Monday, July 6, 2009

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

The largest city in the Canary Islands, Spain, is the historic city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Founded on the 24th June 1478 by the Spanish conquistadors, Las Palmas developed into a significant port and was well used by ships sailing around the African coast and also those visiting the New World of America. Used as a stopping off point for Christopher Columbus on the 1st of his American voyages, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria boasts a fantastic museum, named after the famous explorer, the Casa Colón contains models and artefacts relating to Columbus and his voyages. The fabulous Catedral de Santa Ana was begun in 1497 and took some four hundred year to finish, the Neo-Classical façade hides Gothic vaults. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is situated in the fertile north of the island and experiences a humid climate, which is not as searingly hot as the desert-like south of the island, making Las Palmas de Gran Canaria weather more pleasant in the summer months and still mild during the winter. Most visitors to Gran Canaria pass through Las Palmas in one way or another as both the airport for the island and the main port are located there. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Map.