Village
Shared capital of the Canary Islands together with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Founded on 24 June 1478 when Juan Rejón landed at the mouth of the Guiniguada ravine, it is the archipelago's most populous city. Its historic quarters of Vegueta and Triana, the port of La Luz and the beach of Las Canteras make it one of the most complete capitals on the Atlantic.
Monument
Founding neighborhood of the city, home to the Casas Consistoriales (town hall), the Cathedral of the Canaries, the Episcopal Palace and the Casa de Colón. Its complex of colonial streets and squares was declared a conjunto histórico-artístico (historic ensemble) in 1973.
Monument
Construction began in 1497 and it opened for worship in 1570, although the works dragged on for centuries: the Neoclassical façade and the towers, over 55 meters tall, were finished in the 19th century after the design by Manuel de Oraa and the later renovations by Francisco Jareño and Fernando Navarro. It combines Gothic, Neoclassical, Baroque and Plateresque styles inside, spread across thirteen chapels.
Monument
Complex of colonial buildings in Vegueta, the former residence of the island's governors. Local tradition holds that Christopher Columbus stayed there in August 1492, during the technical stopover before his first voyage to America. Today it functions as a museum devoted to the history of navigation and the relations between the Canary Islands and America.
Monument
Founded in 1879 by the physician and historian Gregorio Chil y Naranjo (a native of Telde) together with Agustín Millares Torres, it opened its first galleries in 1880 and moved in 1923 to the house in Vegueta bequeathed by Chil. It preserves the largest collection of mummies, skulls and artifacts of the aboriginal Canarian culture that exists.
Monument
Cultural society founded on 1 March 1844 as the Gabinete Literario de Fomento y de Recreo de Las Palmas, on the site of the old Cairasco theater on Calle Mayor de Triana. Its striking Modernista façade, topped by two towers with domes, is the work of the architects Fernando Navarro and Rafael Massanet. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's top heritage-protection category) in 1985.
Monument
Fortification in La Isleta next to the port of La Luz. It originated as a wooden fort from 1478 built by Juan Rejón; after the incorporation of Gran Canaria into the Crown of Castile it was rebuilt in stone from 1494 and reinforced in 1515 and 1553. It was set on fire during the 1599 Dutch attack and rebuilt in the late 17th century. Declared a Monumento histórico-artístico on 12 July 1941, it today houses the Fundación Martín Chirino.
Nature
Urban beach of golden sand three kilometers long, protected by La Barra, a calcareous reef more than 100,000 years old that creates calm waters suitable for swimming along almost its entire length. It is considered one of the best urban beaches in Europe.
Monument
Complex of houses in traditional Canarian style built in Parque Doramas on the initiative of the painter Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre, who laid the first stone on 2 April 1938; his brother Miguel finished the project after Néstor's death that same year. The complex houses the Museo Néstor, devoted to the painter's symbolist work.
Nature
Located in Tafira Alta, it is Spain's largest botanical garden, covering more than 27 hectares. It was the idea of the Swedish-Spanish botanist Erik Ragnar Svensson, who began laying it out in 1952; it opened in 1959 and takes its name from the clergyman and naturalist José Viera y Clavijo (1731-1813).
Monument
Concrete building shaped like a lighthouse located at the end of Las Canteras beach, the work of the architect Óscar Tusquets. It opened on 5 December 1997 and bears the name of the Gran Canaria-born tenor Alfredo Kraus, born in the city. It hosts the International Film Festival and the Las Palmas Opera Festival every year.
Historical milestone
Between 26 and 28 June 1599 a Dutch fleet under the command of Pieter van der Does landed in the city, occupied it for several days and partially burned it, damaging the Castillo de la Luz, before being repelled. The episode was recorded in the memory and on the coat of arms of several municipalities in northern Gran Canaria.
Historical milestone
On 18 July 1936 General Francisco Franco, then stationed in the Canary Islands, set out from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for Morocco to lead the coup d'état that started the Spanish Civil War.
Curiosity
One of the most crowded carnivals in Spain, with international reach; its galas and the Gala Drag Queen usually draw tens of thousands of people to the city. It is held in the weeks before Lent, with a date that varies each year.