Las Palmas is the capital city of Gran Canaria and the governing capital for Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the city is the largest in the Canaries and the seventh largest city in Spain , with around 360,000 inhabitants.

The best way to see the city is to head for the start of the "Tourist Bus" tour at Parque Santa Catalina, you could also catch it from the city's main bus station. Guagua is the local word for bus. Find a red open-topped double deck bus, pay your fare and let the bus take you around all the major historic and commercial areas of the city. You can get off wherever you want and catch the next bus without paying anything extra (another bus will come along around every 30 minutes). They run from 09.30 to 17.45.

You can get your ticket in the Oficina de Atención al Cliente (Customers Service Department) of Guaguas Municipales (Calle León y Castillo, 330, ground floor), in the Central Station (Parque San Telmo), and in the Guaguas Municipales kiosks in the Pérez Galdós Theatre and La Alameda de Colón. You can also get it inside the guagua.

City Sightseeing is the company running the service. The three red tour buses are equipped with a ramp and have a reserved area for wheelchair users.

The route is as follows:

Parque Sta. Catalina - Parroquia Virgen del Pino - Plaza de España - Estadio Insular - Paseo de la Cornisa - Paseo de Chil - Ciudad Jardín - Parque Doramas - Hotel Sta. Catalina - Pueblo Canario - Presidencia del Gobierno Canario - Plaza de la Feria - Parque San Telmo - Castillo de Mata - Triana - Alameda de Colón - Catedral de Sta. Ana - Barrio de Vegueta - Teatro Pérez Galdós - Puerto de la Luz - Real Club Náutico - Castillo de Sta. Catalina.

The tourist bus will take you through the city's Historic Quarter, Vegueta, founded in 1478, which still remains very much the same as when Christopher Columbus rested there at the beginning of each of his voyages to the Americas. His home is now the Columbus Museum, still standing as originally constructed.

You might also like to read about accessible facilities and services for PMR in the ciyty beach Playa Las Canteras in Las Palmas:
http://www.polibea.com/turismo/boletinesAnteriores/2006/agosto/noticia1_en.htm

Tourist Bus (Guagua)
Teléfono de atención al cliente (Customers Service Department) +34 928 30 58 00
e-mail: guaguas@guaguas.com
http://www.guaguas.com/turistica.htm

Tourist Office. Parque de Santa Catalina
Parque de Santa Catalina
35007, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Tel: +34 928 446 824
Fax: +34 928 446 651
www.promocionlaspalmas.com

 

Rebecca Arce