This fun free tour takes around two hours and will allow you to explore the historic centre of the capital. The tour starts at one of the most visited squares on the island, Plaza Van Dale. Here you will find the only monument to Los Divinos (The Divine Ones) in Spain.
We move onto Calle Real/Calle O’Daly. This is the main street of the town and is named after one of the influential Irishmen who settled on the island. We will visit the Church of El Salvador and see its 16th Century Flemish tapestries.
From Plaza de España we can see the front of the Town Hall of the capital. This was the first democratic local government in Spain, voted for by the people.
This was one of the first three places in the country to have electrical power.
After moving away from Calle O’Daly we move onto Calle Anselmo Pérez de Brito, a street named after one of the other influential locals of the time. We head straight to the most famous balconies in the Canaries.
As we walk past we will enjoy seeing some beautiful colonial houses with windows and balconies with mudéjar lattices.
After we get to the famous 'Cruz del Tercero' (Cross of the Third), which commemorates the conquering of the island. We then head up to Plaza de la Alameda. Here we can see the famous 'Barco de la Virgen' (Ship of the Virgin).
We will learn about our main lustral (quinquennial) celebration, La Bajada de la Virgen (The Descent of the Virgin).
Finally, we finish the tour at the Castle of Santa Caterina de Alexandria. This small castle was built in the 17th century to defend the city against pirate attacks.
We finish off at the beautiful, colourful, traditional Portuguese-style balconies. These are the most famous image of the capital.
