This is one walk in Gran Canaria.
We have 5 points:
1) Barrio de Triana
N 28° 06.358 W 015° 24.979
After its foundation, the city grew towards the Triana neighborhood, of commercial and marine origin. Here, the visitor can enjoy a pleasant walk through the commercial Calle Mayor de Triana, with buildings of great historical and artistic value, and the Parque de San Telmo
The neighborhood is home to meeting places such as Plaza Hurtado de Mendoza or Plaza Cairasco, to rest and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere on one of its terraces.
In the surroundings of Triana there are emblematic buildings such as the Pérez Galdós Theater or the House Museum where the writer Benito Pérez Galdós was born.
The origin of Calle Mayor de Triana dates back to the years after the founding of the city. Commercial life was concentrated in it from the beginning. Today this pedestrian street is a lively and bustling street, a meeting place and an ideal space to contemplate the implantation of modernist architecture in the city.
As a main street, Triana has been the scene of outstanding historical events and, over the years, it has always shown an incredible capacity to adapt and has welcomed current international franchises and boutiques from the first family businesses.
The city's tram, popularly known as La Pepa, circulated along this street. A souvenir of that time is the clock found on one of the facades of this road. Triana street has an intense life all year round, but it takes on a special role on the occasion of the Christmas festivities.
We will begin our visit to Triana enjoying, first, a walk through the popular San Telmo Park. Will you accompany me?
San Telmo Park
It has great historical importance since it was the location of the north wall of the city, which remained standing until the 19th century and of whose presence the Castillo de Mata is preserved (going up Bravo Murillo street). This park was located here to receive travelers and sailors. Also next to the walls the first dock that the city had was built.
The hermitage of San Telmo (17th century), with one of the most beautiful altarpieces on the island of Gran Canaria, is an example of Mudejar architecture with a Gothic-Renaissance façade. The modernist kiosk, from 1923, is one of the jewels that this style left in the city, in which its profuse and colorful decoration stands out.
Stroll quietly through the corners of this park or if you prefer, sit down to enjoy an aperitif on the terrace of the modernist kiosk. I am waiting for you next to the Hermitage of San Telmo to start a pleasant journey through one of the most commercial streets of the city: Calle Mayor de Triana.
Main Street of Triana
It brings together one of the busiest commercial and leisure areas in the city and is the main artery of the neighborhood. In this pedestrian street, in addition to enjoying a pleasant walk, you can see the important legacy of modernist architecture in many of its buildings.
After visiting and shopping through the different shops in Triana, I invite you to discover one of the most stately buildings in the city: the Rodríguez Quegles Building. To get there, all you have to do is find the popular Calle San Bernardo, characterized by the large trees that delimit it on both sides, and a few meters away you will cross the pedestrian Pérez Galdós. There is the Quegles Building. See you on your facade.
Rodríguez Quegles Building
It is one of the stately buildings in Triana. It is characterized by the eclecticism it shows. In addition to housing, it has been the headquarters of the Higher Conservatory of Music and is currently the institutional headquarters of the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Our next stop keeps part of the literary history of the Island. If you like, we go to the Pérez Gáldos House Museum to get closer to the life of this great Canarian writer of the 19th century. Let's walk together along Cano Street, also very commercial, and we will arrive at our next meeting point.
Pérez Galdós House Museum
The novelist and playwright, Benito Pérez Galdós, was born in Cano Street in 1843, one of the most representative writers of Spanish Realism of the 19th century. His house forms a patrimonial complex where Galdosian museum pieces and a large documentary archive of his work are preserved.
And from the Pérez Galdós House Museum, now I invite you to the Theater that bears the same name. When leaving the Museum you just have to turn left and take Malteses street, heading towards the sea. The majestic Theater will prevail before your eyes. When I get to your facade I tell you your story.
Pérez Galdós Theater
It is one of the unique buildings in the city, beyond the cultural role it has had since it opened its doors in 1888 under the name of Tirso de Molina. Its current name, a tribute to the immortal writer Benito Pérez Galdós, was agreed in 1915. It has recently been redesigned and renovated.
To follow our itinerary, I encourage you to visit the lively Plaza Hurtado de Mendoza, popularly known as the Plaza de las Ranas. From the Theater, go to the Monopol Shopping Center crossing the commercial street of Triana, and there, if you like, we will sit on one of its charming terraces and I will tell you about each of the historic buildings that surround it.
Hurtado de Mendoza Square
The square dates back to the early nineteenth century, when the so-called Stone Bridge was built over the Guiniguada ravine to facilitate the passage between Triana and Vegueta. The building of the Insular Library and several kiosks stand out in the square, one of them, the Tourist Information Point.
And what better way to finish our itinerary by accompanying you to the Plaza de Cairasco, located a few meters from where we are, in a corner of great ancestry in the city. There you can breathe the cultural and social atmosphere of the Island. I am waiting for you with the Literary Cabinet.
Cairasco Square
One of the most characteristic corners of Triana is this square, flanked by the Literary Cabinet of 1844, with an eclectic and modernist style. An institution that has played a prominent role in the social and cultural life of the city.
In the adjacent Alameda de Colón, the navigator is remembered with a bust as he passes through the city and also houses the church of San Francisco from the s. XVII.
Our historical and cultural getaway through the Triana neighborhood has ended. It has been a pleasure to accompany you on your visit and I suggest you continue to savor the good atmosphere that is breathed in this commercial area of the city. I also encourage you to visit other routes and corners of Gran Canaria with us.
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2) Teatro Guiniguada
N 28° 06.109 W 015° 24.894
The Guiniguada theater project dates from 1938. Designed by the architect Antonio Cardona Aragón , conceived as a building for cinema, homes, commercial premises and offices. 1
The Avellaneda theater-cinema was open until the 80s when the first of the reforms of the scenic space began. First, the furniture was modified and the screen increased. Later, at the beginning of the 90s, its adaptation to the theater was sought and the new headquarters of the Filmoteca Canaria was installed there . 2
In June 2000 its doors were closed, beginning the third and final phase of architectural intervention of the building. After 10 years of neglect, tortuous works and legal problems, 2 reopened its doors on Sunday, March 27, 2011 after a long period of inactivity. Was the canary actress Antonia San Juan in charge of opening the opening ceremony by reading to the Manifesto for the World Day of Theater for later projected the film 'Las Palmas' 1909. 3
Since then, this great theater has been part of the Red Canarias de las artes performing arts, a space dedicated above all to Canarian artists. It has a capacity of 461 seats, of which 263 are on the ground floor (four of them for the disabled) and 198 on the top floor.
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3) Catedral de Las Palmas
N 28° 06.041 W 015° 24.897
The Cathedral of Las Palmas , also known as Cathedral of Santa Ana , stands with its twin towers over the neighborhood of Vegueta , in the old town of Las Palmas.
This was the first church built in all the Canary Islands . It was raised by order of the Catholic Monarchs after the conquest of the island of Gran Canaria . Its construction began in the 16th century, but it was not finished until almost 4 centuries later, which is why several different architects and artists contributed, resulting in up to three different architectural styles: Gothic, Renaissance, and Neoclassical.
Inside, specifically in the south wing, it houses the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art , where valuable objects of sacred art, paintings and an important collection of Spanish sculptures are exhibited.
There is an elevator, located in one of its towers, that takes you to the top of the cathedral, from where for a price of just € 1.50 you can enjoy some more impressive views of the city.
Next to the cathedral is the Colon House Museum , another of the city's must-see buildings.
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4) Casa de Colón
N 28° 06.069 W 015° 24.851
La Casa de Colón es una institución cultural situada en el barrio histórico de Vegueta, en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canarias, España.1
Se trata de una casona de finales del XVI. Este centro público, adscrito a la Consejería de Cultura, Patrimonio Histórico y Museos del Cabildo de Gran Canaria, e inaugurado en 1951, es uno de los edificios más emblemáticos de la ciudad. Su ámbito se centra en el estudio, investigación y difusión de la historia de Canarias y de sus relaciones con América. Alberga un Museo, una Biblioteca y Centro de Estudios especializado, así como diversos espacios destinados a actividades temporales: cursos, seminarios, jornadas, exposiciones, proyecciones, conciertos, etc
5) Plaza del Espíritu Santo
N 28° 05.994 W 015° 24.980
Original kilometer zero and the starting point of the island's water network, Plaza de Santo Domingo houses the stone temple drawn by Ponce de León, one of the few covered fountains of Hispanic architecture.
This crossroads, located to the left of the Town Hall, has a dragon tree and a araucaria that represent the twinning between the Canary Islands and America.
The Plaza del Espíritu Santo, together with the hermitage dating from the 17th century and the stately buildings that surround it, constitutes one of the most charming corners of the noble area of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Its surroundings have served as part of the scenography of theatrical performances and as a meeting point in the Via Crucis of the Holy Christ of the Good End of Holy Week in the Capital.
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