The Casa Museo de Colón commemorates explorer Christopher Columbus' visit to the islands on his way to discover the Americas, as well as the role that the Canary Islands played as a bridge between the New and Old Worlds. A reproduction of the navigator's shipboard cabin, complete with an exhibition of pre-Colombian ceramics inside are featured. A section of the museum is set aside for a fine arts exhibit. The building itself is a fine example of typical Canary Island architecture, with an impressive Gothic sandstone façade and lovely wooden balconies. Admission is free.

This square is right in the center of Las Palmas. Surrounded by important religious, municipal and judicial buildings and of great ideological importance, its style was copied for similar squares all over Latin America. Its political significance reached its peak in the mid-19th century, when a number of demonstrations in favor of provincial division were held here. Although its construction dates back to the beginning of the 16th century, it's now as it was in the 19th century, thanks to various improvements to restore paving stones, the four entrances, and the perimeter, with stone parapets and iron railings. The bronze dogs at the main entrance are famous.

This building, which houses the island's local government offices, was built in the first half of the 16th century. Originally, it has a Renaissance-style layout, a design which would then be exported to the Spanish mainland and America. It suffered a terrible fire in 1842, however, a disaster which was blamed on the government in Tenerife and which would lead to the break up of the province in 1852. The present style, following renovation work in 1853, is classic. It consists of two floors. The ground floor is a gallery, and upstairs there are columns between wide arches, finished off with small windows. As it's a public building, admission is free. For further information, call City Hall at the given number.

Islanders in pre-Hispanic times were particularly fond of the fertile Barranco Jinamar, a ravine where many remains of settlements have been discovered. Llano de las Brujas (Witches' Plain) is one of them. Located next to the Gran Canaria-1 motorway, there are three structures built from basalt and carved stone, superimposed on top of each other, that gives some idea of the successive settlements in the area. The archeological site has information panels. For further details, contact the Tourism Office.

This district was established at the same time as the neighboring San Juan district, around 24 June 1483. As a small hill known as Santa María la Antigua, it was the place chosen by (or relegated to) craftsmen and shopkeepers who relied on the gentlemen of San Juan to earn their living. The houses and streets are the best remaining example of common urban construction on Gran Canaria. You can visit the San Francisco Church, erected on the site of the old Santa Maria la Antigua chapel. For further information, call the Tourism Office.

The first inhabitants of Telde lived on the northern slope of the cliff, where the Prehispanic settlements of Tara and Cendra are now located. In reality, it's a group of very primitive buildings formed from cave-dwellings dug out of the rock, although some of these caves were formed by volcanic eruptions. One of the main characteristics of these two enclaves is that the cave-dwellings were still used until quite recently, both as homes and as places for keeping cattle. Tara was the location of the discovery of the so-called Idolo de Tara (Tara Idol), an anthropomorphous statue, considered the goddess of fertility, which can be seen in the Museo Canario. For more information, ring the Tourism Office at the above number. Admission to the various districts is free.

This site, along with the Gáldar Painted Cave, is one of the most important relics of the heritage of Native Islanders prior to Spanish conquest. It's also known as Granero de Valerón, as it's a complex of little caves excavated out of steep rock, in the form of cells or compartments, where the islanders used to store the grain obtained from the harvest. It's located on Cuesta de Silva and juts out of Azuaje Ravine. A less credible theory has it that the caves could have been home to the Aboriginal priestesses who played a decisive role in religious life before Christianity was brought over.

Roque Nublo, or the Cloud Rock, is one of the world's largest free-standing rocks and Gran Canaria's most striking natural icon. Formed over 4.5 million years ago, this volcanic rock has been shaped by the elements over millennia into an 80-meter (262-foot) tall monolith at a height of 1,813 meters (5,948 feet) above sea level. Outdone by only the Pico de las Nieves, Roque Nublo is the island's second highest peak. Sweeping views of the surrounding countryside lay sprawled at its feet, like a patchwork quilt of pine forests and farmland arranged in deep, plunging folds. Often shrouded by a bank of clouds or icy mist, the enigmatic Roque Nublo is surprisingly accessible, and it is possible to walk right up to its base. Scaling its sheer face is another matter altogether, a feat braved only by experienced climbers with the right kind of equipment. Described by the Spanish writer, Miguel de Unamuno, as a storm turned to stone, Roque Nublo is a sight of striking beauty, rising from the ground like a defiant behemoth frozen in the guise of a jagged pinnacle.