|
Las
Palmas car hire
Remember hire cars in spain offers the very best
car hire at Las Palmas Airport and the
surrounding area.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of the
island, is located in the north-eastern part of the
island set in a magnificent scenery composed of two
bays and their beautiful beaches
–
Playa de las Canteras
and
Playa de las Alcaravaneras
.
Founded in 1478, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria boasts an
important historical and cultural heritage, much of
which can be found in the district of Vegueta, the
oldest quarter of the town, which was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1990.
Originating from a Castilian military encampment on
the right hillside of the ravine
Barranco de Guiniguada
– where the
San Antonio Abad
chapel is located today – the first settlement,
named
Real de Las Palmas
, expanded towards the banks of the ravine developing
into the quarters of Vegueta and Triana on the right
and left bank of the Barranco de Guiniguada. Today
these two historic quarters are separated by Las
Palmas’ major highway,
Calle Juan de Quesada
, which crosses the Barranco de Guiniguada and leads
out of town to the centre of
island.
For almost four hundred years the city was limited to
the north within the perimeter of the walled quarters
of Vegueta and Triana and during the 16th,
17th and 18th century the town
grew primarily into the interior of the island as
almost all the cities of the archipelago. The
quarters Vegueta, Triana, Vega de San José and
some small neighbourhoods, inhabited by immigrants
and fishermen, mainly constituted the city of Las
Palmas. Only in the 19th century –
also favoured by the construction of the port Puerto
de la Luz – the city started expanding to
the north along the coastal strip and the districts
of Arenales,
Ciudad Jardin
, Alcaravaneras,
Santa Catalina
and
La Isleta
emerged.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has a large infrastructure
of hotels and apartments and its harbour Puerto de La
Luz is one of the most important of all Europe,
giving the city a very cosmopolitan image. Under the
impulse of tourism and economic activities of the
sixties the city was finally consolidated and settled
with a population that has doubled in the last 30
years (actually around 400.000
inhabitants).
Today Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a bustling city
overflowing with Spanish ambiance, history and
culture. The
Lucha canaria
(canarian fight) and the vela
latina canaria
(Canarian latin sailing) are native sports that
originated in the capital of Gran Canaria. Almost
every weekend you can observe
vela latina canaria
regattas going out to the sea.
If you want to experience some special festivities in
the city of Las Palmas, then come during the carnival
period – usually in February/March – or
in June (24th) to participate in the San
Juan fiestas.
|
