Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Santa Cruz de la Palma

What to see and do in Santa Cruz de la Palma (La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Santa Cruz de la Palma

Towns near Santa Cruz de la Palma

What to see in Breña Alta 3 km · 6 places
What to see in Breña Baja 4.3 km · 6 places
What to see in Puntallana 6.6 km · 7 places
What to see in Villa de Mazo 8.7 km · 6 places
What to see in El Paso 12 km · 8 places
What to see in San Andrés y Sauces 14 km · 8 places
What to see in Los Llanos de Aridane 15 km · 8 places
What to see in Barlovento 17 km · 7 places

Spain › Canary Islands › Santa Cruz de Tenerife › La Palma › Santa Cruz de la Palma

What to see and do in Santa Cruz de la Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma
Village
The island's capital and its only port for passengers and freight, founded in 1493. Its historic centre, declared a cultural heritage ensemble in 1975, combines Renaissance, Baroque and neoclassical architecture around the Plaza de España.
Los balcones de la Avenida Marítima
Monument
A row of colonial-era wooden balconies overlooking the port, considered the city's most iconic image and evidence of the wealth built up through its trade with America.
Castillo de Santa Catalina
Monument
A fortress with a quadrangular plan and diamond-pointed bastions, first built between 1554 and 1560 after the 1553 corsair attack and rebuilt between 1676 and 1701 following the canons of Italian military engineering. It was registered as a Monumento Histórico-Artístico, the heritage designation used in Spain between 1931 and 1985, in 1951.
Iglesia de El Salvador
Monument
A parish church documented since 1512, standing on the Plaza de España next to the town hall, one of the leading examples of Renaissance architecture in the archipelago.
El ataque corsario de 1553
Historical milestone
In 1553 the French corsair François Le Clerc, known as 'Pata de Palo' (Peg-Leg), destroyed the city, then one of the main trading stops between Europe and America. The attack prompted the building of the first defensive fortifications, among them the Castillo de Santa Catalina.
La derrota de Francis Drake
Historical milestone
On the morning of 13 November 1585, Francis Drake's corsair fleet attacked Santa Cruz de La Palma after ruling out Las Palmas de Gran Canaria as a target. After an exchange of artillery fire, the city repelled the attack, one of the few defeats Drake suffered on that expedition.
El primer ayuntamiento democrático de España
Curiosity
In 1773 a lawsuit brought by the Irish merchant Dionisio O'Daly against the local oligarchy entrenched in the town council forced the holding of open municipal elections, considered the first democratically elected town government in Spain.
Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves
Activity
A five-yearly festival, declared of National Tourist Interest in 1980, in which the image of the Virgen de las Nieves is brought down from her sanctuary in the highlands to the capital every five years. It includes the Danza de los Enanos (Dance of the Dwarves) and the Pandorgas, parades of paper-and-wood lanterns. The last edition was held in 2025, with the next scheduled for 2030.
Carnaval de los Indianos
Activity
On Carnival Monday, men and women dressed in white in the style of the emigrants who returned wealthy from Cuba parade through the city in a procession that ends covered in talcum powder, in memory of the historic ties between La Palma and Cuba. The custom dates back to the 19th century and became established as part of Carnival in the first half of the 20th.