Things to do in Santa Cruz De Tenerife
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Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África
This market has a Central American look with its arched entrance, clock tower and flower sellers. It's not large by Spanish standards but is still tantalising, with its mountains of fresh fruit and vegetables and variety of fish. You can also buy bread, fabulous local cheese and meats.
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Calle Castillo
The main shopping strip is the pedestrianised Calle Castillo and surrounding streets. Some promising deals are available on electronics and watches but there are also some great little boutiques, stocked with clothes from Spanish and international designers.
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La Cazuela
Drenched in Canary yellow with a pretty, flower-filled terrace, this place is heartily recommended by locals for its solid traditional fare. Settle in for a long, filling lunch and try the cazuela (a casserole made with fresh or salted fish).
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El Corte Inglés
Monster-sized, and will keep you stocked in whatever your heart desires. It also has an excellent, albeit pricey, supermarket with interesting imported goodies.
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Carnaval
Only Rio de Janeiro does it better and even that party does not overshadow Santa Cruz's efforts to make Carnaval a nonstop, 24-hour party-orgy. Festivities generally kick off in early February and last about three weeks. Many of the gala performances and fancy-dress competitions take place in the Recinto Ferial (fairgrounds) but the streets, especially around Plaza España, become frenzied with good-natured dawn-to-dusk frivolity.
Don't be fooled into thinking this is just a sequin-bedecked excuse to party hearty, though. It may sometimes be hard to see or believe, but there is an underlying political 'message' to the whole shebang. Under the Franco dictatorship, Carnaval…
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Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción
The city's oldest church, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, has a striking bell tower, tiled roof and some traditional mudéjar (Islamic-style architecture) ceiling work. The present church was built in the 17th and 18th centuries but the original building went up in 1498, just after the island was conquered.
At the heart of the shimmering silver altar is the Santa Cruz de la Conquista (Holy Cross of the Conquest), which gives the city its name. Tradition has it that Alonso Fernández de Lugo, the Spanish commander, planted it in his camp to give thanks for his 1494 victory over the Guanches.
Check out the anteroom to the sacristy. The altarpiece in the chapel …
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Museo Militar de Almeyda
Museo Militar de Almeyda explains the military history of the islands. The most famous item here is El Tigre (The Tiger), the cannon that reputedly blew off Admiral Nelson's arm when he attacked Santa Cruz in 1797. Much of the museum is devoted to the successful defence of the city, brought alive by a superb 30m scale model of the flagship Theseus.
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Museo de la Naturaleza y El Hombre
Museo de la Naturaleza y El Hombre is a brain-bending amalgam of natural science and archaeology in a former civil hospital. It has several fascinating Guanche mummies and skulls, a handful of artefacts, including pottery, and well-presented facts and figures about volcanoes and the flora and fauna of the islands. There's also a café and gift shop.
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La Fundación
This is where Santa Cruz's elite wine and dine on market-fresh cuisine. In an exquisitely restored Canarian mansion, savour dishes like salad of Canarian cheeses with quince and honey, or roast duck with papaya compote, washed down with excellent wines. There are two storeys with the less formal tasca (bar) downstairs.
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Castillo de San Juan
A short walk along the waterfront southwest of the city brings you to the 17th-century Castillo de San Juan. In the shadow of this protective fort there used to be a lively trade in African slaves. Nowadays its squat, rectangular basalt form is overshadowed by the magnificent, soaring white wave of the Auditorio de Tenerife.
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Auditorio de Tenerife
Designed by the internationally renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and possessing a Sydney Opera House presence, as well as superb acoustics, the Auditorio de Tenerife covers and significantly enhances a 2 hectare oceanfront site. The auditorium hosts opera, dance and classical-music performances, among others.
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La Taberna de Wally
A delight. The eclectic menu includes freshly prepared salads, garlic soup, snails and meat and fish dishes, all served in a gorgeous garden courtyard surrounded by graceful old buildings. At weekends, the friendly owner turns the place over to a DJ, who spins great chill-out music until the wee hours.
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Sukothay
This Japanese-Thai restaurant has an easy-on-the-eye minimalist interior with two floors and open-plan kitchen. The Zen feel continues with a menu of rave dishes from both cuisines, including green and red curries, papaya salad, sushi and tempura. The wine list is better than the oriental norm.
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Teatro Guimerá
Three blocks southwest of Calle Castillo is the 19th-century Teatro Guimerá, fronted by a suitably theatrical giant mask sculpture. The sumptuous interior is reminiscent of Madrid's Teatro Real, with semicircular balconied seating and plenty of gilt.
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Plaza Iglesia
The formerly seedy Plaza Iglesia has been tarted up and is now home to a couple of fashionable bars and brightly painted buildings. Look for the striking bell tower of the city's oldest church, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.
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Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López
Santa Cruz is home to football team CD Tenerife, which plays in Spain's second division. You can buy tickets at the taquilla (box office) of the club stadium, Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López , or call into the club's headquarters.
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Parque Marítimo César Manrique
At the Parque Marítimo César Manrique you can have a dip in one of the wonderful designer pools or collapse on a sun lounge and drink in the beautiful view and something refreshing. It's suitable for all ages, and great for children.
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Da Canio
Owned by Italians and dishing up a better class of pizza and pasta, the dining room is tastefully decked out in terracotta and stone. The 34-plus pizza choices are ideal for fussy families, and the pasta and risottos come recommended as well.
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Bar Imperfecto
Although it doesn't get busy until hot-chocolate time, the atmosphere is worth the wait. Alternative music and rock and roll is the music scene, played against a dark, wood-panelled backdrop with black-and-white pics from the silver screen.
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Rastro
This flea market is held along two parallel streets leading from the covered market to the coast. It's the usual mix, including pirated CDs, cut-price underwear and handmade jewellery but is bustling and fun. Keep your money out of sight.
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Sáffron & Porron
The colourful single-storey houses on this pedestrian street have been restored. Stop by this tiny café-bar, its walls papered with faded Andalusian feria (fair) and bullfighting posters. It has outside tables.
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Museo de Bellas Artes
Museo de Bellas Artes is home to an eclectic mix of paintings by mainly Spanish, Canarian and Flemish artists, including Ribera, Sorolla and Brueghel. There's also sculpture, including a Rodin, and temporary exhibitions.
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Centro de Arte La Recova
The Centro de Arte La Recova is housed in a former market, which makes for an interesting gallery space for the temporary exhibitions of contemporary Canarian and mainland-Spanish artists.
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Fool Company
Has some live music, but mostly invigorating funk and R&B DJs. It can get packed with a party-loving crowd firing up to a steamy dance-pit. Look for the plastic bamboo out front.
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Plaza España
Start your walking tour of the city at waterfront Plaza España. Look out for its controversial centrepiece: a memorial to the fallen of the 1936-39 civil war.
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