welcome to the city of the holy cross of tenerife or as it's
better known the sun-drenched cultural powerhouse of santa cruz de tenerife
the origins of the city lie in the planting of a cross by 15th century conquistadors, a show of
strength against the indigenous guanche population who simply had no chance to hold on to their
island, as a vital transatlantic port the city saw continuous growth but it's only really been
in the last 50 years that santa cruz has exploded and is now part of an urban area of nearly half a
million people, it's regularly ranked amongst the best cities of the world in which to live,
serena and i have just two days to explore so let's get going!
i just had to start my tour of the city here because it's a building that i've
wanted to see for years and years spain's santiago calatrava is one of the world's
leading architects and his masterpieces are dotted all around the planet, here in the canary
islands he was commissioned to design a concert hall and boy did he create something, in 2003
this incredible building was opened to the public el auditorio de tenerife it is of course
dominated by an arch that climbs nearly 58 meters into the sky and defies gravity forming a wave,
a giant wave, that crashes over the auditorium, as you walk closer the shapes take on a different
form the structure begins to engulf you and frankly it feels more like a monstrous spaceship,
this is a fact that clearly hasn't gone unnoticed because over the last few days
a vast film crew has been swarming the site as part of the science fiction series foundation
watching over the auditorium both day and night are the tallest twin towers
in spain, now architecturally they might not be in the same league
but these towers were built as a show of strength
to demonstrate to mainland spain and to the rest of the world that this city really has arrived
a botanical garden dedicated to palm trees, what a great idea, this used to be a landfill site
between the oil refinery and the city in 2014 it was reopened as the palmetum
a garden preserving 600 species of palm trees principally from the islands of the world,
with cool sea breezes it's just the perfect way to spend an afternoon -
one minute you're in madagascar and the next you're in polynesia
right in the heart of the city you'll find the contemporary art center the tenerife espacio de
las artes, inside it's a very spacious building plenty of light especially the library section,
outside it depends whether you like concrete or not, nevertheless there's
always a fascinating revolving series of exhibitions not to mention a really cool shop
and it's free! when you finish with the galleries you can
step into the cool tea cafe and treat yourself to a three-course lunch for just 12 euros -
if you then want to contrast the cutting-edge modern arts with some more classical fine art
then a few blocks away you'll find the museo de bellas artes, once again it's free -
well i was all ready for the classical experience so wasn't expecting to be
assaulted by johnny cash david bowie and dave grohl when i walked in, of course you
never know what you're going to get with the temporary exhibitions but that was a cracker!
of the countless superb sculptures in santa cruz i think this has to be my favorite both for its form
and its meaning - "lo llevo bien" by Julio nieto
whilst it isn't the cathedral of tenerife the whitewashed bell tower of the church of
the immaculate conception dominates the center of the city although most of what you can see today
dates from the 17th and 18th century the church itself was founded in 1500 upon the conquest of
the island and it houses the historic cross after which the city takes its name la plata one of the
city's most verdant swears and it's also where you'll find one of the most historic cafes kiosks
foreign
yes
it's the beginning of february so most of europe floral clocks are nothing more than a rather sad
patch of mud but when you've got the perfect climate you can do anything
we have the lonely planet to thank for this recommendation
rustic flavoursome canary island food if you like cheeses you'll be in heaven
for a visitor santa cruz really is a dream destination all of the sites lie within a
compact city centre and at every turn there's a pavement cafe or restaurant just tempting you
to take a rest and sit in the sunshine it's very easy to see why it regularly features
as one of the best cities in the world in which to live but it's not all about sunshine
there's plenty of style here too sadly though that's all we've got time for
please subscribe to the channel and i'll see you on the next journey
you