Tourist Attractions in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain

San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Photo: Jens Steckert/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

First called Aguere by the indigenous Guanche inhabitants, the area was originally a pilgrimage site due to the large lake which once existed nearby (hence the Spanish name 'La Laguna').

La Laguna is home to the oldest university in the Canary Islands with 30,000 students, giving the city a youthful vibe. Over a quarter of the non-student inhabitants are also connected to the university. Other primary economic activity includes manufacturing and tourism.

Architecture and religious buildings

• Iglesia de la Concepción (Church of the Immaculate Conception), Plaza de la Concepción, s/n,. M-F 08:30-13:30 18:00-19:30, Sa 08:30-13:30 18:00-20:30, Su 07:30-14:00 16:30-20:00. Established in 1511, this is the oldest parish church on the island. The interior has beautifully-painted Mudejar wooden ceilings, and visitors can climb the bell tower, which is the tallest in the Canary Islands. Outside the church is an ossuary with the remains of victims of many epidemics. Photography inside the church is not permitted. €2 (adults).

Iglesia de la Concepción. Photo: Diego Delso/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

• Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna), Plaza Fray Albino, s/n. M-Sa 08:00-18:00, Su 08:00-14:00. The current structure was built between 1904 and 1915 in the Neoclassical and Neogothic styles, on the site of an early 16th-century chapel which is believed had been built atop an earlier Guanche necropolis. Inside is the elaborate Baroque 18th-century altarpiece of the Virgin of Los Remedios (La Virgen de los Remedios), the patron saint of the city; seven painted panels have been attributed to the Flemish master Hendrick van Balen. Also noteworthy is the marble 18th-century pulpit carved by the Genoese master Pasquale Bocciardo. Free.

Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Photo: Koppchen/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

• Convento de Santa Clara de Asís (Convent of Santa Clara of Assisi) (between C/ Viana and C/ Anchieta). Tu Th Sa 10:00-17:00. This working Franciscan convent was established in 1547 as the first nunnery in the Canary Islands. Inside, visitors can see the beautiful carved wooden balconies and visit the museum, which showcases monastic treasures of gold, silver, textiles, and sculpture and painting. €5 (adults), free (children).

• Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de la Laguna (Royal Sanctuary of the Christ of La Laguna), Plaza San Francisco, s/n (Plaza del Cristo). M-Th 08:00-13:00 16:00-20:45, F 08:00-21:00, Sa 08:00-13:00 16:00-20:45, Su 08:00-21:00. The most important religious building in the city, this houses the Cristo de La Laguna ('Holy Christ of La Laguna), one of the most venerated religious artifacts in the Canary Islands and a symbol of the city. The church also has an exact replica of the Shroud of Turin, one of only two copies existing in Spain. Free.

Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de la Laguna. Photo: Berthold Werner/Wikimedia Commons (PD)

• Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Church of St. Dominic of Guzmán), C/ Santo Domingo, 1. Daily 10:00-19:00. Built on the site of an earlier chapel, the current church and the attached convent date to the 16th and 17th centuries. The church is known as the burial spot of Amaro Pargo, one of Spain's most infamous pirates, a La Laguna native who died here in 1747. Also noteworthy is the interior 22-metre-long fresco, painted in the 1940s by Mariano de Cossío and Martínez-Fortún. Free.

Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Photo: Cup of coffee/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

Museums and galleries

• Museo de Historia y Antropología de Tenerife (Casa Lercaro / Museum of the History of Tenerife), C/ San Agustín, 22. Tu-Sa 09:00-20:00, Su M and holidays 10:00-17:00. Housed in a reportedly haunted mansion which once belonged to an Italian noble family, the museum has exhibits illustrating Canarian life from the 17th to 19th centuries. €5 (adults), €3.50 (concessions), €3 (Canary Island residents), free (F Sa 16:00-20:00).

Casa Lercaro. Photo: Koppchen/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

• Museo de la Ciencia y del Cosmos (Museum of Science and the Cosmos), Avda Los Menceyes, 70. Tu-Sa 09:00-20:00, Su M and holidays 10:00-17:00; last admission 30 min before closing. An interactive museum for both children and adults, with a planetarium and holograms. Museum: €5 (adults), €3.50 (concessions), €3 (Canary Island residents), free (F Sa 16:00-20:00); planetarium: €1 (adults), free (children under 8).

Museo de la Ciencia y del Cosmos. Photo: Mike Peel/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

• IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto (Ex-convento de San Agustín), C/ San Agustín, 48. Tu-F 10:00-20:00, Sa Su 10:00-15:00. This former convent is now the home to a school, known for such famous students as the surrealist painter Óscar Domínguez and the novelist Benito Pérez Galdós. Visitors can see the cloisters and two exhibit halls which have rotating temporary exhibits, usually of Canarian artists. The former convent church now lies in ruins and is off-limits to visitors, but it is possible to gain a peek of the interior through a window in the locked gate. Free.

Ex-convento de San Agustín. Photo: Cup of coffee/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

• Fundación Cristino de Vera (Casa Saavedra y Martínez-Barona), C/ San Agustín, 18 (next to the Museum of History). M-F 11:00-14:00 17:00-20:00, Sa 10:00-14:00. The foundation has a permanent collection of artwork by Santa Cruz artist Cristino de Vera, and hosts temporary exhibits by other highly-regarded contemporary artists. Free.

Casa Saavedra y Martínez-Barona. Photo: StellarD/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Festivals and holidays

• Romería de San Benito Abad. A popular Romeria (pilgrimage) that is considered the most representative of the Canary Islands, which involves groups coming from all corners of the archipelago. The second Sunday of July is celebrated. She is also considered among the most important romeria in Spain.

• Holiday of the Cristo de La Laguna. It is celebrated every 14 September in honor of a much venerated image of Christ in the Canary Islands, the Cristo de La Laguna. For this event come people from all over the archipelago. It is the leading holidays in town.

• Holy Week. Holy Week in the city of San Cristóbal de la Laguna is the largest of the Canary Islands. Holy Week has steps of great historical and artistic value, such as the aforementioned Cristo de La Laguna, accompanied by their guilds, some of them centuries old and which adopted the use of the hood in the nineteenth century, ride on the wheeled carts streets of the city. (Wikivoyage, Wikipedia)

Procesión Magna in La Laguna. Photo: Koppchen/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

See also San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Pictures.

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