La Laguna Travel Guide
If La Laguna then was raided by pirates, today, the city is flocked by hordes of college students enrolled in the University of La Laguna. The dominant student population gives this city a youthful vibe and a dynamic marcha (nightlife), barely giving a hint that it is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the oldest metropolis in Tenerife, and the ancient capital of the Canaries whose layout became the model of colonial towns across the Americas.
Youthful cultural center
Regarded as the cultural capital of the Canary Islands, La Laguna has narrow streets lined with grand old villas and colorful buildings, some owned by the country's most famous folklorist groups or Los Sabadeños. Among those historical landmarks is the island's first church, the 16th century Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion, built in Gothic style and made distinguishable by its finely carved mudejar ceilings and towers.
Architectural marvel
There is also the Catedral, with a baroque retable and fine paintings by 18th-century artist Cristobal Hernandez de Quintana, whose works are also displayed in the nearby Iglesia de Santo Domingo, a 17th century former hermitage bedecked in the vivid murals of 20th century painters Antonio Gonzales Suarez and Mariano Cossio. At the north of the old quarter is the Santuario del Cristo, whose blackened wooden statue of Christ or Cristo de La Laguna is the island's most venerated crucifix.
For having the archipelago's first university, La laguna has also been nicknamed the "city of the anticipated ones." Since the area overflows with students, almost no accommodations are left for tourists.
A city of history
Nevertheless, what the city lacks in hotel rooms, it compensates with a wealth of fine old houses like those in Calle San Agustin, as well as Casa del Montañes, Casa de los Capitanes, Calle Carrera 66 or former house of surrealist artist Oscar Dominguez, and Casa Salazar, the present home of La Laguna's Archbishop. Somewhere in town is an old house that contains the incorrupt remains of Sister Maria de Jesus.
Additionally, the city is also rich in centuries-old convents like Convento de Santa Clara and its 16th-century chapel, and Convento de Santa Catalina that has its own religious museum.
A museum of a different kind is the Museo de la Ciencia el Cosmos, where visitors may stargaze even during daytime. The Museo de la Historia de Tenerife, meanwhile, is a 16th century mansion that features Renaissance designs, as well as ancient maps, artifacts, and documents.
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