Every knife that Francisco Torres makes is a wholly unique piece, and proof of Gran Canaria’s deep-rooted craftwork tradition.

Every Canary knife tells a story. Some of them can cut short our breath with their steel blades. Rafael Torres Osorio, a resident of Santa María de Guía, in Gran Canaria, forged well deserving fame as an artisan knife-maker, while his son, Francisco Torres Rodríguez, delicately holds up a knife that is able to slit through the patterns of time. “This is the last one my father designed in 1992”, he reveals with emotion and pride etched on his face. The handle, a replica made by himself, is pure silver and goldsmithing genius, a combination of animal horn, precious metals, know-how and patience.

Sculptor Manolo González, the author of the statue of the Unamuno Balcony in Artenara, in Gran Canaria, talks about the work.

“The truth is, the landscape is the protagonist”, states sculptor Manolo González, the author of the statue of the Unamuno Balcony in Artenara, where Gran Canaria holds hands with the sky. The writer came to the island in the summer of 1910 having accepted an inivitation to preside a poetry contest, and had to opportunity to go up to the summit. The statue looks out over the place where the novelist actually stood, bewitched by another work of art, in this case carved out by nature.

Arguineguín, in Gran Canaria, is ideal for anybody to star in an unforgettable story.

Legend has it among fishermen that near to Arguineguín, in the south of Gran Canaria, there is a tuna sanctuary. What is sure is that the migratory route map of these oceanic athletes includes a line through this sunny spot with its pleasant waters.

A piece of aromatic reality unfolds before visitors’ eyes at Vegueta Market in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

“That’s just eight euros, madam. I’ll put the fish in two bags and that’ll be easier for you to carry. Have a good day...” Pleasant chit-chat, the wooden model boat hanging from the side and some attractive fresh produce from one of the fish counters begin to provide an insight into Vegueta Market in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria as we enter its centuries-old facilities. This area, over and above a colourful display of wonderful wares, opens the door to visitors providing access to a kind of theatre, which, nevertheless, is an authentic piece of aromatic and bustling reality.

Puerto Rico beach, in Gran Canaria, welcomes and pampers all who come to bask in this brightly luminated spot.

There are two types of families who come together on the beach at Puerto Rico, at the south of Gran Canaria, where light and warmth invade every nook and cranny. The first type live under the blue haze that bathes the region’s coastlines. These are the dozens of dolphins that move around in large shoals, leaving behind silvery trails on the surface of the water. Nearby, on the shore, on golden sands, other families who come down to Puerto Rico in search of endless, perfect days, are milling around.

The Canary Museum has a surprise in store in the district of Vegueta, where there is an air of a grand scientific world.

There are mummies out there, and not just within the thick walls of the Pyramids of Egypt and in Hollywood films. In the case of Gran Canaria, there some lucky individuals enjoying the privilege of inhabiting number 2, calle Doctor Verneau in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Don’t be alarmed. They don’t live in a private residence, and you won’t bump into them at the bus stop or at the corner coffee shop. This address belongs to the Canary Museum, a century-old institution founded back in 1879, where there is an air of a great scientific world that proliferated all over Europe during the 19th century.

The “Sendero Azul” of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a live tour around the geology and history of Las Canteras and El Confital.

Open your eyes wide. The ocean spreads out at your feet, hugging a promising coastline where sands, reefs, rocks and in the distance, the volcanoes, all converge. Breathe a deep breath and let the sea breeze overpower you. Just let yourself go and walk on. Don’t miss a single detail. The Blue Walking Tour along the Bay of El Confital and Las Canteras Beach, here in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, offers plenty of surprises along a seven kilometre stretch of wonders. The information boards will help you understand the geology, biology and the historical evolution of this outstanding landscape.

Playa del Inglés, in Gran Canaria, is the expression of a warming, natural environment where the common language is that of enjoyment.

Sometimes calmness can be measured. In this case, it extends for around three kilometres, the distance between the two extremes that mark out Playa del Inglés. This southerly enclave of Gran Canaria forms part of the map of dreams for millions of Europeans who annually come pouring into an area where the sun is virtually a perennial feature.

The Martín Chirino Foundation, named after the world famous sculptor born in Gran Canaria, awaits your visit at the fascinating Castle of La Luz.

Nobody had thought of sculpturing the wind. That is, until Martín Chirino, one of the leading sculptors to have emerged over the last few decades, came along and did just that. The artist was born in 1925 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, at the heart of a family linked with shipyards. For this reason, the sea and the Canaries’ landscape fused with iron and bronze since his early childhood. This is how his first iconic spiral figure came about.

Gran Canaria combines fire, sea, festivals and tradition when celebrating La Noche de San Juan - St John’s Eve or Midsummer’s Eve.

The shortest nights of the year are also the most intense in Gran Canaria. The sea, the moon and fire melt into one on the island the night before the feast of St John, every 23rd June (Midsummer’s Eve), to experience an annual ritual of joy, hope and purification that is celebrated particularly intense in this corner of the Atlantic. This is where the elements of Nature and the people of Gran Canaria come together to hold an unforgettable evening where boredom is the first thing to burn away on the fire.

Several paintings  by the painter Pepe Dámaso light up Triana Tourist Information Office, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

When he comes on stage, one gets the feeling that the air lights up and a warm breeze starts to blow, as when the rays of the morning sun creep into a room with views of the ocean. Pepe Dámaso, born in Agaete (Gran Canaria) in 1933 and one of the Canary Islands most universal artists, is the ambassador of light and colour of his island birthplace. Pepe says that one has to “emborregar” (a local word for rolling in the sand) tourism in flour and give tourists a taste of fried moray eel, “toasted and salty like the sea”. When the painter speaks, his Gran Canaria speaks through him.

The historic town centre of Villa de Agüimes, in the southeast of Gran Canaria, is a heady and empowering setting.

Life is art in Agüimes. Every corner of its old town centre looks like it has been chiselled out especially. These painstaking efforts have created a setting in which tradition and history have melted into one. A whole grid of main streets, backstreets, squares and alleyways have forged a quite heady beauty.