The Best Travel Guide to Gran Canaria

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Gran Canaria

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Provided by: Gran Canaria Tourist Board

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Gran Canaria

With your kids Lazy beach days

The guide was updated: 2020-06-04

Gran Canaria is more than just one of the world's most celebrates beach destinations. Get active at one of the island's many locations for diving, surfing, and hiking - you can even scale Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria's iconic "Cloud Rock". With such diverse landscapes, it's no wonder this island has been dubbed "The Little Continent".

Facts

Population:	838, 397
Currency:	1 Euro = 100 cents
Search Accommodation:	Hotels »
Emergency numbers:	112
Newspapers:	Canarias 7 La Provincia The Canary News
Website:	www.grancanaria.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/MyGranCanaria Twitter: @gctourism
Opening hours:	On weekdays, shops generally open from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm and then again from 4.30 pm until 8.30 pm. At weekends, most only open in the morning on Saturday. Those in the resort areas generally open seven days a week. Over the Christmas and New Year period, shopping centres extend their opening hours to accommodate the extra trade with some staying open until as late as midnight.
Tourist information:	Patronato de Turismo de Gran Canaria Address: C/. Triana 93, 35002, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: +34 928 219 600 E-mail: dpromoc@grancanaria.com Oficina Información Turística Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria Address: Llegadas Comunitarias, Puerta A, Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria, 35230, Telde Tel: +34 928 574 117 E-mail: cit@grancanaria.com Centro Insular de Turismo Address: Avda. España, Esquina con Avda. EE.UU. (Centro Comercial Yumbo), 35100, Playa del Inglés Tel: +34 928 771 550 E-mail: cit@grancanaria.com Oficina de Turismo de Cruz de Tejeda Address: Cruz de Tejeda, Puesto nº 2 , 35328, Tejeda Tel: +34 928 666 334

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Section in Gran Canaria

Take a break from tanning and visit some of Gran Canaria's amazing natural and cultural attractions.

Palmitos Park

Palmitos Park

Bird species from every continent, exotic flora and spectacular shows awaits you at this Gran Canaria icon. To save money, you can buy a combined parks ticket which also allows you entry to Aqualand Maspalomas.

Roque Nublo

Roque Nublo

Roque Nublo is a must-see landmark in Gran Canaria. This volcanic rock is one of the biggest natural crags in the world, and attracts thousands of rock climbers and tourists each year. Parking is available at La Goleta car park.

Jardín Botánico Viera and Clavijo

Jardín Botánico Viera and Clavijo

Also known as the Jardín Canario, this botanic garden is a great place for a stroll. Start from the bottom and work your way up or the other way around. Whichever way you choose to explore, you'll easily spend a couple of hours here.

Barranco de Guayadeque

Barranco de Guayadeque

Get up close and personal with nature at the paradise that is Guayadeque ravine. Here you will find almost 2,000 different plant species and many historical remains.

Faro de Maspalomas

Faro de Maspalomas

Travelling to Maspalomas lighthouse and walking on the beach and amongst the shops makes for a lovely evening. Try to catch the sunset and enjoy the view with a leisurely drink or bite to eat.

Cenobio de Valerón

Cenobio de Valerón

Cenobio de Valerón is one of Gran Canaria´s most visited sights. The area of the caves inside the rocks is listed as an archaeological area. It is simply just a gorgeous place. And easily reached off the GC-2.

Dunas de Maspalomas

Dunas de Maspalomas

The south is where the resorts are. A protected area, it is illegal to build on the Maspalomas dunes. Lose yourself in their sheer immensity.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Everything you'd expect in a capital. Bright and light, there's a very definite buzz. Visit Mesa y López for high-street shopping. For boutiques, try Triana. History buffs will prefer a stroll around Vegueta, original Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Beach bums? Las Canteras, truly one of the world's great urban beaches.

Museo Canario

Museo Canario

The Museo Canario (Canarian museum) in Vegueta allows you to find out more about the canarii, the people who occupied Gran Canaria before the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century.

Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada

Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada

Gáldar's Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada (Painted Cave Archaelogical Park and Museum) offers a window into the life of the canarii, the people who inhabited the island before the 15th-century Spanish conquest.

Protected natural spaces

Protected natural spaces

Get back to nature in the island's centre, Parque Rural del Nublo, where you'll be able to trek to the island's great natural moment, Roque Nublo. Further north, Los Tilos de Moya's the last remaining section of woodland which stretched across this part of GC, where great canarii warriors like Doramas used to roam.

Taste Gran Canaria

Taste Gran Canaria

If it's international cuisine you're looking for, you're well-catered for by cosmopolitan Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Visit Teror's market to pick up the municipality's traditional chorizo, a sausage that's as sweet as it is savoury. Further inland, Tejeda makes good use of its almond trees in desserts. Traditional gastronomy is all around.

Carnivals

Carnivals

The major fiesta's Carnaval. And the main Carnaval is the Carnaval de Las Palmas, three colourful weeks of circus-meets-pantomime fun. Similarly flamboyant is Maspalomas' carnival. Where extravagant costumes make it a hit with the gay community.

Theme Parks

Theme Parks

Scream if you want to go faster on the slides at Agualand's water park or check out all the pretty birds, of the feathered variety, at Palmitos Park. Visit Sioux City if you're a fan of cowboys and Native Americans. Or head to Puerto Rico for the new kid on the block, the Angry Birds Activity Park, which opened in 2013.

Nautical activities

Nautical activities

236km of Atlantic coastline makes GC a fantastic water-sports venue. Learn how to SUP on Canteras beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria or kayak on Playa de Alcaravaneras nearby. There are surf schools in the north and south of the island, as well as dive academies if you want to go deep, deep down.

Land activities

Land activities

Gran Canaria offers things to do on its turf as well as its surf. There are a number of caminos reales, royal pathways, which you can hike along. These include a three-day version of the famous Camino de Santiago. GC's a great cycling destination too, with professional teams using it as a training base.

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