relax, buy souvenirs and local crafts, or look at traditional shows of dancing and singing.

Directions: Located in Parque Doramas, in the middle of Vegueta and Las Canteras.

ERMITA DE SAN ANTONIO ABAD

This is a baroque church from the 1700's. It is built on the place where the first church in Las Palmas was. Christopher Colombus attained a mass here before he travelled to 'the new world' for the first time.

The old streets and places of Santo Domingos and Espíritu Santos around the church are really attractive. It's nice to walk around in the streets here, watching the architecture and trying to imagine how it looked like a few houndred years ago. Then it was still rivers here and a big beautiful forest of palmtrees.

Directions: Vegueta district, south in Las Palmas.