The ancient town of La Laguna, located in the interior of the island, boasts a large number of noble houses, churches, palaces and other monuments dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The town's location among the banana plantations of the Aguere Valley adds to its appeal.
On maps, you'll find it called San Cristóbal de La Laguna, but no one calls it anything other than 'La Laguna' for short.
The cheapest accommodation in Tenerife
Let yourself drift down the narrow and neat streets in a precise checkerboard layout, admire the historic houses with their typical wooden balconies and sit in the many student bars and cafes. La Laguna is in fact the most important university town in Tenerife, home to the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), the oldest in the Canary Islands.
The university campus occupies almost a quarter of the city, houses 7 faculties and has over 23,000 students.
The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 500 years of history and exemplary care of its monuments.
Sights
Some of the most beautiful and important monuments in La Laguna are:
- Painted houses with wooden balconies - the main tourist attractions are the townhouses with wooden balconies, which date from the 15th to the 18th century and can be found scattered throughout the city.
- Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians - in the centre of the town stands one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the Canary Islands. The monumental 42 metre high structure was built in 1915 in a unique mix of styles, particularly neoclassical and neo-gothic. It is the first Spanish cathedral built mainly of concrete.
- Palacio Episcopal (Casa Salazar) - the bishop's palace with a beautiful stone façade
- Plaza del Adelantado - one of the main squares with mature trees providing shade with beautiful colonial architecture
Accommodation
Stay in La Laguna if you like historic yet relatively quiet towns where tourists don't outnumber locals, but rather local university students. That's also why you'll find mainly cheap apartments and hostels and only four classic hotels, three of them 4* hotels with a very good quality vs. price ratio.
How to get there
La Laguna is a very accessible town. It's effectively on Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the smaller of the island's airports , Tenerife Norte, is close by.
There are many bus routes to La Laguna connecting the town with Santa Cruz, La Orotava or Puerto de la Cruz in particular. There is also a brand new tram line to Santa Cruz. Details can be found on the websites:
- titsa.com (buses)
- metrotenerife.com (tram)
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