Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Spain). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: La Laguna Cathedral, Iglesia de la Concepción, and Real Santuario del Cristo de La Laguna. Also, be sure to include Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Canary Islands).
Table of Contents
La Laguna Cathedral
Also known as: Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Catholic cathedral in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is a Roman Catholic church in Tenerife, Spain. Begun in 1904 and completed in 1915, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Los Remedios. The cathedral is the mother church of the diocese, which includes the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is therefore where the episcopal seat of the bishop of this diocese, currently occupied by Bishop Bernardo Álvarez Afonso. This is one of the most important churches of the Canary Islands.
The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna is located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). In the cathedral lie the remains of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo, conqueror of the island and founder of the city. The cathedral is located in the historic center of the city of La Laguna, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 by UNESCO. The cathedral contains elements of several architectural styles including Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic. The most representative elements of the Cathedral of La Laguna are its Neoclassical facade, inspired by the Cathedral of Pamplona, and the dome, which stands out prominently in the city landscape.[1]
Address: Plaza Fray Albino, 9, 38201 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Iglesia de la Concepción
Also known as: Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción
Parish in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. The Iglesia-Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de La Concepción is a Roman Catholic church located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. This church is almost a twin of the Church of the Conception of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was the first parish was established in Tenerife.
The site of the church was established by the conqueror Alonso Fernández de Lugo after the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi in 1496. The Church of the Conception was founded in 1511.
Today people can climb the tower to view much of the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. It houses the largest bell in the Canary Islands.
The Church of the Conception was declared of a site of cultural interest, specifically in the category of National Historic Monument in 1948. Inside the temple is the miraculous oil of St. John the Evangelist, the icon miraculously sweat during a Black Death in 1648, after this miracle the disease disappeared from the island. The Church of the Concepción is home to numerous brotherhoods, including the Pontificia, Imperial, Real y Venerable Hermandad de la Purísima Concepción, which in 1757 was added to the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception of the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls in Rome.
Outside the temple next to the entrance door is the Monument to Pope John Paul II, polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj representing the pontiff blessed with two children dressed in traditional costumes of the Canary Islands. The statue was brought from Poland and was blessed by the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez Afonso and the archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Santos Abril y Castelló.[2]
Address: Plaza Concepción, S/N, 38201 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Real Santuario del Cristo de La Laguna
Also known as: Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna
16th-century church with a famed Christ. Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna is a Roman Catholic church located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife. The sanctuary is famous for housing the image of the Cristo de La Laguna, a devotional image of the Canary Islands.
This temple throughout its history was enriched by the Popes with indulgences which are granted to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Next to the Royal Shrine is the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, the largest square of the city.[3]
Address: Plaza del Cristo, 3, 38201 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos
Museum in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. The Museum of Science and the Cosmos, is an astronomy, technology, and science museum located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Tenerife island, in the Spanish Canary Islands of Macaronesia. It belongs to the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Tenerife Organization of Museums and Centers. The museum opened in 1993 under the initiative of the Cabildo and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. It is considered the primary astronomy and science museum of the Canary Islands and the Macaronesian archipelago.[4]
Address: Av. de los Menceyes, 70, 38205 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Casa Anchieta
Museum in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. Casa Anchieta is a building in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Originally constructed in the 16th century, the current building dates from the 17th century with 19th-century modifications. It was the childhood home of Saint Joseph of Anchieta, after whom the building is named. In 2020 the building started to be restored, with the aim of turning it into a museum and interpretation center about José de Anchieta.[5]
Faro de Punta del Hidalgo
Also known as: Faro de la Punta del Hidalgo
Lighthouse in Spain. The Punta del Hidalgo Lighthouse is an active lighthouse in Punta del Hidalgo within the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the northeast coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
This modern lighthouse has a unique angular design, consisting of unequal and irregular columns of increasing height rising from a triangular base. The lower columns culminate in a final square pillar which faces the sea and supports a light on a small post.
It is one of seven lighthouses which mark the coastline of Tenerife, and lies between two other modern lighthouses of Puerto de la Cruz to the southwest, and Punta de Anaga to the east.[6]
Museum of the History of Tenerife
Also known as: Museo de Historia de Tenerife
Museum in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. The Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife is part of the Autonomous Organism of Museums and the Cabildo de Tenerife. It opened in December 1993 in the property known as "Casa Lercaro" in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.
The museum holds out the prospect of spreading the history of the island of Tenerife, offering an overview of institutional, socio-economic and cultural development of the island, from the fifteenth century to the twentieth century.
The museum also performs a task of research, rescue, preservation, dissemination and exhibition of heritage treasure pieces, documentary and bibliographic.[7]
Address: Calle San Agustín, 22, 38201 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Catholic church in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. The Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán it is a Roman Catholic church located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.[8]
Address: Calle Santo Domingo, 1, 38201 San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna
Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna is a square in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. It is one of the largest and most important squares of the Canary Islands.
This square is considered one of the "main squares" of the island of Tenerife, together with the Plaza de España in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias in Candelaria.
This square until recently marked the boundary between the city of La Laguna and agricultural area. The square was used until the last century as a field of military exercises.
In the surroundings of the current square was the historic and disappeared Hospital of San Sebastián, which played an important role in the reception of patients during the epidemic of bubonic plague that broke out in the city in 1582.
However, the plaza is known mainly because its banks including Real Santuario del Cristo de La Laguna church, where the venerated image of Cristo de La Laguna, which is highly revered by all canaries. Today in this square is the municipal market.[9]
Tegueste
Town on Tenerife, Spain. Tegueste is a town and a municipality of the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, on the Canary Islands, Spain. It is surrounded by the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. The town Tegueste is located 4 km northwest of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and 11 km northwest of the island capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tegueste became independent from San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the 17th century.
Currently, it is thought that the place name Tegueste is related to Thagaste, a city in northern Africa where Saint Augustine of Hippo was born and a center of Berber culture.[10]
Plaza del Adelantado
The Plaza del Adelantado is a central square in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Tenerife.
Address: Plaza del Adelantado, San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Convento de Santa Clara de Asís
The convent or monastery of Santa Clara de Asís y de San Juan Bautista is a Franciscan convent located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife. It was originally founded under the name of San Juan Bautista in the year 1547 and was the first female convent in the Canary Islands.
Molino de Llano del Moro
The Molino de Llano del Moro is located in the homonymous district of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
It consists of two ethnographic elements, the mill building itself and an adjoining building, known as the "miller's house". The first of these is a constructive structure with a truncated cone-shaped morphology and thick masonry walls, made up of irregular basalt blocks, small stones and mortar of earth, lime and sand. Part of the rendering that covered both the interior and the exterior of the building is still preserved. It is made of the same type of poor material: earth and sand.
On the façade there are two openings, the first of which corresponds to the access door and the second to a high window, both with wooden lintel and jambs. The original roof has disappeared and only part of the interior ceiling is preserved, while there are no traces of the milling machinery or the blades.
About 10 m away there is a curious building with a tiled gable roof and thick walls of basalt stone without plaster in which two openings are opened. At present it is impossible to access the interior, although the state of conservation of this construction is quite acceptable.
The mill is located on private land and is currently used as a storage room.
Plaza Fray Albino
Plaza Fray Albino also known as Plaza de La Catedral, and formerly called Plaza de Santa María or Plaza de los Remedios, is a square in San Cristóbal de La Laguna where the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios is located.
Ermita de San Cristóbal
The Ermita de San Cristóbal is a hermitage located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife. It is located next to the square of the same name.
In it is venerated the small and primitive image of San Cristóbal de Licia, patron saint of the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and titular of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Although, the main image of this Saint is in the cathedral of the city.
It is believed that in this chapel are the remains of Fernando Guanarteme, aboriginal king of Gáldar (Gran Canaria) who participated in the conquest of Tenerife. However, excavations have been carried out on the site and his remains have not been found.
Address: Plaza San Cristóbal, 22, 38205 San Cristóbal de La Laguna