Hotels in Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is the third-largest of the Canary Islands, an almost round volcanic island about 50 km across with 236 km of coastline, and the variety of its landscapes and climates has earned it the nickname "miniature continent". The capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, founded in 1478, is the largest city in the archipelago and combines the historic Vegueta quarter with Las Canteras, a city beach about three kilometres long. The dry, sunny south around Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés and Puerto Rico is the island's main holiday area, with long sandy beaches and the protected Maspalomas Dunes. The greener north is quieter and more local, with towns such as Arucas, Gáldar and Agaete, banana plantations and, in the Valle de Agaete, the only coffee grown in Europe. In the centre the land rises to about 1,956 m at Morro de la Agujereada beside Pico de las Nieves, and the basalt monolith of Roque Nublo towers over the Caldera de Tejeda. Since 2005 almost half of the island has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and in 2019 the cave landscape of Risco Caído and the Sacred Mountains was inscribed as World Heritage. The east coast between Telde, Agüimes and Pozo Izquierdo is known for its archaeological sites, the cave villages of the Barranco de Guayadeque and world-class windsurfing. Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) on the east coast handles more than ten million passengers a year and is about 20 minutes from Las Palmas and around half an hour from Maspalomas on the GC-1 motorway. The mild climate makes the island a year-round destination for beach holidays as well as hiking, cycling, diving and stargazing, and it is certified as a Starlight Destination. Accommodation ranges from large all-inclusive resorts and bungalow complexes in the south to boutique hotels in Las Palmas and rural houses in the mountain villages.