Santa Catalina Park

Come up out of the underground bus station and the first thing in front of you is a row of big letters spelling LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA, the photo nearly everyone takes on arrival.

The square around it is one of the city's main meeting points. Cafés, bars, restaurants and shops line its edges, children have a play area, and dogs are welcome. The Elder Museum of Science and Technology occupies a former harbour building in the park itself, next to the Miller Building, which holds exhibitions and events.

Much of the city's best-known ground is within walking distance. The Poema del Mar Aquarium is ten minutes away on foot, Las Canteras beach twenty, and the El Muelle shopping centre and the cruise terminal of Puerto de la Luz sit by the port nearby. Come during Carnival or WOMAD and the park becomes the main stage for both.

• There is no drinking-water fountain nearby. Bring a bottle or buy one at the cafés around the square.
• Public toilets stand about 75 m away, and free ones about 270 m away.
• The Casa del Turismo tourist office is about 80 m from the park, handy for maps and bus questions.
• The red hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus stops here.
• During Carnival and WOMAD, stages and crowds take over the square.

Most visitors arrive by bus. The Santa Catalina bus station (Intercambiador de Santa Catalina) lies underground beneath the park, and line 30 ends there: come up out of the station and the big city-name letters are straight ahead. City buses also stop on the square itself, at the stops named Parque Santa Catalina.

By car, there are paid car parks and a paid garage around the park. The nearest car park is about 120 m away in a straight line, and Parking Santa Catalina about 220 m away.

From the park, the Poema del Mar Aquarium is a 10-minute walk and Las Canteras beach a 20-minute walk. Cruise passengers land at the terminal of Puerto de la Luz, close to the square.

Best: Carnival or WOMAD, when the main stages of both festivals go up in the park.

Avoid: the hours after a cruise ship docks, if you want the square calm.

The cruise terminal is close by, so ship days send a stream of passengers through the park, while the festivals fill it for days at a time; the park itself never closes, so evenings are open to you too.