Las Palmas travel guide
A city beach with a natural reef, an old colonial quarter and year-round warmth
Las Palmas is the Canary Islands' biggest city, with Las Canteras beach on one side and the old quarter of Vegueta on the other. The climate is mild all year, so any month works; three or four days covers the city.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the largest city in the Canary Islands, spread along the northeast tip of Gran Canaria in the Atlantic. Unlike the resorts in the south of the island it is a real working city, with a port and a mild climate averaging about 21°C all year. People come for city life with a beach attached.
That beach is Las Canteras, almost 4 km of sand on the city's western shore. A natural reef called La Barra lies just offshore and, at low tide, turns the northern end into a calm pool for swimming and snorkelling. On the other side of town is Vegueta, the old quarter founded in 1478, with the cathedral of Santa Ana, the Casa de Colón and cobbled lanes. Triana next door is the shopping street.
Try papas arrugadas (small wrinkled potatoes with mojo sauce) with a glass of Arehucas rum or a Tropical beer. Get around on the yellow city buses, the guaguas, and climb the cathedral tower for the best view over the city and port.
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Top things to do in Las Palmas
One long city beach, a colonial old quarter and good bus links to the rest of the island.
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Best time to visit Las Palmas
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Warm days and cool evenings; the Carnival fills the streets in February or March.
Warm rather than hot, often cloudy in the north of the island.
Las Palmas Carnival is one of the biggest in Spain, running for weeks around February or March; rooms near Santa Catalina fill early.
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Getting there
Global buses from the airport, ferries to the port
Take Global bus line 60 from Gran Canaria airport, which runs about every 30 minutes up the motorway from the east coast near Telde, or a taxi. Buses end at San Telmo, beside Triana and Vegueta, or at Santa Catalina by the port and Las Canteras, so check which is nearer your bed. Suitcases travel in the hold; if you get off early, tell the driver so your bags come out too. Ferries from the other islands and mainland Spain berth at the Puerto de la Luz, a short walk from Santa Catalina.
- Global line 60
- Airport to San Telmo and Santa Catalina, about every 30 minutes
- Taxi
- About 25 minutes to the city
- San Telmo bus station
- Beside Triana, a short walk to Vegueta
- Santa Catalina bus station
- By the port, a few blocks from Las Canteras
- Ferries
- Puerto de la Luz, for the other islands and mainland Spain
- Bicycles go on buses only when bagged or boxed, and yellow city buses can refuse big suitcases at busy times, so use the Global service with luggage.
Where to stay
Beach end or old town
Las Palmas is long and thin, and the two districts visitors care about sit at opposite ends, linked by frequent buses. Choose by how you want to spend your days: swimming and evening walks on the promenade, or cobbled lanes, churches and museums. Ground-floor rooms with a patio are common near the beach; keep doors and windows shut when you go out.
- Las Canteras and Santa Catalina
- Beachfront hotels and apartments, restaurants, the port and a main bus station
- La Cícer, south end of Las Canteras
- Surf breaks and a younger crowd, near the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium
- Alcaravaneras
- Between the two ends, with its own small beach and cheaper hostels
- Vegueta and Triana
- Old quarter and shopping streets beside San Telmo; quiet at night, a bus ride from the sand
Getting around
Yellow guaguas and the promenade
The yellow city buses, called guaguas (said 'wah-wahs') and run by Guaguas Municipales, cover the kilometres between Vegueta and Las Canteras. Pay with a rechargeable card sold at the kiosks in Santa Catalina park, San Telmo and Teatro or online, and tap it once on boarding; the 10-ride version suits a stay of a few days. Google Maps and Moovit know every route, and the hop-on tourist bus nicknamed the guiriguagua (guiri is slang for a foreigner) loops past the main sights. On foot, the Paseo de Las Canteras runs the full length of the beach. For the rest of the island, change to the blue Global buses at San Telmo or Santa Catalina.
- Guaguas Municipales
- Yellow city buses; pay with a rechargeable card
- Global
- Blue island buses from San Telmo and Santa Catalina
- Guiriguagua
- Tourist bus past the main sights
- Walking
- Paseo de Las Canteras, end to end along the sand
- Press the stop button in good time; drivers pass stops where nobody is waiting or signalling.
Know before you go
What makes Las Palmas worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Snorkelling at Las Canteras at low tide, when La Barra calms the water.
- Vegueta's lanes around the cathedral of Santa Ana and the Casa de Colón.
- The cathedral tower view over the rooftops to the port.
Good to know
- Ignore anyone offering free gifts like lottery tickets or meals; they are usually timeshare sellers.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Las Palmas, month by month
Las Palmas barely changes: January averages 21°C by day and 15°C at night, and August peaks at 28°C. December is wettest, at about 29 mm.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (State Meteorological Agency/AEMET OpenData, via Wikipedia).
Vegueta lanes by morning, Las Canteras by afternoon
Two days are enough for the city's two halves. Give the first morning to Vegueta and Triana, the old quarter and its shopping street, then swim and watch the sunset at Las Canteras. On the second, see the Castillo de la Luz, Ciudad Jardín and the Pueblo Canario in Doramas park.
Spend the first morning in Vegueta, where the city began in 1478. Climb the tower of the Catedral de Santa Ana, entered through the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, for the view to the port, then walk the cobbled lanes to the Casa de Colón, a balconied mansion devoted to Columbus. Lunch at the Mercado de Vegueta, then cross into Triana and San Telmo park.
In the late afternoon take a yellow guagua north to Las Canteras. Swim at the northern end, where the La Barra reef breaks the swell at low tide, and walk the promenade south for sunset at La Cícer.
On day two, start at the Castillo de la Luz, the 16th-century fort by the port. Then head to Ciudad Jardín, the leafy district laid out by British settlers, and the Pueblo Canario in Doramas park, a 1930s version of a traditional island village with folk shows.
Papas arrugadas, gofio and Arehucas rum
Start with papas arrugadas and mojo, the dish on every Canarian menu, and finish with a glass of Arehucas rum, which is made on Gran Canaria. In between, island food runs to salted fish, gofio, simple stews and local cheeses, and set lunches around San Telmo are the cheapest way to eat it.
Papas arrugadas are small potatoes boiled in very salty water until their skins wrinkle, served with two mojos: the red one with dried pepper and paprika, the green one with coriander or parsley. Gofio, a flour of toasted grain, appears in stews, desserts and even stirred into milk. Sancocho pairs salted fish with potatoes and sweet potato, and ropa vieja is a stew of shredded meat and chickpeas.
Gran Canaria makes its own cheeses, including the soft queso de flor from Guía, curdled with thistle flowers. For dessert try bienmesabe, an almond and honey cream.
Drink Arehucas rum, made on the island, neat or with cola, or ron miel, honey rum poured after a meal. Tropical is the local beer. In the evening, the stalls of the Mercado del Puerto near Santa Catalina turn into a cluster of small bars.
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Las Palmas is checked against its official website and Spain.info; Renfe is listed for mainland travel only.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Las Palmas.
General
Yes. It leaves the airport about every 30 minutes and ends at one of the two city bus stations, so check which is nearer your room. A taxi takes around 25 minutes.
The oldest part of the city, founded in 1478, with the cathedral of Santa Ana, the Casa de Colón and the Vegueta market.
Only a light layer for evenings. Average highs run from about 21°C in January to 28°C in August, and April to September is almost dry.
The local word for buses. City buses are yellow and run by Guaguas Municipales; the blue Global buses cover the rest of the island.
Mojo rojo blends dried red peppers, garlic and paprika; mojo verde swaps in coriander or parsley. Both arrive in small bowls beside papas arrugadas for dipping.
Las Canteras for the beach and evening restaurants, Vegueta and Triana for the old town. Alcaravaneras sits between them and costs less.
Through the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, which sells access. The viewing platform looks over Vegueta to the port.
The yellow city buses, called guaguas (said 'wah-wahs') and run by Guaguas Municipales, cover the kilometres between Vegueta and Las Canteras. Pay with a rechargeable card sold at the kiosks in Santa Catalina park, San Telmo and Teatro or online, and tap it once on boarding; the 10-ride version suits a stay of a few days. Google Maps and Moovit know every route, and the hop-on tourist bus nicknamed the guiriguagua (guiri is slang for a foreigner) loops past the main sights.
Timing & weather
At low tide, when the reef shelters the northern end of the beach and the water inside turns calm and clear.
The best time to visit Las Palmas is Oct to May. Warm and dry when Europe is cold, with Carnival in February or March.
- Winter: October - May (Warm days and cool evenings; the Carnival fills the streets in February or March)
- Summer: June - September (Warm rather than hot, often cloudy in the north of the island)
August is the warmest month in Las Palmas, with average highs of 28°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 15°C. December is the wettest month, at about 29 mm of rain; June is the driest. Las Palmas barely changes: January averages 21°C by day and 15°C at night, and August peaks at 28°C.
Booking
Months ahead. Carnival runs for several weeks around February or March, and beds near Santa Catalina go first.
Usually timeshare touts; walk on. The other common problem is theft from ground-floor flats, so close doors and windows when you go out.
Visa & documents
Spain follows Schengen entry rules. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing in the big cities is Spain's main crime risk for visitors. Pickpocketing is common in Barcelona and Madrid, especially on the metro and in tourist areas. Heatwaves and wildfires occur in summer.
