Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de La Palma was founded on 3 May 1493 by the conquistador Alonso Fernández de Lugo, who named it Villa de Apurón and sited it at the mouth of a small stream, near the cave of the former chief of the kingdom of Tedote. The location was chosen for its port: a sheltered anchorage ideal for shipping. The church of El Salvador is documented from 1512. The city grew fast because its port was the last stopping point on the route to the Americas, and sugar cane produced on the island was exported through it.

In 1553 the French pirate François Le Clerc, known as Pata de Palo (Peg Leg), destroyed the city, forcing it to be rebuilt and fortified. Two castles survive from that era of fortifications: Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz del Barrio, the latter recently restored near the mouth of the Barranco de Las Nieves, where sections of the old wall and gateway also remain.

In 1558 Philip II established the first Juzgado de Indias in Santa Cruz de La Palma, requiring all Spanish vessels trading with the American colonies to register here. The city also claims the first democratically elected council in Spain: in 1773, following a legal challenge by Irish-born merchant Dionisio O'Daly and Anselmo Pérez de Brito, the Crown of Castile approved elections by popular vote — the first anywhere in the country.

Population growth has been slow for structural reasons. In 1900 the city had around 11,000 inhabitants, only about 7,000 fewer than today; neighbouring municipalities with more available land have expanded instead as dormitory towns. When the military uprising of 1936 triggered the Spanish Civil War, La Palma initially held out for the Republic until 25 July, when the gunboat Canalejas arrived — an episode known as the Semana Roja. After Spain's democratic transition, the 1979 municipal elections brought one of the country's first PCE (Communist Party) mayors to office here. In January 1998 a combination of high tide and severe ocean storm caused serious flooding in the city, though there were no fatalities and no historic buildings were damaged.

The architectural centrepiece of the city is the Plaza de España, which groups together the parish church of El Salvador, the town hall, a stone fountain, and several noble houses. Together they form what is regarded as the most important Renaissance architectural ensemble in the Canary Islands. Another notable building is the Quinta Verde, considered the most representative example of the suburban quinta house type in the archipelago.

The main artery of the city runs along Calles O'Daly and Anselmo Pérez de Brito, known locally as the Calle Real since a royal visit in 1906. Along this street stand several significant buildings: the Palacio Sotomayor with its basalt stone façade, the Casa Principal de Salazar with four storeys of balconies, the Sociedad La Investigadora, and the Barco de la Virgen. There is also a surviving commercial mosaic advertising Chilean nitrate fertiliser. The Church of San Francisco, with its former Dominican convent now housing the Museo Insular, and the Church of Santo Domingo are also worth seeking out, as are the surviving fortifications of the Castillo de Santa Catalina and the Castillo de San Fernando.

One of the city's most photographed views is the Avenida Marítima, lined with houses whose traditional wooden balconies define the waterfront skyline. The city has two theatres: the Teatro Circo de Marte and the Teatro Chico. Its collection of religious art includes sculpture and painting imported from Flanders and the Americas.

The main annual festival is carnival, with the Los Indianos event as its highlight. Holy Week has been declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest — the only one in the archipelago with that status. The Fiestas de la Cruz on 3 May, marking the city's founding, involve decorating crosses across the city with flowers and jewellery, alongside the making of mayos — straw-and-paper figures dressed in old clothes and arranged to depict local scenes. Every five years the city holds the Fiestas Lustrales de la Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest. The most recent edition was in July 2025; the next will be in July 2030. Events include a procession of the silver throne down the Camino Real de El Planto, a parade of thousands of candlelit paper lanterns called Pandorgas, giant puppet figures, an acrobatics dance, a rococo-style court dance, and the celebrated Danza de Enanos, in which performers in elaborate costumes apparently transform before the crowd into tiny dancing dwarves.