Castizo Spain

Heritage towns in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

10 towns in this province.

Buenavista del Norte heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenavista del Norte

At the far northwestern tip of Tenerife, a town founded in the early sixteenth century preserves a historic centre, two traditional hamlets, and one of the island's most significant Guanche archaeological sites.

Santa Cruz de La Palma heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de La Palma

The capital of La Palma in the Canary Islands, founded in 1493 on a natural harbour, whose Renaissance plaza is considered the finest architectural ensemble of its kind in the archipelago.

San Cristóbal de La Laguna heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
San Cristóbal de La Laguna

The first planned city in the Canary Islands, La Laguna was founded on the site of a sacred Guanche lagoon and its UNESCO-listed historic centre preserves five centuries of colonial, religious, and civic architecture in the heart of Tenerife.

Tegueste heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Tegueste

A former Guanche kingdom territory on Tenerife, its ancient cave sites, colonial-era parish church, and well-preserved historic centre declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1986.

Arona heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Arona

Once part of a Guanche island kingdom, this southern Tenerife municipality traces a path from pre-conquest pasturelands and pirate raids to the sun-and-beach coastline that drew European tourists to the Canary Islands.

Guía de Isora heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Guía de Isora

A hilltop municipality in Santa Cruz de Tenerife shaped first by the Guanche kingdom of Adeje, then by cochineal farming and water-bearing galleries, with a parish church whose mudéjar carved ceilings survive from its origins as a simple hermitage.

Icod de los Vinos heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Icod de los Vinos

One of Tenerife's oldest settled places, Icod de los Vinos grew from a Guanche cave dwelling into a sugar-trading town whose colonial church still holds one of the most important art collections in the Canary Islands.

Arico heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Arico

A sun-facing municipality on Tenerife's southern coast, shaped by Guanche cave settlements, colonial-era churches, and a lighthouse that once guided ships between Santa Cruz and the western islands.

La Orotava heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
La Orotava

A historic Canarian town on Tenerife where Guanche sacred land, grand colonial mansions with carved wooden balconies, and a network of old water mills trace centuries of life on the slopes beneath Mount Teide.

San Juan de la Rambla heritage town, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
San Juan de la Rambla

A small Canarian town on Tenerife where Guanche archaeology, a 16th-century hermitage, and a lava-edged coastal barrio tell the story of the island from its earliest inhabitants to its Spanish colonial roots.