Santa Cruz de La Palma Holidays

Travel Agent's View

Located on the east coast, Santa Cruz de La Palma is the capital of La Palma and is ideal for those seeking authentic Canarian culture and atmosphere. The resort has many interesting buildings and museums dating as far back at the 16th century. There is a street market, sea-front promenade and is home to the only major port on the island with easy access to neighbouring Canary Islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.

Santa Cruz de La Palma offers some fantastic shopping opportunities, look out for clothes, arts and crafts, some of the best in the Canaries can be found here. There are numerous cafes, bars and restaurants which serve local and international cuisines catering for all tastes and budgets.

The airport is approx 13 km with a transfer time of 20 -25 minutes.

Insider's View

Santa Cruz de la Palma used to be stinking rich, 300 years ago, and it still has some gorgeous old buildings left.

Make sure you see the Plaza España and stick your nose inside the town hall, which was the first in Spain to have an elected council.

The Plaza Alemeda is a nice spot for a coffee with fountains and statues, and at one end, a scale replica of Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria. Inside the ship there's a naval museum, full of things like old charts and figureheads, but the best bit is the ship itself. There's something about the canons on deck that makes you want to play pirates, even if you're a respectable, middle-aged travel writer.

Nearby, in the Plaza San Francisco, stands an old convent which now houses the island's museum -- great if you get a wet day. It's like a mad cross between a lumber hole and gallery – Renaissance paintings, old shipbuilding tools, looms, stuffed birds and turtles, and a row of sharks heads with serious teeth.

3 km above the town (within walking distance if you're fit, and a bus-ride if you're not) lies the hamlet of Las Nieves, with the most stunning chapel on the island – and believe me, La Palma specializes in beautiful old churches. This one is 500 years old, and the statue of the Virgin Mary is terracotta, and even older. Cop a load of that ceiling and altarpiece! Once every 5 years, they take the statue down to Santa Cruz for a major festival. The next one is 2015.

The restaurant in the square has a limited menu, cooked really well. It's mostly grilled meat and salad, with chips or wrinkly potatoes. A mile or so down the road, Chipi Chipi has a similar menu, with more interesting decor (by a local artist) and cheaper prices.

Good places to eat in the town itself, include La Lonja, La Placeta (on the Calle Real) and La Ola and El Picalo (on the sea front).

There are plenty of bars too, with La Cuatro and Rocke's being particularly popular. Insider Sig