What to see or do in Triana and Vegueta
Chacho Pizza is on Calle General Bravo, right in the middle of Triana. The two prettiest quarters in Las Palmas start on our doorstep: Triana on this side of the ravine, Vegueta on the other, and you can walk both. Here is what we would not miss.
Triana
Our own neighbourhood. Everything on this list is less than a ten-minute walk from our door.
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Calle Mayor de Triana
The old pedestrian shopping street. The trick is to look up: above the shop windows there is a run of early twentieth-century Art Nouveau façades that almost nobody notices.
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Pérez Galdós Theatre
The oldest and most emblematic theatre in the Canary Islands. Neoclassical on the outside; inside, an Art Nouveau interior with stained glass and murals by Néstor de la Torre.
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Gabinete Literario
The city's first cultural club, opened in 1844. An imposing Art Nouveau building that also has a café with a shaded terrace on Plaza de Cairasco — a good mid-morning stop.
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Pérez Galdós House Museum
The house where the writer was born, on the corner of Calle Cano and Peregrina, kept as a nineteenth-century home. Half an hour is enough, and it is one of the quietest visits here.
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San Telmo Park
Indian laurels, an Art Nouveau bandstand and the small San Telmo chapel. The bus station is here too, so this is the door most people come through into Triana.
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The back streets
If you like architecture, the streets running parallel to Triana — Cano, Perojo — are a catalogue of Canarian Art Nouveau, and far quieter than the main drag.
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Vegueta
The founding quarter of the city, on the far side of the Guiniguada ravine. Ten or fifteen minutes on foot and the atmosphere changes completely.
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Santa Ana Cathedral
Begun in 1497 and not considered finished until the late twentieth century, so Gothic, Renaissance and Neoclassical all live under the same roof. Do go up the tower: no other spot gives you that view of the city.
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Plaza de Santa Ana
The city's main square, cathedral on one side and the town hall opposite. The bronze dogs standing guard are the obligatory photo.
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Casa de Colón
Five hundred years of building and a museum devoted to the city's links with the Americas and to Columbus's voyages. Even without going in, the courtyard is worth the walk.
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El Museo Canario
The great archaeological collection of the ancient Canarians. This is the museum that best explains who lived on the island before the conquest.
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CAAM
The Atlantic Centre of Modern Art, on Calle Los Balcones: the most important contemporary art museum in the Canaries, with work by Canarian, European, African and American artists.
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San Antonio Abad Chapel
Small and easy to walk past, but tradition has it that this is where Columbus prayed before sailing on to the Americas.
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Vegueta Market
The oldest market in the city, and the place to see what people here actually eat. Saturday mornings are when it is busiest.
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Los Balcones and Doctor Chil
Colonial houses with balconies of Canary pine leaning over cobbled streets. This is the picture-postcard Vegueta and the best place to wander with no plan at all.
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Four plans, depending on how long you have
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Exactly one hour
Calle Mayor de Triana, Plaza de Cairasco, across the ravine and out into Plaza de Santa Ana. Without going into a single building, that walk sums up both quarters.
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A morning with museums
Casa de Colón and then, depending on your mood, El Museo Canario or the CAAM. If you can manage one more, finish by climbing the cathedral tower.
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Thursday night
On Thursdays Vegueta fills up: it is the night for wine and tapas around the old town's alleys. The best atmosphere of the week — and the worst evening to look for parking.
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A quiet Sunday
Vegueta with far less traffic and free on-street parking. The quarter walks better and your photos come out without cars in them.
Museum opening times and ticket prices change with the season, so we do not list them here: we would rather give you nothing than give you something out of date. Check each museum's own website on the day.
Hungry yet?
We are at Calle General Bravo 40, in Triana, a short walk from everything on this page. Roman pan pizza, 20x30 cm, ready to take away.