Hotels in Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de La Palma is the capital of La Palma, a port city on the island's east coast founded on 3 May 1493 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. Its harbour was one of the busiest of the Spanish Empire on the routes to the Americas, and fortifications such as the Castillo de Santa Catalina were built against pirate raids. Today some 15,700 people live in a compact old town of cobbled streets, Canarian mansions and quiet squares. The heart of the city is the Plaza de España, framed by the Renaissance town hall and the church of El Salvador, founded in 1500. Along the Avenida Marítima, a row of colourful houses with carved wooden balconies faces the sea and is one of the island's most photographed sights. In the Plaza de La Alameda stands the Barco de la Virgen, a replica of Columbus's Santa María built in 1940 that now houses the Naval Museum. Above the city, the Real Santuario de Las Nieves keeps the image of the island's patron saint, carried down to Santa Cruz every five years in the Bajada de la Virgen festival. A black-sand town beach lies in front of the seafront, and the resort of Los Cancajos is only a few kilometres to the south. The island's main port, with ferries to the other Canary Islands and calls by cruise ships, is in the city, and La Palma Airport is about 8 km away. With small hotels in historic buildings and apartments close to the sea, hotels in Santa Cruz de La Palma suit travellers who want culture, cafés and island life within walking distance.