Church of Our Lady of the Pena de Francia

Step in from the grey stone front and the gold hits first: gilded altarpieces that glow bright the moment you pass the door. Above them runs a wooden coffered ceiling in the Mudéjar style, carried over three naves on Tuscan columns and round arches.

The treasures reward a slower walk round. The tabernacle is gilded silver, made in Cuba in the 18th century by the silversmith Escobar. The Lord of the Great Power (Gran Poder de Dios) is an 18th-century figure, and the Virgen del Carmen kept here is the town's best-loved image. Paintings by Luis de la Cruz y Ríos hang in the Gospel Chapel, and five more on the pulpit are attributed to his father, Manuel de la Cruz.

Outside, the tower rises over the portal in three stages, each narrower than the one below, and the garden in front has benches and a fountain.

• The church is not always open. The garden in front, with benches and a fountain, is a good place to wait or to come back to.
• You can take photos inside and light a candle.
• It is a working parish church and fills with local people as well as tourists; keep your voice down near the pews.
• Free public toilets stand about 110 m away, and the tourist office about 200 m away.

The church stands on its own square in the middle of Puerto de la Cruz, so most people arrive on foot from the surrounding streets. By bus, the Zamora stop is about 170 m away in a straight line and Plaza del Charco about 260 m. Drivers have two car parks within reach, about 200 m and 335 m from the church. The last stretch in every case is a town walk ending at the garden square in front of the portal.