Vegueta

Vegueta was founded in 1478 as the first Spanish settlement on Gran Canaria, and its grid of streets around a plaza with the cathedral and the governor's house on it became a template that was repeated across Spanish America; Las Palmas was a staging point for the Atlantic crossings, and Columbus stopped here in 1492. The Casa de Colon, a house with a Renaissance courtyard where the island's governors lived, is now a museum on the voyages and the city's Atlantic role, though the claim that Columbus stayed in that building is unverified. The cathedral of Santa Ana took four centuries to build and mixes Gothic, Renaissance and neoclassical work. The Canarian Museum holds pre-Hispanic material including a large collection of skulls.

What you actually see

• The 1478 grid - a street plan that became a colonial template.
• The Casa de Colon - a museum on the Atlantic crossings in a governors' house.
• Santa Ana cathedral - a building of four centuries and three styles.
• The Canarian Museum - pre-Hispanic Canarian archaeology and remains.

When to go

Year-round; Las Palmas is mild in every season. Thursday evenings bring a tapas route through the quarter. Museums close on Mondays and keep midday breaks.

Honest expectations

The Columbus association with the Casa de Colon is tradition rather than documented fact. The quarter is small and walked in two hours. Las Palmas is a working city and Vegueta is quiet outside museum hours.

Nearby

Triana's shopping street adjoins; Las Canteras beach lies at the northern end of the city.