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.

Construction of the Maspalomas Lighthouse was a real feat of engineering, so much so that they even had to build a small dock to bring in all the building materials. It is undoubtedly the most photographed lighthouse on Gran Canaria and its surroundings make it even more striking.

You can find it in the south, in the Island´s popular tourist area, and next to the Dunes of Maspalomas Special Nature Reserve, a unique collection of ecosystems protected by law since 1987. The dunes have also been the backdrop to some well-known TV shows and films like Netflix's “The Witcher” or “Clash of the Titans”.

As you take in Northern Gran Canaria´s rugged coastline you might catch yourself wondering how the God of Fire and the God of Water battled it out to create such a magical island full of secrets.

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.

The astronomic viewpoints in Gran Canaria help you really make the most of the Island’s excellent star-gazing conditions.

Frank was born in a place in Gran Canaria where the firmament is just another extension of life and forms part of the culture, the history and the language because you can really speak to the heavens here. Born in San Mateo, he grew up around Cueva Grande (Big Cave), at the island’s peak, where human beings and the infinite seem to go hand in hand. “I have been aware of looking at the sky since I was very little, four or five years old,” recalls this astronomy-mad teacher whose memory is a sort of planetary system around which family celebrations and lunar eclipses orbit and coexist.

Gran Canaria invites you on a 360º trip through some of the amazing hidden spots.

What is that sound in your house today? It sounds like the fast tapping of a tiny hammer. It comes from deep inside the pine forests around the Presa de las Niñas reservoir, inland on Gran Canaria, and it is actually the great spotted woodpeckers hammering away at the pine trunks. You can’t see it, but you can feel it and imagine it on our 360 degree trip around the island that will give you a bird’s eye view, soaring through the air following all the wishes that are closer to coming true with each day that passes. 

At once familiar and yet unprecedented, Gran Canaria’s nature has painted an inspiring work of art on a blank canvas.

When nobody is looking, the dunes shift stealthily and share their secrets with the wind and the ocean in their whispering language. The silent sea of sand in Maspalomas has made the most of this hiatus to rewrite itself and get back to its roots. It only took a couple of days for the breeze to erase the last footprints on the golden sheen of the great sand bank in the south of Gran Canaria and restore its appearance from more than half a century ago.

A magical trip taking you right to the heart of the island of Gran Canaria without ever leaving your living room #stayathomesavelives.

Beyond your windows, balconies and walls, the landscape of the future can still be glimpsed. The light that shines through your windows is also a reflection of life with an ever-beating heart. And in some places, it’s beating particularly strongly. Do you know where? Just look out of the window. Or close your eyes and set off on a voyage in your mind’s eye to Gran Canaria, the island that awaits you. The adventure is starting right now, in your home, right on the next line...

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.