Hotels in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital, together with Las Palmas, of the island of Tenerife and the Spanish Canarian Islands. The port of Santa Cruz is the main Spanish port for cruise ships. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, along with the nearby city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna forms a large urban agglomeration of over 400 000 inhabitants. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by important archaeological sites and the mummy of San Andrès.

In the middle of 1400, the Spanish navigator Fernández de Lugo conquered the island and founded several cities including Santa Cruz: the cross he planted in the ground on landing is still preserved in the Iglesia Matriz de la Concepción.

Other places of tourist importance in Santa Cruz are the auditorium ofTenerife, designed by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava, the museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, considered one of the most important museums in the Canaries but also in the whole of Spain, where are preserved archaeological remains of prehistoric times, and Plaza de España, with the Palacio del Cabildo and the great fountain of Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. In the city there is also a large Masonic temple, the Templo Masónico.

One of the most important moments of celebration of the city is the Carnival, considered one of the largest in the world. The Carnival is held between January and February, and the whole town participates with parades of floats and masks.