Forget any anachronistic images about Tenerife and Gran Canaria you have. Let your mind drift off instead to two intoxicating capital cities set adrift in the deep Atlantic of Macaronesia, part of an archipelago of big skies, cobalt ocean, soaring volcanoes and sweeping beaches; a land where it seems to be springtime year-round.
Life in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife dates back over two millennia, to when the Canary Islands were inhabited by the Indigenous Guanche people. Much later came the Spanish, who conquered the archipelago in the 1400s and changed life here forever. By the 19 th century, Santa Cruz was the capital of the Canaries and one of Europe’s most important ports; by 1927, this capital status was shared with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, whose rise as a critical port for trade between Europe and the Americas saw it surge in importance over the centuries. Everything on
