A guide to Gran Canaria

Las Palmas, 24 June 1478: where the island’s story begins

On 24 June 1478 the Castilian captain Juan Rejón made camp beside a ravine a few streets from the sea and founded the Real de Las Palmas, named for the palms that grew along the shore. The camp became Vegueta, still the oldest quarter of the city, with cobbled lanes, carved wooden balconies and the cathedral of Santa Ana, begun around 1500, whose bells still mark the hours. Go to the Plaza de Santa Ana early, before the city wakes.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus anchored in the Bay of Las Palmas to repair the Pinta before sailing west. The Casa de Colón, the old governor’s house that keeps his memory, has one of the loveliest courtyards on the island, all dark wood and shade. Long before either man arrived, the island belonged to the ancient Canarians, whose cave villages and sacred mountains around Risco Caído are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A morning in Vegueta with a private guide is a good way to begin a stay, because the rest of the island makes more sense afterwards.

Mountains in the morning, the sea by lunch, the old town by night: a single day here can feel like three.

Best time to visit Gran Canaria

Any month works. The trade winds keep the island mild all year, so winter, from November to April, is high season for anyone leaving grey skies behind. Summer is warm without being fierce, and the sea is at its warmest from late summer into autumn. February brings the Carnival of Las Palmas, one of the biggest street festivals in Spain; if you would rather avoid the crowds, we plan around it. The north coast tends to be cloudier and the south sunnier, often on the same afternoon.

Where to stay in Gran Canaria: a luxury villa in the south, or the green north

Most visitors stay in the south: Maspalomas and Meloneras for space and sunshine, Puerto de Mogán and the south-west for calm water and a slower harbour life. A luxury villa rental there usually means a pool, a garden and a view of the ocean, with a private chef in the kitchen and the beaches a short drive away. The north is greener and more Canarian: Las Palmas for culture, restaurants and the city beach of Las Canteras, and the valleys of Agaete and Arucas for those who prefer quiet to sunshine. A week can be split between the two, and we arrange the move.

The best beaches in Gran Canaria, by road or by yacht charter

The Maspalomas dunes are a protected reserve of moving sand between the lighthouse and Playa del Inglés. Walk them at first light, when the ripples are still sharp and there are no other footprints. Amadores and Anfi del Mar are sheltered and easy with children. Las Canteras, in the city, is calmed by a reef offshore. Some of the best sand on the island, at Güigüí on the wild west coast, can only be reached on foot or by sea, and that is where a yacht charter from the south-west marinas earns its place: a swim off the stern, lunch at anchor, and back to harbour by evening.

Things to do in Gran Canaria: Roque Nublo and the mountains

Drive up from the coast and the island changes. Pine forests, almond trees that flower in late winter, and villages such as Tejeda and Artenara sit on the rim of an ancient volcanic caldera. Roque Nublo, a monolith of volcanic rock above the clouds, is the emblem of Gran Canaria, and the short walk to its foot has one of the great views of the Atlantic: on a clear day you can see Teide on Tenerife. Much of the island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and up here the air smells of pine resin.

Getting around, the island table, and who Gran Canaria suits

The motorway runs from Las Palmas to the south coast in well under an hour, but the mountain roads are narrow and winding, so a private chauffeur who knows them is worth having, and you can stop wherever the view is good. The food is simple and generous: wrinkled potatoes with red and green mojo, fish grilled the day it was landed, cheese from the hills of Guía, rum from Arucas and coffee from the Agaete valley, one of the few places in Europe where coffee grows. For the restaurants, see fine dining in Gran Canaria. Families like the sheltered beaches and the space of a villa; couples like the harbours, the spas and the long dinners. A week is enough to see the coast and the mountains without hurrying, and with ten days you can spend some of them doing nothing at all.

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Alba Zas