La Orotava
La Orotava is perhaps the most beautiful city in Tenerife — a colonial jewel that stretches in a fertile valley from Teide to the sea. The old town, with its magnificent mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries, carved wooden balconies, and flower-adorned courtyards, is an architectural open-air museum.
Highlights
- Casa de los Balcones: The most famous house in the Canaries (1632). A two-story mansion with spectacular carved wooden balconies made of dark teak and a courtyard full of plants. Today, a museum for Canarian handicrafts (embroidery, ceramics). Admission: 5€.
- Iglesia de la Concepción: The mighty Baroque church (1788) with its dome dominates the skyline of La Orotava. The interior is opulent: gilded altars, wood carvings, and an impressive organ.
- Jardines del Marquesado de la Quinta Roja: Terraced gardens in the 19th-century style with a neo-Gothic mausoleum at the center. Free admission and a wonderful place for a break.
- Alfombras de Corpus Christi: At Corpus Christi (May/June), the residents transform the streets of the old town into a work of art made of flower carpets: Huge pictures made of flower petals, volcanic sand, and colored earths cover the streets. A UNESCO intangible cultural heritage and one of the most impressive festivals in the Canaries.
- Orotava Valley: The Valle de La Orotava stretches from Teide to the coast at Puerto de la Cruz. Alexander von Humboldt called it "the most beautiful place I have ever seen". Banana plantations, vineyards, and tropical gardens fill the fertile valley — the contrast to the barren Teide summit above is breathtaking.
