Basilica of Nuestra Senora del Pino

Every line of the nave leads to the Virgen del Pino, Our Lady of the Pine, raised high above the altar. Gran Canaria has treated her as its patron since 1914, and this is her house: the parish dates from 1505, and the present church was built between 1760 and 1767 on the place where, by legend, she appeared. In 1916 it became the first minor basilica in the Canary Islands.

The interior is ornate and takes little time. The square outside holds people longer. It is a lively plaza lined with old houses such as the Casa de la Diputación and the Casa Panera, and the streets running off it carry the carved wooden balconies Teror is known for.

• The church closes through the middle of the day, all Monday morning and all Saturday afternoon. Check the hours before planning around lunch.
• The interior takes about ten minutes. Leave the rest of your time for the square and the old streets around it.
• It is a working parish and a pilgrimage church, so sightseeing pauses while Mass is said.
• Free public toilets stand about 80 m from the basilica.

Buses run up from Las Palmas, and the ride into the hills takes about 50 minutes. Get off at Los Nueces or Mercado: both stops are about 130 m from the basilica in a straight line, and the last stretch is a walk through the centre of town to the Plaza de Nuestra Señora del Pino.

By car, the paid car park Parking Teror lies about 100 m away, with wheelchair-accessible spaces. From either one you come out among the old houses of the centre, and the church stands on its own square at the heart of them.

Best: a weekday morning from Tuesday to Friday, when the doors are open and the square is going about its ordinary business.

Avoid: Monday morning and Saturday afternoon, when the church is shut, and Sunday Mass if you have come to look around.

A parish church gives its Sunday mornings to worshippers, and the weekday sessions leave you free to walk the nave.

The basilica is a working parish church and a place of pilgrimage for the Virgen del Pino. Dress as you would for any church, keep your voice down, and hold off on walking the aisles or taking pictures while Mass is being said. People come here to pray, and the visit happens around them.