Cueva Pintada Museum & Archaeological Park
Gran Canaria
Discovered by a local farmer in the late 19th century, this is one of Gran Canaria's most important pre-Hispanic archaeological sites: a cave adorned with鈥
Must-see attractions in Canary Islands
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
This fascinating museum documents Columbus鈥 voyages and features exhibits on the Canary Islands鈥 historical role as a staging post for transatlantic鈥
Tenerife
The cable car provides the easiest way to get up to the peak of El Teide. The views are great 鈥 unless a big cloud is covering the peak, in which case you鈥
Lanzarote
Upon returning definitively to Lanzarote, C茅sar Manrique built his spectacular house and creative centre, Taro de Tah铆che, into the lava fields just鈥
Lanzarote
Lanzarote's most spectacular sight, the eerie 51-sq-km Parque Nacional de Timanfaya sprawls around the Monta帽as del Fuego (Mountains of Fire) formed by鈥
Santuario de la Virgen de las Nieves
Santa Cruz de la Palma
For splendid views down the valley to Santa Cruz, put aside time to tackle the 4km uphill hike north of town to La Palma鈥檚 main object of pilgrimage, the鈥
Catedral de Santa Ana & Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The spiritual heart of the city, this brooding, grey cathedral was begun in the early 15th century, soon after the Spanish conquest, but took 350 years to鈥
Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente
La Palma
Declared a national park in 1954, this beautiful park is at the heart of La Palma, both geographically and symbolically. Extending across 46.9 sq km, the鈥
Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The highlights of this dramatic contemporary building are the architecture, its three galleries and the stunning library downstairs. The galleries display鈥
Volc谩n San Antonio Visitor Centre & Volc谩n San Antonio
La Palma
The visitor centre is your first stop if you want to explore the volcanoes. Displays are well-captioned and informative, but the layout is not very鈥
Maspalomas
These fabulous dunes cover 400 hectares and were designated a nature reserve in the 1990s, ensuring that the rapidly multiplying hotels would never鈥
Fuerteventura
This 18th-century building has been beautifully restored, retaining its traditional central patio and wooden galleries, while other buildings on the鈥
La Gomera
La Gomera's prime attraction, the magical, often-misty Parque Nacional de Garajonay extends across 40 sq km of dense, primeval laurisilva forest at the鈥
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
This magnificent, soaring white wave of an auditorium was designed by the internationally renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, and delivers鈥
Puerto de la Cruz
Established in 1788, this magnificent botanical garden has thousands of plant varieties from all over the world and is a delightful place to while away an鈥
Biblioteca Municipal Central de Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
This library downstairs at TEA is a design classic, a vast open-plan room with overhanging globular lights, copious natural light, angular lines and a鈥
Museum of the Bas铆lica Nuestra Se帽ora del Pino
Gran Canaria
Don't miss this museum (also called the 'treasure house'), accessed upstairs from the rear of the basilica, where you can get a real close-up view of the鈥
Tenerife
These astonishing, dark rock cliffs soar sublimely 600m from the ocean, forging a magnificent natural geological spectacle right on the edge of Los鈥
Corralejo
This nature park of yellow dunes stretches along the east coast for about 10km south from Corralejo; it's also several kilometres wide, so covers a lot of鈥
La Palma
At 1854m, clambering up to this peak offers glorious views over the pines, valleys and ridges of the Caldera de Taburiente. The peak marks the conclusion鈥
La Palma
Wind your way down the lovely, sinuous LP-112 to the settlement of Santo Domingo and then turn left in the village and follow the signs to the Puerto de鈥
Gran Canaria
One of several viewpoints in town, the Mirador de Unamuno looks out onto a sweeping panorama of the vast volcanic caldera beyond 鈥 it is a stupefying鈥
Lanzarote
A yawning, kilometre-long chasm, the Cueva de los Verdes is the most spectacular segment of an almost 7km-long lava tube left behind by an eruption 5000鈥
Lanzarote
When molten lava seethed through this volcanic cavern around 5000 years ago, the ocean leaked in slightly, forming the startling clear azure lake that鈥
Mercado de Nuestra Se帽ora de 脕frica
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Dating from 1944, this tantalising market is housed in an eye-catching building that combines a Latin American feel with Moorish-style arches and patios鈥
Museo Internacional de Arte Contempor谩neo
Arrecife
Converted into an art gallery in 1976, on C茅sar Manrique's wish, the well-preserved 18th-century Castillo de San Jos茅 houses one of the Canaries' major鈥
Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos
La Palma
The huge telescopes on the peak of Roque de los Muchachos belong to the island鈥檚 astronomical observatory, one of the world鈥檚 best places to study the鈥
Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
This brain-bending amalgam of natural science and archaeology is an excellent museum, despite a rather confusing layout. Set inside the former civil鈥
Iglesia de Nuestra Se帽ora de la Concepci贸n
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
It's difficult to miss the striking bell tower of the city鈥檚 oldest church, which also has traditional Mud茅jar (Islamic-style architecture) ceilings. The鈥
Lanzarote
Frozen in time, complete with Manrique's clothes in the cupboard and personal art collection adorning the walls, the palm-shaded final home of the island鈥
Fuerteventura
This superb museum is one of the island's best, with lots of interactive displays including a sit-down 'virtual goat milking' activity! Kids will enjoy鈥
La Palma
Creatively designed Charco Azul is a blending of moulded concrete with natural volcanic rocks. The effect is stunning, especially when the waves are鈥
El Hierro
Taking a refreshing dip is a dream at La Maceta, arguably top pick among El Hierro's beautiful natural coastal pools and just as popular with herre帽os as鈥
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The fine 3km stretch of yellow sand is magnificent, and is considered by many to be one of the world's best city beaches. There鈥檚 an attractive seaside鈥
Fuerteventura
This lovely church dates from 1620 and has a magnificent stone floor, carved wooden ceiling and an elaborate baroque altar. Don鈥檛 miss the sacristy with鈥
Mirador Astron贸mico de Sicasumbre
Fuerteventura
If you want just one place to put the island's primordial, barren geology and Martian features into wide-angle perspective, this mirador has breathtaking鈥
Gran Canaria
The extraordinary, neo-Gothic church stands sullen watch over the bright, white houses of Arucas in a striking display of disproportion and contrast. The鈥
Parque Municipal de Arucas de las Flores
Gran Canaria
These terraced municipal gardens are laid out in French style with fountains, pavilions, sculptures and tropical trees, including the rare evergreen soap鈥
El Hierro
Designed by famous Lanzarote-born artist C茅sar Manrique in 1989, the clifftop Mirador de la Pe帽a (just a kilometre west of agricultural hamlet Guarazoca)鈥
La Palma
This handsome ochre-red mansion (built in 1911), located down one of the steep streets from the main road, has downstairs exhibits on Corpus Christi 鈥 a鈥
