Interns Report
We - Claudia, Nikolett and Joshua, had the chance to get to know Puerto de la Cruz and its inhabitants more thoroughly during our 6-month internship. Subsequently, we'd like to introduce you to the town, the way we got to know it, of course including our personal tips for day and nightlife.
We begin at what is, by far, the most popular place in town: The Plaza del Charco.Day and night it is a meeting point not only for tourists but for many locals as well. Under the shady trees you can have a coffee in one of the many restaurants round about or just relax on one of the benches around the fountain in the centre.
On the corner of Calle Quintana you can find the "Heladería Pinguďno", unanimously rated by us as the best Italian ice-cream parlour in town. Especially at the weekend there may be long queues - so it is impossible to miss.
Once you have found your way through the people on the Calle Quintana, on the right-hand side, there is the nice little church "Iglesia de la Pena de Francia". If you follow the stairs up to the church and the nice square with its fountain, you get to the Café Ebano. Especially in the mornings you can have a pleasant breakfast here and relax in the comfortable wicker chairs.
If you want to enjoy a nice view over the sea, you should go straight on and cross the street in the direction of Calle San Telmo. Especially when the weather is nice, from here you can enjoy a magnificient view over the rocky bays of the north coast. At this point begins the beach promenade that runs along the sea front.
After having passed the small Eremita (chapel) de San Telmo, you head left for the Avenida de Colón, a wide pedestrian street with lots of palms, which invites you to saunter and enjoy the sun. On the left, from here, the famous bathing complex of San Telmo can be seen. Designed by the famous Canarian artist César Manrique, these are considered to be the town`s major tourist attraction. At the end of the Avenida, you reach the smaller and, at first glance, less inviting of the Puerto de la Cruz' two beaches, the Playa Martiánez. On the other hand, from here you have a nice view along the whole coast. When wind, this small, black sand beach is especially popular with surfers.
Of course, you will find in Puerto de la Cruz a lot more attractions than the ones mentioned above. Especially for swimming and sun-bathing, you should choose the Playa Jardín at the west end of Puerto. This attractive black beach is especially beautiful because of the many small coves and the wonderful tropical gardens that were also designed by César Manrique. If you don´t want to do your sun-bathing next to sunburned tourists, you should go to the farthest part of the beach in the direction of Punta Brava: here you will meet mostly younger Canarians and Spaniards having a swim or surfing.
If you have had enough of beaches and the town centre, and want to appreciate a panoramic view of Puerto, you should definitely visit the Parque Taoro, situated just above the town. To reach it, you will have to climb some steps, but you will be rewarded by a wonderful park with artificial waterfalls and the best view over Puerto.
The rich nightlife of Puerto de la Cruz offers possibilties for every taste. Like in most of the places in the Mediterranean, here as well nightlife generally begins quite late. Nevertheless, the cocktail bar "Color Café" with its stylish equipment is always worth a visit even during the week. Also very popular is the "Limbo" bar with its wonderful terrace. Locals as well as tourists meet here to start the evening in a relaxing atmosphere.
From here it is only a few steps to the town`s most popular salsa club, the cuban "Azúcar". The fun here often starts a little bit earlier, and then people dance to typical South-American and Carribean rythms until the early morning hours. Only 50 metres away can be found the "TFN", the most popular club among the locals. Also very close is the "Ebano", which usually opens late at night and then is transformed from a café to one of the hippest nightclubs in town.
Whoever likes to dance to US-American R&B, Hip Hop or South-American Reggae will find several clubs and bars in the "Avenida Center". Next to it is "Vampis", which has the reputation of being the most tolerant disco in Puerto and where mostly house music is played. Last but not least, we´d like to mention the nearby "FM", with rock, grunge and metal music and also some live concerts.
So you see, Puerto´s nightlife has got something to offer for almost every taste!
Like almost any other town, Puerto de la Cruz doesn´t always present an overall, uniform picture: there are a lots of tourists and the resulting, in many cases, not too picturesque infrastructure contrasts with typical old corners and places where the authetic Canarian lifestyle can still be found. At first glance one might think that the former aspect dominates, but on taking a closer look, your opinion changes. In contrast to the seaside resorts in the south of the island, with their huge hotel complexes, Puerto de la Cruz is still a real and living town - getting to know it a little bit closer, you will still find many of the authentic Canarian pecularities. Whoever makes the effort to look for these, away from the tourist hot spots, will not be disappointed: Why not come and convince yourself personally!
Claudia, Nikolett and Joshua