Leon y Castillo House Museum

Step in from the street and the house opens around two courtyards, with balconied galleries running round them and the rooms leading off on every side. Towards the back sits the 19th-century kitchen, its arches cut from grey basalt. The façade carries stonework in the island's Gothic style, and the building counts among the finest in Telde's founding quarter.

The collection belongs to two brothers. Fernando León y Castillo was a politician and diplomat of the Restoration era; Juan was the civil engineer who designed the Puerto de La Luz, and his original plans and project report survive here complete. The archive runs to more than 12,000 original documents, most of them Fernando's correspondence, with letters signed by Isabel II, Cánovas, Sagasta and Benito Pérez Galdós. The library holds about 10,000 books, among them first editions of Spain's constitutions from 1812 to 1978, and the paintings span the 16th to the 20th century.

• Researchers: the archive, library and historic newspaper collection are open for study, with a reading room set aside for it.
• Toilets: there are toilets in the museum, including a wheelchair-accessible one.
• Around it: the museum stands inside San Juan, Telde's founding quarter, so the old streets outside are worth a walk before or after.

The museum stands on a street in San Juan, Telde's historic quarter, and whatever brings you to town, the last stretch is on foot. The nearest car parks lie about 274 m and 284 m away in a straight line, which means a short walk through the old streets to the door. By bus, the closest stops are Rotonda Daora and Arnao, both about 300 m from the museum. The entrance takes a wheelchair.

Best: any day from Tuesday to Sunday, and a hot midday or a grey afternoon in particular. The rooms are indoors and the courtyards give shade, so the visit works on the days the beach does not.

Avoid: Mondays. The museum is closed all day.