Showing posts with label Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Santa Cruz de Tenerife...The Hidden Gem of Tenerife
I have been to Santa Cruz many times this year and I just cannot get enough of it. The first time I went to Tenerife, I was a little dubious to what I would discover there. The image that came to mind was cheap package holiday with sunburned Brits on the beaches and chips with everything meals. My experience of Tenerife was far from what I was expecting and I loved every minute of it!!
Situated in the north of the island, Santa Cruz tends to be forgotten by many tourists as there is no direct flight to that part of the island. We flew from London Heathrow stopping over in Madrid then travelling to Tenerife North airport just 15 minutes from Santa Cruz. This took a whole day out of the holiday as the flight itself is five and a half hours long then you have to stop over time. Despite the long journey, it is like you have landed in heaven once you have arrived.
The city itself has undergone a huge renovation and is now the perfect place to go for a weekend break or even longer as there is just so much to do there. The newest addition to the list of activities is TEA (Tenerife Espacio de Artes) a big modern art gallery in the centre of the city. Stepping inside the art gallery is like stepping into the future. The gallery was designed by Herzog and de Meuron, the architects best known for the Tate Modern gallery in London. Everything is very minimalist and Sci Fi and the exhibits are amazing and very thought provoking. Just a short walk from the gallery is the Calle Castillo one of the main shopping areas in the city. All over the Canary Islands there is a low rat of VAT which makes shopping a lot cheaper for clothes as well as alcohol.
During the evening, the best place to go is La Calle de La Noria, a neighbourhood of colonial houses that once were threatened by demolition but have found new life as bars and restaurants. Every night this road is buzzing with people of all ages and on Friday and Saturday nights people don't return home till the early hours of the morning. Some of the best places to go are: Museum, Mojos y Mojitos and Marques where last time I was there they were advertising Vespas and offering people the chance to have their photo taken on a Vespa. There was also a drag show on at Jet Lag Café one night whilst I was there last which was very funny entertainment.
As well as great shopping and nightlife, the north of Tenerife boasts some of the best beaches where you will not hear any other language than Spanish spoken on them. Playa de Las Teresitas is the only white sand beach in the north and the sand along with the palm trees has been imported from the Eastern Sahara.
Everything is so easy to get to on the island due to the great bus and tram service that runs 24 hours a day. If you go for a week it is highly recommended to buy a Bono card that you just swipe on the buses and trams.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and wonderful Santa Cruz is but I will leave some things for you to discover for yourself....
Situated in the north of the island, Santa Cruz tends to be forgotten by many tourists as there is no direct flight to that part of the island. We flew from London Heathrow stopping over in Madrid then travelling to Tenerife North airport just 15 minutes from Santa Cruz. This took a whole day out of the holiday as the flight itself is five and a half hours long then you have to stop over time. Despite the long journey, it is like you have landed in heaven once you have arrived.
The city itself has undergone a huge renovation and is now the perfect place to go for a weekend break or even longer as there is just so much to do there. The newest addition to the list of activities is TEA (Tenerife Espacio de Artes) a big modern art gallery in the centre of the city. Stepping inside the art gallery is like stepping into the future. The gallery was designed by Herzog and de Meuron, the architects best known for the Tate Modern gallery in London. Everything is very minimalist and Sci Fi and the exhibits are amazing and very thought provoking. Just a short walk from the gallery is the Calle Castillo one of the main shopping areas in the city. All over the Canary Islands there is a low rat of VAT which makes shopping a lot cheaper for clothes as well as alcohol.
During the evening, the best place to go is La Calle de La Noria, a neighbourhood of colonial houses that once were threatened by demolition but have found new life as bars and restaurants. Every night this road is buzzing with people of all ages and on Friday and Saturday nights people don't return home till the early hours of the morning. Some of the best places to go are: Museum, Mojos y Mojitos and Marques where last time I was there they were advertising Vespas and offering people the chance to have their photo taken on a Vespa. There was also a drag show on at Jet Lag Café one night whilst I was there last which was very funny entertainment.
As well as great shopping and nightlife, the north of Tenerife boasts some of the best beaches where you will not hear any other language than Spanish spoken on them. Playa de Las Teresitas is the only white sand beach in the north and the sand along with the palm trees has been imported from the Eastern Sahara.
Everything is so easy to get to on the island due to the great bus and tram service that runs 24 hours a day. If you go for a week it is highly recommended to buy a Bono card that you just swipe on the buses and trams.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and wonderful Santa Cruz is but I will leave some things for you to discover for yourself....
Monday, 28 June 2010
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