Gran Canaria Travel Guide | Top Attractions + Secret Spots

Imagine a land where lush green forest gives way to vast deserts and volcanic peaks, where pastel-hued villages dot the landscape and you're constantly surrounded by the sea. No, this isn't a dream but the lush and verdant island of Gran Canaria. Welcome to Gran Canaria. This is the second most visited of the Canary Islands after Tenerife and over the next few days we're going to show you the best things to do on the island. One of an archipelago of islands which is situated off the west coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, Gran Canaria is a dream destination all year round thanks to its temperate climate and wealth of activities. So without further ado let's get into the best of the island. Welcome to Aroucas. We're outside of the church of Saint John the Baptist which dates back to the early 1900s and is neo-gothic in style. There's plenty of things to see in the town including a rum distillery, lots of little streets, boutiques and even a botanical garden. As soon as you park up in Aroucas' main car park you'll already be greeted by its main monument, the towering main church. From there it's an easy walk through pedestrianized streets to reach other attractions in town. En route you can even pick up a pamphlet from the tourist office. There are a surprising number of museums in town and one is dedicated entirely to stone quarrying. We grabbed a sandwich from one of the local cafes which was surprisingly tasty before heading into the central green park. The municipal park is conveniently located close to the Aroucas sign and covers around 2.5 acres. Full of plants and paved walkways, Aroucas is sometimes referred to as the town of flowers and in this oasis you'll soon see why. This is the main museum in town and is where you can find a lot of gorgeous artworks including sculptures in the basement. It's also where you can learn more about the history of this town and the surrounding region. All around town you'll find some pretty beautiful architectural quirks. I love spying the cathedral from different angles, the historic buildings and even a few fountains. We're now on our way to the local rum distillery. The final attraction in Aroucas I want to draw your attention to is the Araucas rum distillery. Founded in 1883 as a sugarcane refinery, just a year later the rum distillery opened its doors. Today you can visit and take a tour for a small fee or alternatively visit the shop and pick up a souvenir from your time in the town. Around a five minute drive away you'll find another botanical treasure. We've just arrived at a small botanical garden on the fringes of Aroucas by the name of Marquesa Gardens. They date all the way back to 1880 and so let's go and explore them. The car park is free and from there you'll walk through a floral tunnel to be transported into a garden paradise that will take around an hour or so to explore. Once you've purchased your entry ticket you're free to explore at your leisure. We visited the garden in January and thanks to the spring-like climate of Gran Canaria there were things in bloom even then. However I would probably suggest that the best time to actually visit the gardens is between April and June and then September through to October. If you love bird's eye perspectives then before you leave the Aroucas region you'll want to head up to the recently renovated Mirador de la Montaña de Aroucas. Provided it's a good day you'll be rewarded with stunning views of the town, its cathedral and the surrounding area. There's a shaded picnic spot, ample parking and even a few signs explaining the history of Aroucas. It was then a 20 minute drive to reach our next destination. On route we soaked up the rich and varied landscape that makes this island so special. Welcome to Sonobio de Valorant which was a communal granary used here in the Canary Islands until the 15th century. Today it's an archaeological site you can visit for just three euros. There's a free car park at the base of the steps up to reach the archaeological site. Sonobio actually means monastery but this is a misnomer from a false legend that young high-class women slept there until they were ready for marriage. High up on the Montaña del Gallego this settlement and storage area was built by pre-hispanic Canarians 800 years ago before the arrival of the Spanish. They made use of the rich volcanic rock carving out storage space with flintstones. The result is over 350 cavities laid out over several levels. The entire visit will probably only take you about 20 minutes if you read all of the panels and go inside the different areas but it's honestly so fascinating and amazing to see the caves carved out of the rock face that it's definitely worth a detour. It was then time to drive to our final stop of the day in order to see a little more history and taste some of the local food. Gaudar is a quintessentially Canarian town with pastel-hued houses, gorgeous architecture and a handful of museums. You can easily walk around for an hour or so enjoying the views from the However the main attraction here happens to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Spain. This is where you'll find a museum dedicated to the Cueva Pintada, i.e. the Painted Cave. Local legend tells that a farmer found the cave quite by accident while tending to his land in the 1860s. The Painted Cave was officially marked on the map when it was discovered by an investigator named José Ramos in 1873. Unfortunately you can't take photos or videos of the cave for copyright reasons and so you'll have to search pictures online. It's basically a gorgeous set of geometric patterns that was painted by the Canariae between the 11th and 13th centuries. It's so unique that it is regarded to be the Sistine Chapel of the Canary Islands. Surrounding the cave is the archaeological site of a former pre-Hispanic Canarian settlement including some reconstructed homes. We then headed to a lively nearby tapas bar to sample some local food washed down with an ice cold beer. The bartender was really friendly. It was warm enough to sit outside with a jacket and I'll probably be dreaming about the olives for years to come. We ended the day with a beautiful sunset over the town of Agaete. We've just arrived in Vergas which is a village in the mountains around half an hour away from Las Palmas. The village is also known as the village of water and is also known for the Paseo de Gran Canaria which is a walkway running through the entirety of the village and is one of the most beautiful places to walk in the Canary Islands. The village's strategic vantage point high in the mountains also means that there are a number of beautiful viewpoints which are known locally as Miradors. One of the more historic buildings in town is the church which is situated on Plaza de San Roque. Free to visit it was built in 1845. We then had a long and lazy lunch where we indulged in local food such as aubergine drizzled in honey, deep fried cheese and cold beers. Afterwards it was time to explore the rest of the town before heading to our next stop. We just arrived outside of the Molino de Frigras which is a watermill dating all the way back to the 16th century. It was formerly linked to the sugar refinery in the village and has now been transformed into a small museum that you can go inside for free and check out. The final attraction in town worth checking out is a set of mosaics depicting scenes of the Canary Islands while you're surrounded by the sound of a gently flowing river. Welcome to Teror which is considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in Gran Canaria. It's full of cobbled lanes and traditional Canarian architecture. There's lots of little cafes and boutiques here to explore. It's in a valley surrounded by high peaks and so even if the area above is clouded down here it's quite pleasant and clear. I would personally set aside around two hours to explore the town as there's definitely a lot of beautiful architecture, some really lovely cafes where you can sit and watch the world go by and a few main attractions. This basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary of the Pines and was built between 1760 and 1767. As you can see it's neo-gothical and baroque in style but it's closed unfortunately until 4pm as it closes during the middle of the day and I think I saw a chicken over there. I think we found the source of the chickens. Don't scare the mantel. No don't scare it. Inside the church itself at the back you'll find this small museum of sacred art. Unfortunately it's only open from Tuesday till Saturday 10.30 to 2.30pm and so we've missed the opening. Directly behind the basilica building you'll find the Episcopal Palace which is a former bishop's house. It has now been transformed into a cultural centre that hosts art exhibitions and the like. As much as I didn't want to we then had to leave to visit the next place in this guide. We've just arrived at the Botanical Gardens of Gran Canaria. They're completely free to visit and were the life works of 20th century Swedish-Spanish botanist Eric Ragnar Svensson. They're really beautiful and full of over 500 succulent and cacti species. The Canary Islands is pretty diverse in its climates and Gran Canaria has a lot of different climates. This area was decided for the Botanical Gardens as it was reasoned that it's probably one of the areas on Gran Canaria that has the best chance of supporting the greatest number of different plants from different climates across the islands. Set aside around half an hour to visit the gardens though make this an hour if you're visiting in spring or summer when everything is in bloom. Our final stop of the day was also where we happened to base ourselves for the first half of our stay in Gran Canaria. Las Palmas is one of the capitals of the Canary Islands together with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. There are around 378,000 residents making this the ninth largest city in Spain. The best area to explore is hands down the Vigüeta district, a historic area filled with cobbled lanes and traditional architecture. Here you'll find plenty of quintessential restaurants, museums and a market. And after all that exploration was done we treated ourselves with an alcohol-free beer at the Mercado del Puerto. The next day the weather was bright and sunny. Honestly the weather changed so frequently here that our weather prediction was often wrong for the day. So we decided it was time to enjoy the viewpoints of the island. If you're not really into beaches then you don't really need to worry as there are so many beautiful landscapes that you can explore. Our first stop was at the viewpoint of Zamora. You can see an old washing station here as well as admire the view and even grab a coffee at the cafe. Just down the road you can soak up the vistas from Mirador de Miguel Unamuno where you can see all the way out to the ocean. There's ample parking here so you could even enjoy a picnic in situ. This is one of the best viewpoints of the north of the island and as you can see we're so high up that there's extensive cloud coverage covering Las Palmas. Nevertheless if you head here on a good day, I'll put the name on the screen, then you will expect to find some beautiful views. To be honest the mountains of central Gran Canaria are just mesmerizing and you won't be able to help but stop to take photos at many viewpoints along the way. One of the most charming of the mountain villages in the central part of Gran Canaria is a small settlement by the name of Artenara. This is Gran Canaria's highest village and sits on a giant natural balcony surrounded by rocky mountain peaks. We decided to stop for lunch here at Artegaia which even had vegan and vegetarian dishes on the menu. Like most of Gran Canaria, the main church and town is free to visit and boasts a belfry made of redstone from Tamadaba. Wander away from the village centre and there are a few other delights to discover. The lookout dedicated to Don Miguel de Unamuno provides one of the most gorgeous views in town and is perfect for snapping a souvenir photo from. There's even a life-sized statue of the Spanish writer and philosopher. There's also a small museum depicting what life was like in rural Gran Canaria many years ago. But truthfully the best things to do is simply to stroll around and allow the views to reveal themselves to you. If you head to the edge of the village then you'll find a small chapel carved out of the rock face dedicated to the Virgin of the Cave. We're currently a thousand meters above sea level in a little village called Tejeda which is listed as one of the most beautiful villages of Spain. We're currently in the very heart of Gran Canaria overlooking the rest of the island and this little village is known for its beautiful traditional Canarian architecture as well as bistros and bars. Tejeda has a population of just under 2,000 residents and is located on the eastern edge of a volcanic crater that bears the same name. The historic centre is really pretty and is full of narrow cobbled lanes that can only be explored on foot. You'll only need around half an hour to see everything although you'll want to set aside an hour if you want to have a drink at one of the cafes near the church. The entirety of the town is surrounded by the Sacred Mountains which is a World Heritage site and just adds the beauty of the place. Hello! Everywhere we've been has been so full of cats I keep getting distracted by them as we're filming. I think we should rename this video Cats of Gran Canaria. It was then time to bid farewell to Tejeda to go up the very scary mountain routes to go to the highest peak on the island. This is Pico de la Nieves and at 1,949 meters above sea level it's the highest point on Gran Canaria. Okay actually this is the highest point on the island and the whole area gets its name because of the old wells which used to be used to store melted snow. It's probably actually that point but you can't go there. We then drove back down the mountain through the scary mountain roads to our second hotel in the resort town of Playa del Inglés which is a great base from which to explore the south of the island. After checking in we feasted on Spanish tapas dishes made vegetarian at a delightful if a bit slow restaurant by the name of El Lagoon. After an idly night the next day was spent doing a different activity which I haven't mentioned yet and that is hiking. Welcome to Branco de Guiadeque which is a ravine with steep slopes stretching up to 300 meters in height. The peculiarity of the houses in this valley is that they're built straight into the cliff face. There's also a unique cafe here which is built inside a cave so let's go and check it out. It's really amazing to see all of the rock homes but there's one mistake that a tourist has just done that I highly advise against and that is peering straight into people's homes trying their doors and going in their front garden so just kind of admire from a distance if you come here. Unfortunately there was a bit of a wait at the restaurant. There was a few couples waiting, no one seemed to be being served and we have a lot of things to do today. So we're going to try the other restaurant just up the hill and if that's also really busy then I think we're going to leave and just get a sandwich so that we can carry on the itinerary. We've just arrived at Restaurante El Centro which serves up a number of Spanish tapas dishes and there are a few vegetarian options on the menu. We're actually inside a cave and so it's pretty cool in here all year round. We've just driven around 10 minutes, parked up the car and we're at the next ravine along which is called Branco de Las Vergas. Many people online said it's reminiscent of the landscapes of Utah so let's go and check it out. We found the way down, it was a bit tricky but Antoine spotted it. You'll need around 15 minutes to hike down into the ravine and make sure to wear comfortable shoes as the trail is pretty rocky and uneven in places. There's a lot of corners around here that look like they've been used as toilets so definitely watch your step. I actually didn't think we were in the right place because we couldn't see any of the canyon-like rock forms that I'd seen online. However what you need to do is carry on along the valley and go under the bridge. From there you'll start to enjoy the rock forms. There are a few things I should say about this place including that it's very very touristy and so you won't be the only people there. Be a good tourist, I think that goes without saying. Take your trash with you, don't deface the rock faces and be kind and courteous Welcome to the dunas de maspalomas which is a 404 hectare area of sand dunes. They're actually preserved and so a lot of them can't be walked on but there are guided trails you can follow to enjoy all of the dunes. I personally think that the best time to visit these sand dunes is at dusk when you can enjoy all of the beautiful candy colours dancing across the sky and across the dunes. There are a few things you should know about getting around Gran Canaria and one of the most important is that the best way to get around is by renting your own car. I would personally recommend renting the smallest vehicle possible which is usually a Fiat 500 as there are lots of narrow corners and some of the parking situations can be a little tricky so it's good to have a small car that can fit in any space. This isn't sponsored or anything but I definitely recommend using Seacar. We use it each time we come to the Canary Islands as it's voted one of the best car rentals in Europe and is one of the best car rental experiences we've ever had. Unless stated on a panel outside or inside the car park most car parks in the Canary Islands are actually free to stay in especially in Gran Canaria however you should be wary of fake parking attendants who will kind of direct you to a space and then get you to pay money to them. My advice would be to ignore these people, park your car up if it's a free car park and just walk away. Thank you so much for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe for more travel movies. See you next time!