La Orotava Church of the Immaculate Conception

Stop in the street and look up before going in. The front bows outward in a curve, a serpentine cornice runs along the top of the stone portal, and the clock tower and bell tower rise behind it, so the whole façade seems to pull upward. Gargoyles jut from the stonework, carved after the beasts of medieval bestiaries with a trace of Native American sculpture in them, and they give the building an uneasy, restless edge.

Inside, three naves lead to a large dome whose stained-glass windows light the crossing. The marble high altar was carved in Italy. A guided tour takes in the church's relics. The church also appears as a location in the TV series Frauds.

• The interior opens to visitors only in the morning, Tuesday to Saturday; on Mondays and Sundays the doors stay shut.
• There is a charge to go inside. The façade and the gargoyles can be seen from the street at any hour.
• Ask at the door about the guided tour of the relics.
• A tourist information office stands about 59 m from the church, and free public toilets are about 266 m away.

The church stands in the old centre of La Orotava, close to the town hall. The Ayuntamiento bus stop is about 85 m away in a straight line and the Escultor Estevez stop about 190 m, so from either one the rest is a walk through the streets of the old town.

Drivers will find the nearest car park about 176 m away. Another, about 206 m away, is free but for customers only. The tourist information point about 59 m from the church is a useful marker on arrival.

Best: a morning from Tuesday to Saturday, while the doors are open.

Avoid: Mondays, Sundays and afternoons, when the interior is closed to visitors.

The church opens for only a few hours each morning, so the dome and the altar can be seen only then, while the façade and its gargoyles are there to look at from the street at any time of day.