Roque Nublo stands out on the rocky summit, facing the vast Tejeda basin and its mountains under a clear sky.

Edition · Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria

The summits around Roque Nublo, the old quarter of Vegueta and the dunes of Maspalomas: a whole island in a few kilometres.

Photo: H. Zell · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · cropped

Mountain villages, the historic heart of Las Palmas and a coast that changes character from north to south. Gran Canaria, calmly.

Discover

Agaete and Puerto de las Nieves: the unhurried north-west of Gran Canaria

A valley of coffee and fruit trees running down to a fishing harbour beneath the pine forests of Tamadaba. How to spend an unhurried day in green Gran Canaria, and what changes in August with the Bajada de la Rama.

Read the story

The essentials

Where to begin

View all

The Bandama caldera from its rim, a deep green crater, with golf fairways peeking out on the upper right.

Discover

Golf in Gran Canaria: Spain's oldest club, beside a volcano

The Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas, founded in 1891 by British residents, has played on the rim of the Bandama caldera since the 1950s. Then come the courses of the south, between the sea and the dry landscape. What each is like and how to get around with your clubs.

The Maspalomas lighthouse early in the day, with the mermaid fountain, palm trees and an empty promenade under a clear sky.

Discover

Gran Canaria's famous places, at the hour they turn quiet again

Roque Nublo, the Maspalomas dunes, Las Canteras, Vegueta and Puerto de Mogán. Gran Canaria's famous views each have their quiet hour, and some have rules. Here is the key to each one in 2026.

Golden sunset over the harbour mouth of Puerto Rico, the sun behind the hillside and three silhouettes watching the sea from the rocks.

Discover

Gran Canaria from the water: the whales and dolphins of the south, and a coast best seen from a boat

Between Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán, the island makes sense from the sea: cliffs, pilot whales and dolphins that live here all year. Calm, in this case, means respect: authorised boats, no chasing and no guaranteed sightings.

Clouds rising between the crags and pine woods of the summit, with the sea of clouds stretching to the horizon.

Discover

The summit sky: where to stargaze in Gran Canaria

On many nights the summit of Gran Canaria sits above the sea of clouds. Up there, luxury is darkness and silence: where to look, when to go up, what to bring and why the ancient Canarians were already reading this same sky.

The Guayadeque ravine opens between steep slopes towards the sea, with the road winding along the bottom and an agave in the foreground.

Discover

Guayadeque: the ravine where people still live in caves

Between Agüimes and Ingenio, a narrow road climbs a ravine of lived-in cave houses, Aboriginal memory and dining rooms carved into the rock. The Gran Canaria the beach brochure leaves out: you drive up slowly and come back before dark.

Sections

All sections

Different ways of looking at this destination, all with judgement.

Discover

Roque Nublo, the Guayadeque ravine and the Maspalomas dunes at first light.

View all

Eat & Drink

Papas, mojo and gofio, Guía's cheese set with thistle flower and the coffee grown in Agaete.

View all

Living

Lifestyle, property and interiors. Las Palmas, the city people choose to stay in.

View all

Culture

Vegueta, the Cueva Pintada of Gáldar and the Risco Caído landscape UNESCO has protected since 2019.

View all

Getting around

From the airport to the hotel or the marina, and the mountain roads that call for patience.

View all

All editions

The welcome guide

Menorca's famous beaches

Leave us your email and we'll send you the guide: the six beaches everyone wants to see, with how to get there and the hour at which they stop being full. After that, the occasional calm letter — only when it's genuinely worth it.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.