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There’s no shortage of things to do on Gran Canaria. Las Palmas itself enjoys a hectic cultural calendar, along with other towns and municipalities on the island, including Agüimes, Arucas, Gáldar, Telde and Teror. Gran Canaria is justifiably proud of its history and happy to show it off in its impressive number of museums.
A cultured people, a trip to the ballet, classical musical concert or the theatre is a regular rather than special event for most residents. But undoubtedly their favourite form of recreation is sport. Various pursuits, such as basketball, tennis, surfing and volleyball are played and appreciated with football being passionately followed.
Sporting activities also tie in with another of Gran Canaria’s major attractions: its enviable beaches. Hours spent lapping up the sun at most of the beaches can be combined with more active pastimes such as windsurfing, water-skiing, jet skiing, sailing or big game fishing. Boat trips offer the possibility of exploring the coast from the sea while many of the beaches offer pedal and banana boat rentals for more relaxed forms of recreation.
Gran Canaria’s beaches are so varied that they cater for all tastes and are worth exploring. For a touch of sophistication and luxury, Meloneras beach resort is the place to be. Situated just beyond the dazzling sand dunes of Maspalomas, this stylish resort is developing into the new fashionable hot spot of Gran Canaria. Eye-catching people saunter down the water front promenade, stopping off to enjoy a lingering drink in one of its outside bars or to pick up a few designer labels or discount-priced perfumes from one of the many exclusive shops on the way. The promenade is also a favourite meeting point in the evening, providing plenty of entertainment and lively company. Casinos and an 18-hole golf course also await the more discerning visitor in this new-found oasis in the sun.
The renowned beaches of Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas provide kilometres of sand dunes and calm transparent water in animated resorts that offer a vast array of amenities and services and multiple forms of evening entertainment. The picturesque former fishing village of Mogan and the more sheltered bay of Puerto Rico beach are also popular beach resorts and an afternoon spent on the city beach of Las Canteras always provides a pleasant interlude from the shopping and sightseeing and the chance to test your swimming prowess by swimming out to the reef in low tide.
Sightseeing trips to the north and centre of Gran Canaria will also unfold many hidden treasures. The impressive caves of Cenóbio de Valerón in Cuesta da Silva are ancient grain silos carved out from the volcanic rock by the first Guanche inhabitants of the islands and the Cueva Pintada de Gáldar (painted cave) is an important archaeological site, believed to be a former settlement of Guanche families and now transformed into a museum that exhibits the many native artefacts that have been found in the area.
Gran Canaria’s landscape is definitely worth exploring. The Caldera de Bandama on the road inland from Las Palmas is an impressive 1000 m-wide and 200 m-deep volcano crater. The observation point above it provides beautiful views of the island and of the oldest golf course in Spain, situated next to the crater. A trip further inland, into the central mountains (the “cumbres”) will show just how versatile this small island is as picturesque agricultural villages and richly vegetated ravines contrast with the flat, arid dunes left behind in the south.
Theme parks are in no short demand in Gran Canaria and children will love a visit to the Aqualand water park in Maspalomas or to the mock western town of Sioux City, where cowboy pistol duels, saloon brawls and sheriffs galloping behind bandits recreate the days of the old wild west. The whole family might enjoy a visit to Los Palmitos Park in Maspalomas, home to an amazing variety of exotic birds and the only dolphin arena on the island.
Despite its size, this ‘mini continent’ as it is sometimes referred to, ensures that there is always something to see and do in this versatile island in the sun
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