Las Palmas

Municipality

Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas
León y Castillo 270 & 330, 35007 Las Palmas
Tel. 928 44 60 00

Promotion Las Palmas

Other localities in the Municipality

Distrikt I: Vegueta, San Cristóbal, Pedro Hidalgo, Zárate, San Juan, San Roque, Polígono Vega de San José, El Lasso, San José, La Laja.
Distrikt II: Triana, San Nicolás, Urbanización Miller Bajo, La Paterna, Lomo Apolinario, San Francisco.
Distrikt III: Fincas Unidas, Canalejas, Lugo, Ciudad Jardín, Alcaravaneras.
Distrikt IV: Canteras - Parque, Guanarteme, Santa Catalina.
Distrikt V: La Isleta.
Distrikt VI: Schamann, El Polvorín, San Antonio, Las Rehoyas,
Los Tarahales, Cuatro Cañones, Cueva Torres.
Distrikt VII: Altavista, Escaleritas, Feria del Atlántico, Las Torres,
El Cardón, Barranquillo D. Zoilo, Carretera de Chile.
Distrikt VIII: Tamaraceite, San Lorenzo, Los Giles, Tenoya,
La Milagrosa, Las Mesas, Casa Ayala, El Rincón, Siete Puertas, Almatriche, San José del Álamo, El Toscón, Montaña de San Gregorio y los Llanos de María Rivera.
Distrikt IX: Lomo Blanco, Tafira Baja, Tafira Alta, Marzagán,
Los Hoyos, El Secadero, Salto del Negro, La Calzada, Jinámar,
La Montañeta, El Sabinal, Barranco Seco, Los Lirios.

Municipality Information

Area: 100,55 square kilometres
Population: 378.628
Height of the city: 8 MSL.

Tourist Information

Oficina de Turismo Casa del Turismo
Parque Santa Catalina, 35007 Las Palmas
Tel. 928 26 46 23
Open: Monday - Friday 10.00 - 19.30
Saturday  10.00 - 15.00

Oficina de Turismo, Parque de San Telmo
Calle Rafael Cabrera, 35002 Las Palmas
( Estación de Guaguas-Pasillo Comercial )
Tel. 928 36 83 35
Open: Monday - Friday 10.00 - 19.30
Saturday 10.00 - 15.00

Plaza Hurtado de Mendoza
(plazoleta de las ranas)
Open: Monday - Friday  10.00 - 19.30
Saturday  10.00 - 15.00

Paseo de Las Canteras
(frente al Hotel Meliá)
Open: Monday - Friday  10.00 - 19.30
Saturday  10.00 - 15.00

Avenida de Mesa y López
Open: Monday - Friday  10.00 - 15.30

Sightseeing

A tourist bus operated by the Gran Canaria You can board or disembark from the tourist bus at any of the twenty bus stops that are distributed along the length of its route.  During the bus ride, you can enjoy the panoramic views from the high part of the city and visit the most charming and typical parts of a modern city that is always bustling with activity.
Individual Multilingual audio system (8 languages).
If you decide to get off the bus, remember there is another in half an hour or in one hour..... You can get off where you want and take the next without paying extra.
Timetable: The first bus is at 10:00 am. and the last bus is at 17:30 pm. The busses pass each bus stop every 30 mins. and the tour is 1 hour and 30 min. Travel cards can be bought from Guagas Municipal's kiosks around the city.

Inside Las Palmas it is easy and cheap to take a taxi. If you are driving short stretches and are more than two persons, it can be cheaper to take a Taxi in stead of a bus. They are driving with Taximeter. Between 22.00 - 06.00 there is 0,38 € extra on the price. As many other places there are more or less willing chauffeurs. Often they only speak Spanish, but if you know where to go, there usually are no problems.
Las Canteras - Bus Terminal San Telmo, about 5,00 €
Las Canteras - Vequeta, about 6,50 €
Las Canteras - La Ballena, about 7,00 €
Las Canteras - Airport, about 40 €

From here the busses drives to the South and North Coast of the Island, as well as to the Mountains in the middle of the Island.
Green or blue busses are driving south around the Island.

See different routes:  Salcai/Utinsa Global.

Different routes with the City busses in Las Palmas can be seen here.

The Yellow City busses has more lines to the Catalina Parque in Puerto de Las Palmas. Some good lines to remember are the lines 1 - 2 - 3. These busses drives often and has no schedule.
Number 1 is driving from the Catalina Parque to the street  Triana and Vequeta.
Number 2 drives from the Catalina Parque, and is passing the department store El Corte Ingles, the old football stadium,  through the exclusive part of the city Ciudad Jardin,  to Alameda de Colon in Vequeta.
Number 3 drives from The Catalina Parque, behind El Corte Inglés, and over the district Altavista, situated in upper Las Palmas. From there, there are a fantastic view over the city. The bus continues through a typical city district to end in  Alameda de Colon in Vequeta.

From The Catalina Parque the busses 12 and 13 drives to the Bus Terminal at San Telmo Parque every 10 minutes.

Bus 30 - Playa del Inglés, Maspalomas, every 20 minute. Price about 5 €
Bus 50 – Maspalomas once every hour. Price about 5 €
Bus 91 – Puerto Rico once every hour. Price about 6 €

Airport

The airport of Gran Canaria is placed 18 km. South East of Las Palmas. About 20 min. drive.
See under Airport

Hospital Materno-Infantil
Avda. Marítima Sur, 35001 Las Palmas
Tel. 928 44 47 77 - Fax. 928 44 47 32

Look under Worth Knowing - Pharmacy

Recently re-opened after a long refurbishment, is the Pérez Galdós Theatre in Las Palmas. Named after the infamous Spanish Realist Novelist, Benito Pérez Galdós, the theatre has under gone a massive face-lift, which included a controversial extension that cleverly combined the rich historical façade with minimalist modern architecture. A new stage and orchestra pit has also been added, which serves to improve the acoustics and provide the musicians with better visibility. The Pérez Galdós Theatre is at the heart of the Gran Canarian cultural scene and will host some of the best musical events on the island.

The theatre is situated in the Triana, district of Las Palmas, which is definitely worth visiting; here you can find many notable historical buildings as well as the main shopping street of this area. Visitors can look forward to a slice of true Canarian culture, discover cobbled streets overlooked by characteristic intricately carved wooden balconies, then take a seat in one of the pavement cafes, enjoy a 'café con leche' and watch the world go by.

The Concert House of the City also has lecture rooms. It is a beautiful modernistic building at one end of Las Canteras. La Cicer. Ticket for the different arrangements is bought right here.

Las Palmas has a extremely excellent and  big Philharmonique Orchestra, which gives concerts in the theatre mostly on Fridays.

Biblioteca Pública del Estado de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Plaza de la Constitución 3, 35003 Las Palmas
Tel. 928 36 10 77 - Fax. 928 38 17 18

Open: Monday - Friday 09.00 - 20.00

Digital Library

Las Palmas is in a duty-free area and therefore has attractive prices. A part of your shopping you can make in the districts Triana and Mesa Y Lopez, where for instance the warehouse El Corte Inglés is. Here you can also find Benetton, Marks & Spencer, shoe- and sports-shops. It is also here that  the popular Spanish shops Mango and Zara has several shops.

By the harbour you find the shopping centre El Muelle with a big choice of shops to all prices.

Compromised and timesaving shopping you can make in the Shopping Centres. Las Arenas is situated in one end of Las Canteras. La Ballena is found in the district Escaleritas. The shops usually have Siesta between 13.00 and 17.00 and are open again till  20.30. Warehouses and Shopping Centres are open Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 21.30. Most shops are closed on Sundays.

Every Sunday from 08.00 - 14.00 there's a market by the San Telmo Parque. Here they sell sweaters bags, shoe, cassettes, playthings and much more.
Haggling is quite usual on markets.

In this building which was started in 1854, there's a market.

Open: Monday - Thursday 06.00 - 14.00

Friday, Saturday and the day before a holiday 06.00 - 15.00

Flower Market - a very local one, every Sunday 10.00 - 15.00 on the Plaza Santo Domingo in Vegueta. Some stands with flowers, a little Canary Handicraft, a bar with service and appearance around 12.00.
Worth visiting, if you want to experience the genuine, local custom.

Columbus Museum, is situated in Vequeta, the old part of Las Palmas. This Museum was opened to the public in 1950, and is placed in the former residence of the Governor, (now over 500 years old) in which Christopher Columbus lived, when he visited the Island. The building can be transported to the 15th Century.

The rooms of the museum are mainly devoted to the role played by the Canary Islands in its Discovery, and to the New World and, and you'll find Paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and works on loan from the Prado Art gallery in Madrid.

Christopher Columbus House contains a museum and an area of scientific studies, in addition to a library that specialises in the history of America and Atlantic relations, as well as it also presents seminars, conferences and courses.

It's worth visiting for the architecture alone, which is typical of the island during that period, but there's also a permanent exhibition based around the theme of voyages of discovery and occasional temporary exhibitions.

Casa Museo de Pérez Galdos, was the place where the famous writer wrote his things. He was born in 1894 and his house is saved as a Museum. The museum contains the writer's complete works as well as important letters and manuscripts. Pérez Caldos lived in the house from he was born and till the year 1862.

The exhibition rooms display part of the furniture from the Galdós family houses in Madrid and Santander, as well as the Gran Canaria writer’s library, archives and personal possessions. Furthermore the house representative of 18th century architecture. Every four years, the museum organises an International Congress on Galdós, also organising regular courses and seminars on the author and his times.

Museo Canario describes the Canarian past, and is founded in 1879 to you who want to know more about the Islands exciting aborigines - The Guanches. It is one the most popular and fascinating museums in Gran Canaria. There's also a big collection of skulls from the time of Cro-Magnon. A library and a newspaper archive is also at hand.

The Canarian Museum It is located in the old quarter Las Palmas and was founded in 1879. Its collection consists mostly of artefacts relating to the aboriginal people of Gran Canaria, the Canarios. It is based on the people who have inhabited the island over the centuries. Here you can see the customs and religions traditional to the island before the Spanish arrived. Every of the 11 rooms of the museum contains a different theme.

The Museum displays the works of Néstor (1887-1938), one of Spain’s principal symbolist painters and one of the most unusual painters of the European movement.

It is located inside the cathedral and contains the island's best treasures including important art from the 15th-18th centuries. The cathedral itself took 73 years to build and is still incomplete in parts. Tourists come here on Thursdays and Sundays to see exhibitions of Canarian dance and music.

Founded to celebrate the life and works of local artist Néstor Martin Fernandez de la Torre, this notable gallery was later extended to house further paintings from the Gallery of Contemporary Canarian Art, together with antique furniture and other local artefacts.

Opening hours:
Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 20.00
Sundays and Holidays 10.30-14.30
Admission: 1,80 €.

Casa Regental
Plaza de Santa Ana

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 from the time of the conquest by the Castilians.

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. The Castillo de la Luz defended the natural harbour of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for several centuries.

During the following centuries the two-storey building was 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, for national and international events.

Museo Elder, an impressive and well-organized science and technology museum, accommodated in a building that formerly belonged to the Elder-Dempster Shipping Line, hence the name.

In this museum, visitors to the island interested in science and technology will be entertained for hours and especially for children there are a lot of interactive exhibits to amuse them, like an industrial robot spot-welding a car – just to name one of them – as well as an IMAX-Cinema.

Over twenty display areas devoted to the reconstruction and reproduction of mankind's greatest scientific advances form part of this interactive science awareness centre whose motto is "Forbidden not to touch".

Iglesia of Santo Domingo, built in the 18th century. Located in the Vegueta district in the city of Las Palmas, is one of as many as six convents of which only the churches now remain.

It has three naves with side chapels and among its distinguishing features are the Dominican emblems on the façade, the Plateresque altarpieces on the main altar and the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, as well as various statues made by a sculptor from Gran Canaria, Luján Perez.

There are Classical Concerts in The Santo Domingo Church.

Admission: Free

Las Palmas was the first Municipality on the Canary Islands, and the Casa Consistorial, built in 1525 contained the Town Council and the Court. The City and the Islands history was written and saved here until March 29th 1842, where a fire caused by a pyromaniac destroyed everything.
The public archives and hundred of years of history was lost. A few days after the fire they started building the new Casa Consistorial and to day the building is only used to Weddings and Town Council meetings.

To Las Palmas the Palacio Episcopal is a symbol on religious strength, and the residence of the Bishop. This big building from 1819 is the result of the original building, which lies behind and which is from 1550. The Bishop still has an office in the building.
Admission is free, but there isn't open to his private area and office.
Open Monday - Friday 08.30 - 13.30

Religious Museum situated in the south wing at the grand Cathedral de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The entrance is to be seen left in the picture. A visit to the museum, located in the "Patio de los Naranjos" of the Canary Islands Cathedral, is included in the entrance fee.

Items of religious art on display, including valuable sculptures and paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as well as gold and silverware. There is an outstanding polychromatic mosaic in the Chapter House.

The museum also contains various furniture pieces that have enormous historic and artistic value.

Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), is one of the City's great art centres situated in a beautiful well kept house from the 18th century. It has a permanent collection as well as hosting temporary exhibitions of modern art from around the world, and is the principal art museum of Las Palmas

Along side Casa Colon lies  Eremita de San Antonio Abad from about 1400 where a plaquette reminds us that Christopher Columbus prayed here. The actual building can be dated to 1757.

Centro Insular de Cultura
Perez Galdoz 53
Tel. 928 21 96 65

Opening hours:
Monday - Friday
09.00 - 14.00 and 17.00 - 20.00

Museum for history of the civilisation

Edificio Elder y Miller

Parque Doramas is a beautiful park that lies in the district of Ciudad Jardin, in the middle of Vegueta and Las Canteras. 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.

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.

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.

A monument depicting aboriginal people tumbling over a precipice to escape capture symbolizes the resistance of the Guanche chief Doramas, after whom this park was named, against the Spanish invaders.

Doramas Park itself is a sub-tropical paradise in itself worth a visit. Cascading water features, abundant Canarian flora a terrace cafe and generally a world away from the surrounding city. In the centre of the park is THE hotel to be seen at, Hotel Santa Catalina. Dating back to the 1800s the original Canarian style of the building is quite spectacular and there's a nice terrace to sit out on for morning coffee or afternoon tea.

The Pueblo Canario, located in the beautiful gardens of Doramas Park in the City of Las Palmas, was created by Canarian artist Néstor de la Torre and represents the islands' typical architecture. Each Thursday and Sunday take place colourful folkloristic performances.

It was designed and built in the 1930s by the brothers Néstor and Miguel Fernandez de la Torre to interest tourists in island culture. It is a complex of several traditionally built island houses with the famous wooden carved balconies forming a typical Canary village with gates, turrets and an atrium.

The village boasts a large central square – where twice a week enthusiastic folklore shows take place – surrounded by shops selling local handicrafts and the Bodegón (wine bar) Canario, where you can taste several dishes of the typical Canary.

A pretty and very relaxed place in the heart of a big city, the Pueblo Canario is in spite of its obviously artificial nature well worth a visit!

Heading out of Triana is Parque de San Telmo, with its shelter and bandstand, and the bus station, where you can get a bus to anywhere on the island.

This little haven of peace is located in the centre of the big city of Las Palmas, next to Calle Triana, with an abundance of different shops, restaurants and bars. This large park features sitting areas, pathways, mature landscaping with large palm trees and many popular outdoor events and activities, including a number of local fairs. It currently covers 17300 square metres.

On Parque San Telmo is among other things a Chapel and some very beautiful "Drago" trees. In the South you'll find Casa Museo Pérez Galdos and close by the beautiful Opera House, Teatro de Péréz Galdós from 1919.

Plaza de Los Escritores
The market placed by the Bus Terminal

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.

It's a good place to start your sightseeing of Las Palmas, as many tourist buses have their stops here,

In the park you can see a sculpture, placed there by the City, of an old woman feeding the animals. She was actually an old homeless woman living in the park, and her name 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.

In the streets around the park are many nice cafés, bars, restaurants and shops. Close to the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, the Parque de Santa Catalina is known for hosting many of the area's most notable carnivals and festivals.

Located next to La Luz and Las Palmas Ports, this park's wide central area is surrounded by the Science Museum, the Elder Building, a play area for children and a modern tourist office.

Plaza San Francisco - with a bust of Columbus and the beautiful Iglesia de San Francisco.

Plaza Ingeniero Manuel Becerra is situated between Castillo de la Luz and the entrance to the Harbour Area El Sebadal.

Situated in Tafira Alta, about 10 min drive from Las Palmas. is  Jardín Botánico which is the biggest Botanical Garden in Spain. The Area covers about 27 ha. and is founded in 1952 by the Swede Eric Sventenius.
When you enters the garden one of the first places is Plaza Viera y Clavijo from where you can see all of the  garden which among other things contains more than 2000 different arts of cactus, waterfall, lakes and much more.

Open daily 09.00 - 18.00 - closed on Holidays

Caldera de Bandama

This is the main and oldest district of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria's capital. A walk along the streets and passageways gives you an opportunity to appreciate the magnificence of the original design of 16th century cities.

There are buildings such as the cathedral, the Palacio Episcopal, the Town Hall and museums, including Casa de Colón, where Christopher Columbus stopped on his way to discover the New World, worth visiting, as well as other more contemporary ones such as the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno and the Museo Canario.

Longitude  27º7 ' N   - Latitude  15º25 ' W

Puerto de Las Palmas
Tomás Quevedo Ramírez
35005 Las Palmas
Tel. 928 24 36 06 / 928 24 41 01
Fax. 928 24 36 06

Las Palmas has a very big harbour, the 4th biggest in the world, and the biggest on this side of the Atlantic. It is called at about 1.000 ships every month. Lots of ships are fuelling before the trip continues towards America or down the Coast of Africa.

There is much traffic by ferries to and from Gran Canaria. A big part of this traffic is till and from the harbour in Las Palmas. It is for instance from here, that you come to Cadiz in Spain - a trip of 680 miles, which takes 40 hours.  Order tickets here!

From Las Palmas also sails Naviera Armas. There are departures several times a week to among other places  Tenerife, Lanzarote
Click here for times and Ticket ordering

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the capital of the island. It's located in the north east and set amongst some spectacular natural scenery.

It's surrounded by two open bays with the popular beaches of Playa de las Canteras and Playa de las Alcaravaneras.

Las Palmas was founded in 1478 by the Queen Isabella. Today, it's considered an area of important historical and cultural heritage. From a historical point of view, the most interesting part is the old district of Vegueta, which was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1990.

The town has a very cosmopolitan image and feel. This is largely because it's home to the Puerto de la Luz harbour - one of the most important in Europe. It has a massive infrastructure of hotels and holiday apartments catering to the ever-increasing tourist trade. Since the sixties, the town's population has more than doubled in size. It now has 378.628 inhabitants. (2005)

One of the best times to visit Las Palmas is during the carnival period (usually in February / March). The town totally transforms; it comes alive with people, music, dance, food and drink. It's always plenty of fun. The atmosphere is warm and friendly; everyone is invited (locals and foreigners alike).

Although, thousands of foreigners flock to Las Palmas every year and many have taken up residence, it still remains authentically Spanish; it overflows with Spanish history, culture and charm and Las Palmas is still the 8th biggest city in Spain.

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