WHAT TO SEE
BEST ARTISTIC HUB – Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, who created the new Switch House extension to London’s Tate Modern, the Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA) is an angular, light-filled cultural centre in Santa Cruz. It plays with the concept of the traditional Canarian courtyard by drawing visitors into its exhibition spaces along crisscrossed paths. Expect to be challenged here: this is art as social commentary and its offering runs the gamut of the contemporary, photography and documentary. Currently showing is Recherchez les femmes!!!, featuring audio-visual works by three exciting young French artists.
BEST VIEW – You don’t come to the Mirador del Rio restaurant for the rather average selection of sandwiches and pasta, but for the surreal combination of architecture and location. This is a Seventies, Bond-style lair that looks like a glass-fronted cave atop a remote rocky peak It epitomises the style of Cesar Manrique, the Lanzarote architect whose signature curvaceous walls and swathes of white define the island’s design aesthetic. Here, he’s managed to create a sense of nature and architecture as one. The views through the vast windows towards tiny La Graciosa island and the massive Atlantic beyond are incredible.
BEST STARRY GATHERING – Clear skies and clean air make Tenerife one of the world’s stargazing hotspots; the night sky here is as inky black as in the Sahara. It’s a great spectacle at any time of year, but come in mid-summer 2018 and you’ll get to experience Starmus, a festival for all things astronomical. Previous line-ups read like a who’s who of science: Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Chris Hadfield. One of the founders is astrophysicist and musician Brian May, and the bill nods to both of his passions; as well as talks, there is also live music, with previous acts including Hans Zimmer.
BEST BUILDING – Even though it has been more than a decade since Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava finished the Adan Martin Auditorio de Tenerife, its arresting concrete arcs and dramatic white half-moon-shaped roof mean it’s still Santa Cruz’s most talked-about building. The design of the waterside showstopper is often compared to Sydney Opera House, and it has completely changed the Canarian cultural landscape, with the auditorium regularly holding operatic and orchestral concerts.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
BEST LOCAL COOKING – Head inland, lose the crowds. That’s the general rule for making new discoveries on the Canary Islands, and on Lanzarote your foray into the interior is rewarded with Cantina in Teguise. Owner Benn Atkinson used to come to this whitewashed restaurant as a child and he loved it so much he bought the place. Today the smart-rustic interior is the best spot to sample island produce: Lanzarote cheeses, salad from the garden, octopus from Famara, and moreish brownies made by Benn’s wife Zoe.
BEST COCKTAILS – Dusk is the loveliest time to visit Gran Canaria’s La Azotea de Benito bar. Take a seat on the rooftop, and watch the volcanic mountains that surround Las Palmas darken as the adjacent cathedral lights up. If it’s a little chilly the staff will bring you a blanket to snuggle under as they explain the mixology mindset here. Try the classic Martinez, the predecessor of the Martini, or if you’re after something more left-field, ask the bartenders to ‘cook you a drink’. The team pride themselves on coming up with off-menu cocktails – they’re always delicious but you’ll have to twist their arms to find out the secret recipes.
BEST SUNDOWNERS – It takes around five hours to walk up Tenerife’s Mount Teide, the highest point in Spain and the third highest ocean-island volcano in the world. Alternatively you can jump on a cable car. It used to shut in the early evening but now you can book a sunset ride with Champagne. At nightfall when the sky is illuminated like a star-spangled sieve it quickly becomes clear why this remote setting has been designated a UNESCO Starlight Reserve.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FLAVOURS – Japanese cooking might not immediately spring to mind when you think about Gran Canaria. However, Fuji restaurant has been operating here since 1968. Said to be Spain’s first Japanese restaurant, it originally served the men from Japan’s tuna-fishing fleet which docked around Muelle de la Luz in the 1970s. Chef Miguel Martinez took over in the 1990s and has been running the place ever since. The decor is rather dusty but it doesn’t matter a jot because the food is out of this world: sashimi, home-marinated ginger and perfectly cooked fish. Brave diners should try the traditional cod belly; fishy and pungent, it’s not for fussy eaters. There are just 10 tables, it serves lunch and dinner, and is always heavily booked.
