Discover The Endless Beauty Of The Canary Islands

WHERE TO STAY

BEST FOR WINE BUFFS – A stay at Finca Malvasia will convince even the most committed urban dweller to give island life a go. The British owners, husband-and-wife team Richard and Tarnya Norse-Evans, have created a four-apartment hotel in Lanzarote’s central La Geria wine region that’s packed with funky touches such as volcanic-stone walls and cactus gardens. It’s as chic as you’d expect from a couple who ran a design agency in London’s Shoreditch before they packed up and left for the Canaries almost a decade ago.

Whether you’re after a surf instructor to guide you through unfamiliar swells or have a hankering for wood-fired pizza, they will have someone on speed dial. Spend evenings at the finca eating from plates piled high with Canarian goat’s cheese, membrillo (quince jelly) and artisan bread smothered in spicy mojo dip, with a glass of crisp wine from the surrounding terroir. Forget about traditional rows of vineyards here; the dark volcanic soil is peppered with scores of small pits in which the vines grow close to the ground, which creates a curious patchwork of black dry-stone walls and bright green plants.

BEST BOUTIQUE BEDS – One for fans of the Ace Hotel look, but without the pretension or even a sniff of skinny-jeaned hipster, Bed and Chic is a cool 12-room hotel in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Book a high-ceilinged junior suite, where large windows let the sunlight flood into the pared-back white-and-grey interiors. Fun additions include fabric artwork clouds floating above headboards and cushions printed with monocled reindeer. It’s a five-minute walk to the beach at Playa las Canteras, and the hotel’s laid-back rooftop bar is the best place to sink a coconut-laced Papua cocktail and watch the twinkling lights of the Canary Islands’ most vibrant city come to life.

BEST FOR OLD-SCHOOL CHARM – The town of Garachico in Tenerife was remodelled by volcanoes, its seafront and deep black-lava rockpools the payoff for the old harbour’s destruction. In the mornings, it’s often crowded with day-trippers, so for a more peaceful experience wait until the late afternoon to sit in the tree-canopied main square with a cold cerveza. For absolute serenity, check into Hotel San Roque, a pretty 18th-century manor house. Here the rooms have polished wooden floors, furniture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and deep bathtubs. There’s also a courtyard pool for sun-soaked dips until those crowds disperse, as well as creative comfort food by Danish chef Danny Nielson, including white asparagus with truffle oil, and steak with Stilton mash.

BEST BIG-HITTER – There is an air of North Africa about the pink-painted Ritz-Carlton, Abama in Tenerife Styled as a Moorish citadel, it overlooks a private white-sand beach, which is accessed by a funicular railway from the cliff-top. There are hidden tropical gardens with palm trees reaching up towards dome-topped turrets, a two-Michelin-star restaurant, headed up by famed Basque chef Martin Berasategui, and an 18-hole championship golf course Philosopher Alain de Botton visits Abama every year and declares the golf course his favourite part of the hotel. ‘I can’t bear golf de Botton says, ‘but that’s not a problem. It’s a beautiful place to go and think, away from the tourists, with great ocean views and a cooling breeze.’

BEST COUNTRY BOLTHOLE – With its minimal, mid-century aesthetic, super-slick Finea Paraiso is one of the most stylish places to stay on Gran Canaria. This was once a cosy stone house huddled against a remote hillside. Now a smart 21st-century extension has added floor-to-ceiling windows to take in precipitous valley views and created a grown-up hideaway full of design-classic furniture with room to sleep six. Enjoy the view from a rocking chair on the terrace while eating an orange or mango freshly plucked from the tree.

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.

WHERE TO GO

BEST BIKE RIDE – If only escaping to a desert island was always this easy. Just 25 minutes away from Lanzarote on the ferry from Orzola is La Graciosa. The roads here are made of sand, and the easiest way to get around is by bike. Head north to Montana Bermeja volcano, climb its northern slope for a gentle ascent and take in the view down over the buttery sands of Playa de las Conchas, the island’s loveliest beach.

BEST ESCAPE – Some people come to Maspalomas for the golf, others for the LGBT-friendly vibe of Playa del Ingles. Yet beyond the bars and nudist beaches, the main draw of Gran Canaria’s most southerly region is the dunes – more than 400 hectares of protected rolling hillocks, through which you can wander and make like you’re in the Sahara. Until you want a drink that is, and then, handily, it’s only a few steps to the beachfront kiosks for an icy rum cocktail.

BEST LANDSCAPE – With spiky rocks and desolate craters, the barren lava fields of Lanzarote’s Timanfaya National Park, the result of multiple volcano eruptions in the 1730s, are about as close to a lunar experience as you’ll get on this planet. You need a car to get around here, unless you’re a serious cyclist and want to work up a real sweat. Drive up to the top of the still-active volcano for otherworldly vistas and a head-clearing wind. It’s fun creating your own geyser by pouring water down the boreholes.

BEST BEACH – According to local surf instructor Manuel Lezcano Cruz, the top beach in the Canaries is Famara on Lanzarote. It’s a popular spot, thanks to 3km of pretty, sandy shores on an island where many of the beaches are rocky. But if you want serious waves head for La Santa, where Cruz teaches at the Surf Procenter. ‘There’s a left, a right and El Quemao, which is the place for big swells and hollow waves. People may call Lanzarote the European Hawaii, but its waves are more unique. It’s a special place to surf.’