Blog Oficial de Turismo de Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria invites you on a journey to follow Galdós’s trail on the island from which the famous writer set sail.

Benito Pérez Galdós, one of the most important European writers in the late 19th and early 20th century, was born on 10 May 1843 in Calle Cano in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Back then it was a cobbled street lit with oil lamps, moonlight and from then on, the brilliance of his genius. What’s more, the centenary of his death is being commemorated in 2020, although his loss was merely like a parenthesis in any of his novels, echoing the true legacy of people claimed by immortality.

The Galdós’s footsteps have been etched on his native city today, providing an open book to reflect the author’s relationship with the capital city of Gran Canaria and successive demonstrations of appreciation and acknowledgement from the island’s society to the author who was born in the family home in Calle Cano, turned into a House-Museum and where you can even see the crib used to rock this baby whose dreams were destined to make their mark through his works.

Dotted across the Island are a great many windmills that were used for a variety of different things from milling grain for flour or “gofio”, pumping water for irrigation or even seawater to be used in the salt pans. Nowadays we’ve got wind turbines too, to help us power the Island. But the idea that somehow ecology is a modern concept is totally misguided. Centuries ago, our ancestors were already using water and wind to power those mills.

Gran Canaria holds many natural and cultural gems seeped in strong symbolism right now.

1. Seeds of hope
Few things embody and symbolise life and the future so profoundly as a seed. Gran Canaria can boast seeds that have been capable of stepping through time to remain in the same spot. Genetic studies have demonstrated that the type of barley still grown on the island today is the same as the ancient prehispanic society planted here more than one thousand years ago. This small miracle of resilience remains wrapped up in the seeds prized by the people living inland in the mid-lands and on the peaks. Their simple gesture keeps the harvest of hope going.

Gran Canaria is one of those extraordinary places brimming with archaeological, ethnographic, artistic and natural treasures of worldwide importance.

Some places stand out for their nature. In others, their historical or artistic legacy shines particularly brightly. There are also sites recognised the world over for their traditions. And finally, there are lands that seem to practically have it all. Gran Canaria forms part of this select list of places that really stand out for a full array of wonders.

Gran Canaria is inviting you to spread your wings and use your imagination to discover an amazing, magical island that lets you dream about the future.

Restoration of the emblematic Santa Catalina hotel in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is writing a new page in its history.

Gregory Peck took refuge there after playing Captain Ahab, shooting scenes from ‘Moby Dick’ on the Las Canteras beach, under the watchful eye of director John Huston. The hundred-year-old memories in its rooms also conjure up smoke from Winston Churchill’s cigars, echoes of the voice of the soprano Maria Callas, the smouldering gaze of Ava Gardner and the dreamy although somewhat distracted look of Agatha Christie, probably because a mystery novel was always brewing in her head, even while she relaxed by the Atlantic in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The neighbourhood of San Gregorio de Telde, in Gran Canaria, is an exciting blend of history, architecture, commerce and restaurants.

The sign on a small and inviting shop announcing the sale of both music and fishing gear in one synthesises the ability of the neighbourhood of San Gregorio in Telde, Gran Canaria, to surprise and excite. It is bustling with life, a place where a highly important heritage goes hand in hand with a great shopping area and a range of restaurant establishments, offering visitors an all-enveloping, and possibly unexpected, experience at this location to the southeast of the island.

The Interpretation Centre of Risco Caído and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape highlights the values of this World Heritage site.

There was a time when the aborigines of Gran Canaria were able to create a bond between Heaven and Earth. It happened on the island’s highlands. Those people created a unique world with their own hands, involving the starts in the process. The most spectacular example of this dialogue between humans, the Sun and the Moon, happened eight centuries ago, in a cavity located at 1200 m of altitude, excavated in volcanic rock. The sunlight and the silver halo of the full moon magically came through the rectangular skylight designed for the purpose, giving light, in turns, to each one of the figures engraved on the walls of Risco Caído cave number six. But there was nothing magical about it, only observation, technique and belief.

The Crafts Fairs held next to Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) in Spring and Summer show the depth of the Island’s Traditions.

The waves, the breeze and the sea currents draw spirals and all kinds of whimsical meandering shapes next to the dike and breakwater at the foot of Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse). Gran Canaria’s Nature has been and still is a constant source of inspiration for the creation of beauty, like a guiding light. Like the Lighthouse has been doing for over a century. For this reason, and as naturally as the waves break on the shore, it is hard to imagine a most suitable space for two must-go dates for all looking for in-depth knowledge of the Island’s traditions. These dates are Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) Summer Crafts Fair and Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) Southern Spring Crafts Fair. In both cases, the Atlantic Ocean is the best background to the displayed crafts.

Entrance to the museums dedicated to Galdós, the poet Tomás Morales, the painter Antonio Padrón and the León y Castillo brothers is now free.

How much is a jewel worth? How much would you pay to dive in a bottomless sea of wonders, to discover the artistic and historical treasures of an island? What if it were for free? That is the case in the four Casas-Museo (Museum-Houses) of Cabildo de Gran Canaria, dedicated to the novelist Benito Pérez Galdós, the modernist poet Tomás Morales, the painter Antonio Padrón, and the brothers Fernando and Juan de León y Castillo, politician and engineer, both relevant to the island’s recent history.

Juana runs a village bar and store in Gran Canaria, founded over a century ago, in the heart of Moya.

“Everybody comes by here”, Juana assures us proudly at her century old premises in the town centre of Moya, in Gran Canaria. And she has the evidence to prove it. Over her fridge sits a signature book, featuring the signatures of ministers, sculptors, Presidents of the Government of the Canaries and foreign tourists of all nationalities. There are even museums out there that cannot boast such a fine list of distinguished visitors.

Plaza de Santa Ana in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is one of the heartbeats of the city’s history and life.

A group of young boys and girls skip playfully around the centre of Plaza de Santa Ana. Their youthful cries drift skywards, bringing back to present time a square that speaks volumes of the past. It is a setting dominated by sturdy, beautiful buildings which have been witnesses to the centuries-old history of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Atlantic city where this emblematic site sits. A place not to be missed.