Carriages (stands in the Plaza de Cairasco, in the Plaza de San Bernardo, and near the theatre). Drive in the town for 1–3 pers. 1½p., for 4 pers. 2 p.; per hour 2½ (or for a tartana or dog-cart 2) p.; to Puerto de la Luz 5 (tartana 2) p.; to the Monte, Telde, or Arucas 15 (tartana 12½) p.; to Atalaya, San Mateo, or Teror 20 (tartana 15) p.
English Church, near the Hôt. Métropole, on the road to Puerto de la Luz (comp. Plan, p. [46]).—English Club at Puerto de la Luz.
Las Palmas, a town of 28,600 inhab., of a S. Spanish type like Santa Cruz (comp. p. [35]), the seat of the bishop of Gran Canaria, situated in 28° 6′ N. lat. and 15° 12′ W. long., is the busiest and wealthiest town in the whole archipelago. The houses of the well-to-do townspeople, built of pale-grey tufa or blue lava-basalt, often enclose beautiful patios filled with plants, which are watered by means of pipes conducted from the roofs. On the hills at the back of the town, which have been fortified since the Spanish and American war, are sprinkled many gaily painted country-houses.
Las Palmas is divided into two parts (barrios) by the Barranco de Guiniguada: on the N. Triana, and on the S. Vegueta.
The main street of Triana, with its numerous shops, in line with the road from Puerto de la Luz, is called Calle Mayor de Triana (Pl. B, C, 1–3). Beyond the Baranquillo de Mata it intersects the Plaza San Telmo (Pl. B, 1), in which rises the Gobierno Militar (Pl. 2; B, 1).
The Paseo de Bravo Murillo (Pl. B, A, 1) ascends the gorge to the right to the Carretera del Norte (p. [47]). On the left is the Harbour (Pl. B, C, 1), with the pier (Muelle), where the sea-breezes may be enjoyed in hot weather.
From the Calle Mayor de Triana, farther on, the Calle Constantino diverges to the right to the Plaza de San Bernardo (Pl. A, B, 2), a square planted with Indian laurels. Near the S. end of the street the Calle del General Bravo leads to the Alameda de Colón (Pl. B, 3), which is embellished with a bust of Columbus and fine royal and date palms (p. [30]). In this square rise the Iglesia de San Francisco (1689) and the Casino.
The central point of Vegueta is the Plaza de Santa Ana (Pl. B, 4), where the guides lie in wait for strangers. The bronze dogs at the lower end of the plaza, as well as those in the arms of the town, recall the tradition that Juba II. (p. [31]) carried away some dogs (canes) from the island, and that their name is derived thence.
The Cathedral (Pl. B, C, 4; San Christóbal), founded in 1497 and restored in 1781, with its heavy façade flanked with towers 184 ft. high, contains, in the first chapel of the left aisle, the tombstone of the native poet Bart. Cairasco de Figueroa (1540–1610), and in the crypt the tomb of Viera y Clavijo (1731–1802), the historian of the Canaries.
The Town Hall (Palacio Municipal; Pl. B, 4), built in 1842, contains, on the third floor, the Museo Canario, consisting of natural history collections and of curiosities from the Guanche caverns of the Isleta (p. [43]) and other places (implements, weapons, and tools in basalt, obsidian, horn, wood, and clay, leather-work, and mummies). Adm. free, daily 11–3.