Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas is the center of social activities in the island with museums, cultural centers, historical architecture, theatres, exhibition halls and gardens; and as such is a place that is very interesting to visit and wonder around to see the culture, history and of course – it’s famous beach – Las Canteras.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the capital of the island and together with Santa Cruz de Tenerife makes the political ruling entities of the Canary archipelago. With around 600,000-700,000 citizens(depending on source) it is the tenth largest metropolitan area in Spain and the largest one outside of Europe but belonging to the EU.

The Beginnings of the Town

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The city was founded June 24, 1478 and named Real de Las Palmas by Juan Rejon, the leader of the invading Castilian army. First, it served as an encampment and later it became the city that we today know as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The founding of the encampment marked the beginning of the war against the Guanche tribes living on the island.

After the conflict the archipelago and Las Palmas became an important strategical point for future colonial endavours, a port, and a “jump-stone” to the Americas.

Christopher Columbus anchored in the port of Las Palmas (Puerto de la Luz) and stayed for some time before taking a historical trip to find the new continent. Today, in the city district of Vegueta, a museum is named after him, containing a very nice presentation of the trip and some artifacts from the newly conquered worlds of that time.

The city was mainly limited to the northern areas by a defense wall for a period of 400 years. In the 19th century it’s famous harbor Puerto de la Luz was constructed thus benefiting the rapid expansion of the city.

The growth was enhanced even more by the blockade of the Suez – the city harvested a lot of profits from the re-routing of ships to it’s harbor.

If you want to have the best of Las Palmas by visiting the annual festivals, make sure you drop by in the period of January to March, or June 24th when the Fiestas Fundacionales de San Juan (Saint John festivals) are held to celebrate the founding of Las Palmas as a city.

Weather

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The whole island enjoys a subtropical climate, thus Las Palmas has one of the best quality climates in the world. And, according to Thomas Whitmore, director of research on climatology at Syracuse University (USA), the city actually has, quote, “the best climate in the world“.

The temperature is stable throughout the year, with mild variations between winter and summer. The thermometer shows minimally 10 degrees Celsius in the winter and 27 degrees in the peek of summer. Sometimes there are extremes, but they do not last long. For instance, the hot winds from Sahara can jazz up the temperatures to nearly 40 degrees, but this does not last for long.

The humidity ranges from 60-72%, and the city enjoys a splendid 2,776 hours of sunshine per year resulting nearly 8 hours of average sunshine per day. The winter has no snow, only a rainy season lasting from November to March with only 33 rainy days annually and 13.3cm(5.2 inch) of rain.
As Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is located in the northern part of the island, the weather is somewhat “worse” then down on the south.

Culture and Social Institutions

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Las Palmas is the hearth of socio-cultural events of Gran Canaria. The city has a notable history as well as a nice collection of historical artifacts exhibited in various museums and corresponding institutions. I warmly recommend visiting at least one of the museums while visiting the island, so you get some insight in the culture and history of the island.

The Museo Canario is located in the city district of Vegueta. Founded in 1879, retains a valuable collection of archeological items available in 16 separate rooms. 60,000 volumes enrich the library section of the museum with the oldest book from 1785.

The Casa Museo de Colon, the house where Christopher Columbus stayed while taking a break from the trip to discovering Americas. The house actually belonged to the governor – he was a guest there. The museum is organized into several historical periods, but mainly focuses on the relation of the island to the New World.

The Elder Museum of Science and Technology is a museum concentrating to the culture of science and technology. The 4500 square meters of exhibition space is well equipped with interactive modules, it is innovative and worth visiting if you are into science.

The Atlantic Center of Modern Art (CAAM), is the most important reference in the art life of the Canary Islands since it’s founding in 1989. It is responsible for spreading the art of the archipelago to the rest of the world, specially to Africa, America and Europe. It is located in the street of Calle Los Balcones in the Vegueta city district in an original 18th century building.

Four notable theaters of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are the Teatro Perez Galdos named after a popular Canarian writer; Cuyas theater with the main hall capacity of 940 people and two amphitheatres, notable for it’s outdoor events; the Sala Insular de Teatro is an very nice scenic are inside an old church; and last but not the least is the Guiniguada Theater which has been for years presenting Canarian theatrical creations.

The Auditorio Alfredo Kraus deserves a special spot in the wide range of Gran Canarias cultural aspects. With it’s 11 rooms, 16 thousand square meters, and an absolutely beautiful main hall with an astonishing view at the Atlantic Ocean is definitely a place I personally recommend visiting. The monthly repertoire ranges from local artists to international symphonic orchestral visits. The acoustics is excellent, so you can enjoy the music while looking at the ocean behind the orchestra. Not an everyday event. The tickets are not cheap, and it ranges from 50-120€, depending on the magnitude of the event and the location of the seat. But, I would give even more because it is worth it. The building also hosts other events, not limited only to musical ones.

The congress centers are the Palais des congrès de Gran Canaria (800 people capacity, 16,000m2) and the Center for Initiatives of the Caja de Ahorros de Canarias (CICC) a small conference center with top-notch equipment and capacity of 500 people.

I’ll count three local libraries in Las Palmas. The Library Island with 500 people capacity, 3 floors; the La Biblioteca Simón Benitez Padilla, center specializing in biology, geology and ecology; and the Archives Joaquín Blanco, which contains 160 years of history of the city. Unfortunately, the burning of the Houses Consistoriales in 1845 destroyed the previous documentation.

Cultural Events

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The south is famous for various touristic reasons, but Las Palmas also has a couple of aces in the sleeves: a rich cultural life, annual carnivals, concerts, drag queen shows, and so on.

If you are on the islands in the period of February, make sure you dot miss the biggest annual carnival here. Literally, hundreds of thousands of people mass on the streets (basically the whole city comes out to watch) waiting for the participants to see the most colorful and out-of-this-world costumes. Let there be no mistake: this is the No. 1 show in this category of events, one of the biggest in Spain and the world. The second biggest carnival is right after this one in Playa del Ingles.

Other remarkable events are the Festival Internacional de Cine de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, WOMAD Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (World of Music Arts and Dance), Opera Festival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Festival of Theater and Dance, Fantastic and Terror Film Festival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and many other important events.

Let’s go to the Beach!

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There are four main beaches in Las Palmas, so let me share some information about them.

The Playa de Las Canteras is the main beach of Las Palmas, with it’s 3 km length and ISO 14001 certificate favored by the surfers for it’s excellent waves is definitely a place to check out. The mild climate makes it open throughout the year, and occasionally even for the new years eve surfers celebrate by taking a ride on the waves. The whole length of the beach is provided with a nice sidewalk, so you can also enjoy the magnificent ocean air by taking a walk here.

Playa de Las Alcaravaneras is located just besides the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The CG1 main motorway runs parallel to it, so you can’t miss it. It has a charming promenade and is a local place for running or cycling. The bay is clam so it is a perfect place for canoeing and sailing. They are organized beach soccer tournaments organized here in the summer.

The La Laja Beach is south of Las Palmas, parallel to the CG1 highway, some 1.2Km long with fine grey sand. It is popular with surfers. The waves here were quite dangerous, but after the construction of a dam in the southern part of the beach in the 1990’s, it is safe to surf here. Efforts have been taken to improve the accessibility of the beach by building a boardwalk and improving access by foot. I’ll also add the in the months from April to October this spot is starting point for the weekly boat race.

Playa del Confital is the natural extension of the Las Canteras beach (towards north). Now, this is the place you want to go if you are into surfing, as this beach is most highly valued one for the purpose in Gran Canaria and in Europe. The waves form tubes here – so it’s a must to check out.

Location of the City

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Related Pages

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Gran Canaria Beaches
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Live Webcams