Las Palmas

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, or just Las Palmas, is the capital of Gran Canaria, the largest city in the Canary Islands, and one of the largest cities in Spain. In 2018, it had about 380,000 residents. Like for example Rio de Janeiro and Miami Beach, Las Palmas is famous for its urban beaches, of which there are five. Until the late 1960s it was the main tourist center of Gran Canaria, after that it has been surpassed by the resorts popping up along the southern coast of the island. Unlike these, though, Las Palmas also has historical and cultural attractions.

Districts
There is no actual city centre. The nucleus is the picturesque old town Vegueta. There are five administrative districts, each of which is further subdivided into barrios, identified by Roman numbers.


 * Vegueta, Cono Sur and Tafira — The first district corresponds to the historical district, named la Vegueta which translates to the "small plain". This is the narrow coastal plain created by sediments transported by streams from the mountains in the west. Until the mid 19th century this was the whole city. With the arrival of British settlers at that time, the city started expanding northwards. Tafira and Cono Sur, which aren't of much interest to visitors except for Playa de la Laja, a long beach of volcanic sand which is mostly frequented by locals.


 * Centro — Triana and Ciudad Jardin are the most "touristic" barrios in the second district. Triana is north of the old town, separated from it by a stream that has been partially paved over. It takes its name from a similar district in Seville, as many sailors from there settled in the district. The main street here is Calle Mayor de Triana, a pedestrianized shopping street lined by Art Noveau buildings. Ciudad Jardin was built mostly in the 1930s as a project by architect Miguel Martín-Fernández de la Torre in Rationalist style. Here you can find Hotel Santa Catalina, the most prestigious in Las Palmas. Other attractions are the Doramas Park and Pueblo Canario, a reconstruction of a historical Canarian village.


 * Puerto-Canteras — This is where most visitors head, with by far the largest concentration of both hotels and nightlife. Puerto, the port, is where cruise ships arrive, and where one can find the Catalina Park which is a venue for the carnaval and other major events. Further south, between the marina and military port is the Alcaravaneras Beach, home to many sports clubs. At the opposite side of the isthmus is Canteras with the long Canteras Beach which is the most popular and famous of them all. The southern part of Canteras forms the barrio of Guanarteme. There's the Alfredo Kraus auditorium, the Las Arenas mall, and several places to eat and drink.


 * Ciudad Alta — Mostly residential, though visitors are drawn here by the sports stadium (Estadio de Gran Canaria) and the fairgrounds (Feria Internacional de Canarias) with different events around the year.


 * Tamaraceite-San Lorenzo— The largest district with the smallest density of population. It comprises the mountainous regions in the west of the city, along the motorway "Autovía Santa Catalina-Lomo Blanco". A rapidly growing residential area, there are hardly any visitor attractions here.

There are five beaches in Las Palmas, with the most important being Playa de Las Canteras. The other ones are Alcaravaneras, Confital, San Cristobal and La Laja. Alcaravaneras is in the waters of Puerto de la Luz, set between two yacht clubs.

History


Las Palmas was founded on 24 June 1478, on St. John's day. On this day captain Juan Rejón landed on the east coast where the Guiniguada streams flows into the ocean and set up a military camp. The whole of Gran Canaria was under Spanish control by 1483 and by then the first houses had been built where the current district of Vegueta is. Las Palmas very quickly became the de facto capital of the island when a courthouse, a tribunal of the Holy Inquisition and a diocese was established here. When Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492, he stopped there to have a ship repaired; so in less than a decade and a half the camp had grown to a place where ships could be repaired! From that on, Las Palmas became an important stop for Spanish transatlantic sailings.

Las Palmas established itself as a prosperous city thanks to sugar cane, but also slave trade. Portuguese and Genovese merchants settled in the city. While Vegueta was the seat of the nobility and the royal and clerical authorities, the Triana district across the Guiniguada stream was where fishermen, artisans and merchants lived.

Eventually it became the target for pirates, which led to the construction of walls and fortifications. In 1595 a fleet commanded by John Hawkins and Francis Drake made an unsuccessful attempt to plunder the city. Four years later a fleet of 74 Dutch pirate ships commanded by Pieter van der Does sacked the city for a week before Spanish troops came to rescue and drove them away. Together with subsequent pirate attacks, bad harvests and epidemics also took a toll on the city.

To develop the economy, Las Palmas was given the status of free port in 1852. This attracted especially British shipowners and entrepreneurs, and in 1883 a major expansion of the port Puerto de la Luz (established in 1833) began. In the 19th century, tourism and travelling became possible for more people and also Las Palmas started receiving visitors both from Europe and North America. In 1890 the Santa Catalina Hotel was built, today it's the grand old hotel of the city. Hotel Madrid, on the other hand, gained fame as where future dictator Franco stayed for a long time in 1936, planning his landing in mainland Spain.

Mass tourism arrived in the late 1950s, partially because of the movie Moby Dick that had scenes shot at Las Canteras beach making people aware of this long sand beach. European travel agencies started flying in planeloads of tourists, and to cope with the increase in visitors purpose-built resorts such as Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés were built along the south coast of Gran Canaria. Already in the 1970s, these had become the main destination on the island. Las Palmas still remains a tourist destination, offering visitors history, culture and events in addition to the sun and sea experience the Canary Islands are known for.

Tourist information


The tourist information (Casa del Turismo) operates four kiosks around Las Palmas.



Climate
Weather-wise Las Palmas is a year round destination - actually Syracuse University has named it as the city with the best weather in the world. Five degrees north of the Tropic of Capricorn and with suitable winds, the medium temperature is +17°C in the winter and +25°C in the summer. However, Las Palmas has a much windier climate than the southern parts of Gran Canaria, which makes it feel cooler. The sea temperate fluctuates between 19°C in March and 23.5 in October, the biggest UV index (11) occurs between Jun and August.

By plane


Getting there: take the Global interisland blue buses. Bus routes 1, 5, 11, 60 & 91 all travel from the airport to the city of Las Palmas. The #60 & #91 Global buses are the airport—city express lines. All airport / city buses travel to either of the main city bus stations of San Telmo Park (central near Vugueta/Triana historic old town areas) or Santa Catalina Park (further north near the port/marina & main city beach of Las Canteras). The airport—city buses run approximately every 30 minutes all day and night. Travellers must press the bus stop button to indicate their stop or the bus driver may continue pass stops or stations without stopping. The express lines run normally between 06:15 to 20:50. Airport—city bus travel costs €2.80-4.00, one way per person, depending on the busrouret and time of day. Express line #60 & #91 travel is the cheapest (as of 2021) for €2.80 per person per one trip. Global interisland buses allow you to place luggage under the bus. For city Guagua buses, you must be able to carry and secure your luggage with you while standing or seated if space permits. For each bus, global or guagua, travellers are responsible to load and express to the driver the need to unload luggage if departing at a stop earlier then a station where luggage unloading is facilitated normally. Bicycles can only be transported on buses if in a bag or box, and can be carried by their owner. City buses may refuse luggage or bicycles depending on the driver and number of users. Ths same applies for Global interisland buses other than the airport express line. Carry-on luggage must fit on your lap. Standing is not permitted on Global buses. City buses standing is allowed. If there is no space you must wait for space on the next bus.

A reserved taxi or private tour hire car ride to/from the city of Las Palmas to the airport costs around €30. Private tours and car hires can be cheaper but must be arranged with the drivers in advance. Most hotels and hostels can book private tours and hire cars. Taxis are the most efficient, but also the most expensive travel option. Taxis can pick up only at designated cues at the Airport. Taxis can accept cash or most credit and debit cards.

Rental cars are the main option for most groups for cost savings. Drivers must be over 23 to 25 in most rental cases, have a valid driver's licence and international permit in some cases, and be able to drive manual transmission vehicles. Almost all companies must be booked online prior to arrival. Autoreisen offers good prices with no hidden fees, and free extras such as second driver. Don't expect to get a fee refund from a rental car companies and there is no viable complaint mechanism. Expect pricing changes and vehicle switching. Always rent direct through the specific car company website. There are many, many 3rd party insurance and rental scams in Spain including at point-of-rental desk bookings. This also includes problems with rental car bookings as part of a flight package deal. Expect additional fees and charges when not dealing direct through a rental car company website.

By boat
The Port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria receives ships from all over the world. The port is one of the most important ports today and there is a program of further expansion. There are many daily ferries from Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife and smaller islands. Naviera Armas (February 2021) and Fred Olsen are the largest operators, but there are several smaller companies as well. Fred Olsen ferries arrive at the nearby town of Agaete and not in Las Palmas city. Each ferry arriving at Gran Canaria operates a passenger bus to take walk-on passengers from the ferry dock to near the city of Las Palmas bus station of Santa Catalina. Same applies to reach the ferry from near the city bus station of Santa Catalina. Walk-on passengers must select use of passenger bus connection when booking their ferry tickets. If you don't book the ferry passenger connection shuttle, travel to the nearest ferry company ticket office and ask them to assist you to book the passenger shuttle bus for your ferry. Passenger shuttle departure is normally 1 hour prior to scheduled sailing time from the designated ferry shuttle bus stop. Missing the various private ferry connection shuttle buses by walk-on passengers can cost a lot of time and money as the Ferry docking ports are a great distance away (average 10-km walk) from any public transit options. Inter-island car and walk-on passenger ferry connections are run mainly by the fast ferries. Be sure to also purchase online any additional public transit tickets to travel forward from the ferry passenger bus drop-off points as most city bus systems will not allow on bus ticket purchases with cash.

From mainland Spain, there is one weekly sailing every Saturday from Cádiz operated by Transmediterránea. The journey takes about 40 hours with prices from €200. As of 2018, there are no ferries from Morocco.

By bus
The only bus company operating interurban lines on Gran Canaria is Global,. Most of the company's lines have Las Palmas as either their origin or their destination. There are two bus stations in the city:

By car

 * GC-1 cuts through the city, connecting it with the airport and other important municipalities as far as Tauro (80 km).
 * GC-2 connects the city with the North Zone, extending up to Agaete.
 * GC-3 circles the city and connects the other three highways
 * GC-4 connects Las Palmas with the communities in the centre of the island.

By bus
Google Maps and Moovit cover the city and the island for finding the right bus line to your destination.

City buses
Las Palmas has the best quality bus system in the archipelago and one of the best in Spain. The service is provided by Guaguas Municipales, +34 928 446 500, and that's why the bright yellow buses are known as guaguas pronounced wah-wahs as the g is silent in Spanish. A simple fare, paid directly to the city bus driver, is €1.10 per person per any city bus trip in x1 direction only (can not stay on the city Guagua or islands Global buses for a circular journey).

As of Jan 2021, due to the pandemic, you can’t buy tickets with cash from any bus drivers. You must buy ahead one of the various plastic top-up cards as single journey tickets are not available. They can be bought online or in Guagua booths in Santa Catalina park, San Telmo station or Teatro. Least expensive is a 2-journey city bus ticket that you blip once getting on the bus. A bus card ticket that is good for 10 rides is available for €8.50 + one time fee for the plastic rechargeable city bus card of €1.50 (best deal for city bus travel without lots of paperwork).

Family passes are available for further discounts and children under 6 are free - don't tap pay for them as refunds are not possible and cards are charged for every tap / blip. Students, seniors, and families (max 5) get further additional price discounts if presenting valid ID at purchase and fill out applicable forms online prior or at the official vendors in the bus stations when they are open. If you are over 70 and staying longer you can apply for a Senior Citizens Pass at the bus station in Telmo. This will give you a 50% discount on all bus trips over 11 km here. You will need passport photos for this and €5.

These bus cards can be recharged at machines (libraries, malls, bus stations) and various store kiosks throughout the city for a minimum top-up payment of €8.50. Machines and kiosks can accept cash, or credit or debit cards as is also possible when making an initial card purchase and top-up at the official bus station card vendors.

With a standard rechargable city Guagua bus card trips are a cost of €0.80. It is possible to take x2 city bus trips on a card within 1½ hours and not be charged more (depending on direction of travel) however this not a guarantee and at all times you must blip the city bus card when entering the bus. No money on the card means no permission to ride the bus. A city bus card may be used to pay for anyone in a group by tapping it on entry for the amount of persons in a group.

The most important bus lines have frequencies of between 3 and 15 minutes during the day and between 10 and 40 minutes at night. Most lines have service throughout the night. Among the most useful lines are:
 * Line 1  Teatro - Puerto
 * Line 12 Hoya de la Plata - Puerto
 * Line 30 Alameda de Colón - Santa Catalina

Interisland buses
Interisland Global buses (blue in color) accept most debit & credit cards for a journey purchase on the bus as most travel around the island will cost around €1 per every 15km one-way with deals for specific routes. Dual Guagua city + Global Interisland bus cards can be purchased as well at official vendors and online for significant savings.

By taxi
Taxis with the green light on are vacant and you can flag it down. It's also possible to go to one of the city's 42 taxi stops or call for a taxi.

By bike
There's just one major bike route, but leads to most sites a visitor go to. Unless you're familiar with the local style of driving, don't venture out on major streets - on smaller streets it's probably safer to get around by bike. On the downside, biking around Las Palmas can be uncomfortable due to hot weather.

There's a bike rental scheme named Sitycleta, similar to in many large cities around the world. You open an account at their site, registering your debit or credit card. Then you can go to a rental station and unlock a bike, use it and return it there or to another station and will be billed for the time in-between.

By car
Dense traffic on workdays and in certain commercial leisure zones mean that driving is really no fun here. The city street plan is not at all rectilinear, so the streets can confuse even experienced drivers.

Parking is also pretty expensive in most places. Some of the shopping malls can be used for parking for a limited time (e.g. up to three hours free) and if you need or intend to shop, receipts from the shops may be used to pay for the stay.

On the upside, the price of gasoline is significantly cheaper that the rest of Spain and Europe, there are no toll roads, and entrances, exits, main streets and important zones are all well-signposted.

Photo radar cameras & heavy police traffic enforcement is common. Do not park illegally. The local cars rarely are towed or ticked for illegal actions or parking. Tourist cars and almost always held to every traffic law possible for revenue.

The N332 website has best English driver instructions, translations and explanations of Spanish driving laws possible for free. Read up as Spain's driving laws have many quirks and quarks not seen elsewhere. Be very cautioned regarding entry and exit rights of traffic circles in Spain as the outside lane gets priority. Also, paying the guy helping you to park your car does not mean the meter was fed. Always go and pay at the meter and do tip the illegal parking helpers (€0.50 to €1) or you may find a few scratches on your car not previously there or worse that they told the traffic cop or tow truck to ticket or tow you to save them time. Fines are very high for illegal parking especially when in rural areas or historic, cultural or natural sites. Traffic police may ask you to follow them to a tow truck company site or yard to pay a ticket right away for half price. Call the Emergency line 112 should you feel something is wrong with a police officer interaction while it is happening and request an additional uniformed officer to arrive to the scene at any time, especially if it is an unmarked car or plainclothes officer or officers. You have the right to film any police interaction provided you do not make comment nor intrude their space or ability to perform their duties.

In Spain you must stop at the scene of an accident to help if no one has begun assistance. 112 is the emergency number in Spain. Many areas of Gran Canaria do not have cell phone service due to the geography of the island.

Museums
















Streets and squares
If you don't necessarily want to see every corner of the city, do concentrate on the old town, Vegueta. Coming by car from Maspalomas and the airport, turn left at the marina to get to Vegueta. There's an underground parking below the small park, park there and explore the old town on foot.





Parks




Do
As a beach town, Las Palmas is especially popular for oceanside activities. Catch a wave, grab your snorkel, or just soak up some sun (after applying sunscreen, of course!) Or if you feel like exploring terra firma, do as the locals do and make use of the public tourism bus, known affectionately as the guiriguagua.

Water and beach activities








Land activities
There are two golf courses in Las Palmas:

The west coast of the peninsula La Isleta in the north of the city is an interesting hiking destination. The coastal path follows black volcanic cliffs rising from the sea. On the cliffs you can see large crabs resting in the sun, and the sand and rock landscape created by erosion also looks interesting.

Events


Major events in the city take place during the winter and early spring. In addition the local newspaper La Provincia has a good coverage on upcoming events, in Spanish.

Carnaval
The local carnaval is almost as famous as that of the neighbouring island of Tenerife, yet different and perhaps even better. It is without a doubt quite spectacular, takes place over 25 days in February and March and is centered on the Santa Catalina Park. The opening ceremony is known as el pregón - "the announcement". A famous musician or a band opens the carnaval with a concert in Santa Catalina park, historically this took place in the small square in the front of the cathedral.

The individual highlights of the carnaval are the six galas. Out of these the largest (attracting most spectators) are the Gala de la Reina where the queen of the carnaval is selected, and the Gala Drag Queen to select the drag queen. The Saturday after these galas, the Gran Cabalgata takes place, a procession through the city from Castillo de la Luz to Teatro Pérez Galdós celebrating the two queens with dance groups (murgas) each consisting of 25-30 dancers in carnaval costumes dancing along the streets to intense music. There are also comparsas - groups composed of rhythm musicians, singers and dancers.

In addition to the main events there are smaller ones like themed nights, a body painting event and a dog show. The carnaval ends with Entierro de La Sardina - "the funeral of the sardine" on Saturday before Shrove Sunday. A mock funeral procession goes through the city ending on Las Canteras beach where a boat with a large sardine in it is burned. This is followed by fireworks, song, dance and partying until next dawn. Shrove Tuesday is the time for the "day carnaval", Carnaval de Día, a street masquerade celebrated in the Santa Catalina park and in the streets and squares of Vegueta.

Other events




Spectator sports

 * Football:



Buy
Shop in the city centre or in one of the department stores like "El Corte Ingles". There's also the Calle Triana, a pedestrianzed shopping street in the north of the old town. There are cheap electronic products and souvenirs for sale everywhere. For food items, Hiperdino is a chain of stores that has a good range of products and set prices. Some of these stores also have a decent selection of wine. Check out Mercadona too. One local specialty is the local rum: Arehucas, Artemi or Armiche (and check out the local Honey Rum "ron miel").

Markets
Visiting the markets can be an interesting experience, also to see market life and taste local products.





Learn
In a Spanish-speaking environment like Las Palmas, you will likely learn the language more effectively. There are language schools offering different classes depending on your skill level.

The city has a university, focusing on human sciences and medicine. It's partaking in the European Erasmus student exchange programme.

Eat
Many restaurants have menus in an abundance of languages, and waiters often will also often be able to converse in your own language.

San Telmo
There are many inexpensive restaurants in the San Telmo neighborhood.



Splurge




Drink
Local beverages include the Arehucas rum, that is drunk straight or with cola, and the Tropical beer.













Budget




Mid-range












Splurge








Mobile
As of June 2022, Las Palmas has 4G from MasMovil/Yoigo, and 5G from Movistar, Orange and Vodafone.

Wi-Fi
There are free Wi-Fi areas around town both in public and private spaces, the latter include Las Arenas and El Muelle shopping malls.

Postal services
The postal office in the El Corte Inglés department store has longer opening times (until 21:30) and has poste restante, parcel and money transfer services. The same set of services can be found at the, (behind Castello de la Luz). The is in Triana at Avenida Primero de Mayo 62, and the  is at Granadera Canaria 28.

Stay safe
If you have a veranda/patio on ground level - don't leave doors nor windows open unattended for any period of time.

Stay away from anyone that offers you anything for free -like lottery tickets or a free meal. These are often salespeople who want you to buy potentially worthless "holiday club" memberships or dodgy time-shares. They may seem pleasant at first, but may turn hostile and start threatening you.

You may run into drunks and prostitutes on the streets. During nighttime, particularly in the small hours when nightclubs there will be groups of drunks who occasionally pick fights with oncomers just for the fun of it. If you're out then, it's safer to take a taxi.

Go next


Any destination on Gran Canaria is reachable as a daytrip if you have a car. Nearby destinations include:

Northern Gran Canaria






Central Gran Canaria