This is a good place to pick up a bottle or two of scrumptious Canarian wine attempt Muscatel if you’ve got a sweet tooth or Vino del Monte if a wealthy claret is a lot more to your taste.
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Language
Spanish is spoken there, and although many locals speak at least a smattering of English, you may want to carry a phrase book if you’re heading off on your own.
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Currency & Very best Way to Get Money
The currency is the euro, and you’ll find plenty of banks, Bureaux de Adjust (exchange bureaus) and ATMs, each in the terminal and in the main shopping districts. For updated currency conversion figures, go to www.oanda.com or www.xe.com.
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Where You are Docked
Ships dock at the Santa Catalina terminal, a key hub each for inter island ferry solutions and cruise ships.
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Hanging Around
The terminal is equipped with seating, bathrooms, bank outlets, bus stops and taxi ranks. The massive El Muelle shopping complex opposite the port gates is worth a stroll. Apart from international shops like Benetton, C&A and Mango, the mall has offbeat retailers like Whatever Floats Your Boat and Bijou Brigitte selling quirky goods like character teapots and craftware.
The purchasing complicated is effectively-maintained and imaginatively presented, with normal themed displays. For the duration of my go to, a carnival was getting celebrated with life-size Carnival Queen dolls at either finish of the ground-floor walkway, while in the middle, glass case soon after glass case of Barbie dolls in different outfits, were on display.
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Acquiring About
On Foot: The terminal has a striking sail-impact canopy at its exit gate, so just head for that, and you will discover the city center, a five- to ten-minute stroll away. Head left along the primary walkway from the port gates (Avenida Maritima del Norte), and you will get to Plaza de Santa Ana, the primary square.
To reach the beach, walk straight via El Muelle, then turn proper opposite the Elder Museum of Science and Technology. Go left once again along Calle Luis Morote — the primary street for ATMs and camera and electronics shops — and follow your nose to the sea. The beach itself is a lengthy stretch of sand that is reached through a red brick-paved promenade and lined with snack joints and tapas bars.
By Bus: Regular free of charge shuttle buses called guaguas (pronounced “wawas”) operate each and every few minutes from the port gates to the city market place. Even so, if you’d rather stroll into town, it is not far, and it is a pleasant stroll.
By Taxi: To go farther afield, choose up a cab quayside or outdoors the dock gates, but be prepared to negotiate. Trips inside the city boundaries are typically metered (verify for this), but beyond that, you are on your personal. Taxis are affordable for short trips, even though are normally pricey if you are going about the island. Anticipate to pay roughly 450 euros for a single to 4 passengers for a 4-hour island tour, depending on how great a haggler you are (and how busy the driver is).
Editor’s note: Allow plenty of time to explore on your personal. You can run into targeted traffic jams when visiting well-known tourist haunts. And never let a cab go without having fixing a pickup time to get back to your ship.
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Watch Out For
Pickpockets roam the tourist locations. Be particularly vigilant for the duration of the higher season and at crowded events, such as Carnival festivities.
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Don’t Miss
Plaza de Santa Ana: The city’s major square, is dominated by Las Palmas’ 15th-century cathedral of the exact same name. The twin-towered cathedral was the first church in the Canary Islands. The Gothic-style building attributes an elaborate high baroque central altar and a show of church ornaments initially from St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Casa de Colon: Also worth visiting — and just off the cathedral square — is the 15th-century Spanish mansion where Columbus is believed to have stayed in 1492. Obtaining spent numerous years as the official residence of Gran Canaria’s Spanish governors, it is now a museum containing displays of maps and artifacts connected to Columbus’ voyages. (Calle de Colon 1 928 31 23 73 open 10 a.m. to six p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday)
Vegueta and Triana: Las Palma’s atmospheric old quarters are a warren of streets lined with restaurants, cafes and shops, including Spain’s most renowned department store, El Corte Ingles, as well as small boutiques promoting high-high quality leather goods and locally created pottery.
Parque Doramas: Stroll the beautiful Ciudad Jardin (Garden City) region of Las Palmas (just off to the appropriate — up Paseo Rafael Ramirez — as you walk along the Avenida Maritima del Norte toward town). You will see classic Canarian flora, including dragon trees, and the park also consists of the Pueblo Canario, a standard Canarian village established in 1939.
Playa del Ingles: Gran Canaria’s largest international resort location, Playa del Ingles is an hour’s bus or taxi ride from the port. A return taxi ride for up to 4 passengers would expense around one hundred euros. It is crammed with high-rise hotels, bars, clubs and restaurants, but the primary attraction is that it is a gateway to the fantastic “Lawrence of Arabia”-style rolling sand dunes at Maspalomas Beach, a nature reserve.
Elder Museum of Science and Technologies (Museo Elder de la Ciencia by way of Tecnologia): This museum is crammed with elaborate Heath Robinson-style contraptions, and there is a entertaining interactive location for children. To get there from the port, walk straight by means of El Muelle, and you will uncover the large white and turquoise building opposite the exit. (Parque Santa Catalina 828 01 18 28 open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday five euros adults, three.five euros youngsters, cost-free for younger than 6 charge involves use of Internet cafe)
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Been There, Accomplished That
Teror: This country town, positioned 22 kilometers southwest of Las Palmas, is famous for the intricately carved wooden balconies of its houses, and the countryside you’ll travel via to get there is basically lovely. Don’t miss a go to to the 16th-century Basilica of Our Lady of the Pine, which is dedicated to a sacred effigy of a virgin stated to have appeared miraculously in a pine tree. The church is closed on Monday mornings.
Arucas Mountains: Enjoy spectacular views on a taxi ride up these hills, which commence only 2.5 kilometers from Las Palmas. En route, you will see Gran Canaria’s rugged north coast and visit Arucas, the island’s “banana capital,” famed for its quaint cobbled streets, quite whitewashed houses and imposing Gothic church carved from volcanic rock.
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Beaches
Closest to the Port: If you happen to be feeling lazy, the Playa de las Canteras delivers sun, sea, sand and waterfront cafes within pleasant strolling distance of the port. It is extremely well-liked with the locals, so it is a excellent spot to see Canarians and their adorable youngsters at play. Go to Playa del Ingles if you strategy to pass this way just after, as it really is a lively and classic Canarian “encounter.”
Very best for a Quiet Beach Day: Maspalomas Beach is an oasis-like mixture of palm trees and sand dunes. For good water sports, attempt the crescent-shaped Puerto Rico beach just west of Maspalomas.
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Lunching
Local specialties incorporate sancocho (a salty fish dish), sama frita con mojo verde (fish in a coriander and garlic sauce) and Flor de Guia (a creamy neighborhood cheese). Many restaurants serve excellent paella.
La Bikina: Casual atmosphere and good meals at a reasonably priced beachfront location. (Paseo de las Canteras 63 828 06 53 57 open noon to midnight Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and noon to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday)
Restaurante Tehran: This restaurant serves up meals for vegetarians, like hummus, falafels and pinchos de carne vegetal. Its menu also will satisfy carnivores, also. (Bernardo de la Torre 1 928 222 817 open noon to 11:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday)
Ristorante Pizzeria Paparazzi: The Italian-inspired eatery, situated along the boardwalk of Playa de Las Canteras serves pizza, salads and grilled meats. Take pleasure in al fresco meals for about 12 euros per particular person. (928 26 05 91 open 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Saturday)
Staying in Touch Head for the Science and Technologies museum, where a five euro entrance fee contains unlimited Net access.
Shore Excursions Greatest for Active Travelers: Take a “coach and stroll” tour to the north of the island to see the craggy scenery of the Bandama volcanic crater and visit the quiet hill villages of Arucas and Teror. The tour includes a check out to the lovely Marquesa Garden in Arucas — arguably the prettiest of its public gardens — for a stroll and banana liqueur. The tour takes about four hours.
Very best for Water-Lovers: The “Submarine Dive” tour involves a coach trip to Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria’s most westerly resort, free time to discover the shops and cafes about its lively marina and a trip down to the seabed aboard a submarine equipped with large porthole windows and Tv monitors. About four and a half hours.
Greatest for Households: Head to Aquasur, the Canary Islands’ biggest water-based theme park, which has slides and rides ranging in style from the slow and serene Lazy River to the hair-raising Kamikaze. Lunch is not integrated on this tour, but restaurants and snack bars abound at the park. Plan to be gone for six hours.
Ideal for Nature-Lovers: Take an excursion to Palmitos Park, positioned about an hour from the port. The park, which sits in the mountains in a desert-like canyon behind the tourist resort of Maspalomas, is a haven for birds, reptiles and other animals. The park was devastated by a fire in 2007, but it reopened in 2009. Verify out the tropical fish aquarium and butterfly home. About 5 hours.
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