Basilica of San Juan Bautista (Telde)

Behind the high altar stands gilded wood carved in Flanders: an altarpiece of small figures set in boxed scenes, telling the life of the Virgin one panel at a time. It reached the island in the 16th century, in the years when Telde's sugar was traded to the Low Countries and Flemish art came back the other way. Walk up close, because the detail is in the faces and folds.

The second piece to find is the Christ of Telde, made in Mexico from maize-stalk paste and brought across the Atlantic. Around both, the interior carries Canarian touches in its woodwork and stone.

Outside, the dark stone front looks onto a square, and the Ermita de San Francisco is close enough to fold into the same walk.

• The doors open only in a short evening window each day, plus Sunday morning. At any other time you see the front and the square.
• There are no toilets in the church; free public toilets are about 144 m away.
• No drinking-water fountain nearby, so bring a bottle.
• The nearest car park, about 73 m away, charges a fee.
• The Ermita de San Francisco is nearby and makes a natural second stop.

The basilica stands in the old centre of Telde, on the square named after it. By bus, the Parque De San Juan stop is about 124 m away, and Rotonda El Cubillo about 303 m. By car, a paid car park lies about 73 m from the church and a second one about 163 m away, with wheelchair-accessible spaces available. From either, the last stretch is a walk across the square to the door.

Best: the evening opening on any day, or Sunday morning, when the doors stay open for several hours.

Avoid: the rest of the day from Monday to Saturday, when the church is shut.

The interior is the reason to come, and an afternoon visit means a locked door and only the façade to look at.