Perez Galdos Theatre

Look up from the stalls and the ceiling is painted canvas: Néstor Martín Fernández de la Torre's Apollo and the Muses above the stage, with Song and Dance facing each other at the sides. Néstor also designed the stained glass in the lantern and the silk-and-velvet curtain, embroidered with an allegory of the city's arms. It measures 14 m by 10 m, about the height of a three-storey building. The hall itself is a horseshoe, with boxes stacked on three levels beside the stage.

At the interval, climb the honour staircase to the Saint-Saëns Hall (Salón Saint-Saëns). The floor is geometric marble in several colours, the walls are American mahogany, partly stuccoed with sand from Las Canteras beach (Playa de Las Canteras), and the windows carry more of Néstor's stained glass. The room is named for the composer, who first came to the island incognito in 1889, passing himself off as a wine salesman.

• Some seats on the upper tiers are sold as restricted view; screens on both sides of the stage show what cannot be seen from there.
• Opera surtitles are in Spanish. Every seat in the stalls has its own subtitle screen.
• Dress in the audience runs from casual to smart, and beach clothes stand out.
• An upstairs bar serves drinks and sandwiches at the interval and takes cards; prices are not always posted.
• The upper levels open onto a roof terrace with views, worth a look during the interval.

The theatre faces a broad stone-paved square at the southern end of Triana, close to the sea where the Guiniguada ravine (Barranco Guiniguada) meets the coast. The Teatro bus stop is about 40 m from the building, and Calle Mayor de Triana passes about 70 m away, so arriving on foot from the old town takes you straight onto the square.

Drivers should head for the paid public car park at the Mercado de Vegueta, about 150 m away; the car park closer to the theatre is private. The main façade is protected, so the wheelchair ramps sit at the sides of the building, and the stalls entrance for people with reduced mobility opens onto Calle Francisco Jareño.

Best: an opera night. The house was rebuilt in 2004–2007 as an opera theatre, it is the permanent home of the Alfredo Kraus Opera Festival, and the interval is when you get to walk the Saint-Saëns Hall.

Avoid: a daytime visit. The theatre keeps evening hours only, so there is nothing to see inside before then.