12 of the best · the Canary Islands, Spain
The Fundación César Manrique and his house at Haría, the MIAC in the Castillo de San José, CAAM, the Auditorio de Tenerife, the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, the Teatro Pérez Galdós and the sand nativity of Las Canteras.
Our 12 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated November 2026
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Three Canary moments we keep going back to: Teide early in the morning, lunch at a starred table on the coast of Adeje, and a day among César Manrique’s centres on Lanzarote.
Manrique’s house in the lava
César Manrique’s house in the lava at Taro de Tahíche, now his foundation.
C/ Jorge Luis Borges 16, 35507 Tahíche, LanzaroteExplore View on map
Orchestra, opera and the Phantom
Santa Cruz’s concert hall: the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, the Ópera de Tenerife and touring musicals.
Contemporary art in Vegueta
Las Palmas’ centre for modern and contemporary art, in the old quarter of Vegueta.
Ferries, the tram and the island buses, and how to plan a crossing.
The back story
The Fundación César Manrique and his house at Haría, the MIAC in the Castillo de San José, CAAM’s exhibitions in Las Palmas, the Auditorio de Tenerife, the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus and the Teatro Pérez Galdós, and the sand nativity of Las Canteras: the arts of the Canary Islands.
Visual arts
César Manrique’s two houses and the museum of contemporary art in an eighteenth-century fortress.
In the palm grove at Haría
César Manrique’s house in the palm grove of Haría, open as a museum.
C/ Elvira Sánchez 30, 35520 Haría, LanzaroteExplore View on map
Manrique’s house in the lava
César Manrique’s house in the lava at Taro de Tahíche, now his foundation.
C/ Jorge Luis Borges 16, 35507 Tahíche, LanzaroteExplore View on map
Contemporary art in a fortress
The International Museum of Contemporary Art, in an eighteenth-century fortress on the harbour of Arrecife.
CAAM’s exhibitions in Las Palmas.
Contemporary art in Vegueta
Las Palmas’ centre for modern and contemporary art, in the old quarter of Vegueta.
The grid of La Laguna and Manrique’s buildings in the lava.
Manrique’s tribute to farming
César Manrique’s tribute to Lanzarote’s farmers: patios, cisterns, threshing floors and wine presses, with his sculpture Fecundidad.
César Manrique
The first centre César Manrique created: a lava tube with a lake of blind crabs, a pool and a natural auditorium.
Over the strait to La Graciosa
César Manrique’s viewpoint on the northern cliffs of Lanzarote.
UNESCO World Heritage since 1999
The first “ideal city” laid out on a grid, with churches and houses of the 16th to the 18th century.
Performing arts
The orchestras and opera of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Home of the Filarmónica
The concert hall of Las Palmas, home to the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria.
Orchestra, opera and the Phantom
Santa Cruz’s concert hall: the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, the Ópera de Tenerife and touring musicals.
The historic stage of Las Palmas.
Opera, early music and dance
The historic theatre of Las Palmas, for opera, early music, theatre and dance.
Folk & cultural traditions
The sand nativity of Las Canteras; see also the Canary Islands on film.
A nativity made of sand
The sand nativity on Las Canteras beach, built every Christmas since 2006.
