Activities: Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife plans activities that highlight the importance the city gives to arts and culture. As the capital of the island, Santa Cruz has unique facilities such as the huge Auditorium, crowned with a majestic wing spread in the wind, museums and art centres like the Fine Arts Circle, and landmarks such as the Museum of Open-Air Sculptures.

What to do and what to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

• Museum of Open Air Sculptures: This museum exhibits works by Alfaro, Miró, Chirino and Henry Moore, a group of sculptures arranged in a unique art tour that starts in Las Ramblas and passes through Las Asuncionistas School and García Sanabria Park.

• Tenerife Auditorium: The auditorium is the finest modern building in Santa Cruz. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, the building opens onto the sea promenade and hosts musical performances and various artistic events.

• Santa Cruz Public Library: The public library is located in the beautiful La Granja Park. It has an important collection of documents of all kinds and from all historical periods, especially works by authors born in the island. In addition, it has an exhibition space and a theatre.

• Fine Arts Circle: An avant-garde arts centre that promotes contemporary art and holds cultural events in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It puts on remarkable temporary photography and painting exhibitions.

• Plaza de la Candelaria: This square opens right across the emblematic Plaza de España. The two of them contain, in a comparatively small area, the main sights in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Casino Cruz, Chamber of Commerce, Carta Palace and Olympo Building, among others. La Candelaria, from the sixteenth century, was the first square built in town.

• San Cristóbal Castle: It is a historic building in Santa Cruz and the first defensive zone. Of the defensive walls only a section has come down to us. Tourists can access the remains of the castle from Plaza de España, where there is an underground exhibition.

• Museum of Man and Nature: Located in Plaza de Europa, one of the most famous and crowded in Santa Cruz, this peculiar museum displays artefacts and provides information on the Guanches (the aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands) and the evolution of the Canaries. It also houses pieces of archaeological interest as well as works of Pre-Columbian art.