What to see in Santa Cruz de La Palma: a walk through the old port town
Santa Cruz de La Palma, the capital of La Palma, lies on the island's east coast, in the middle of a wide bay framed by steep cliffs. It was founded on 3 May 1493, the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, which gave it its name. If you are short of time, this order works: from the port along the Calle Real to the Plaza de España, into the El Salvador church, then down to the houses with balconies on the seafront, and finally to the Barco de la Virgen, the ship-shaped naval museum.
The historic centre is protected: it was declared a site of cultural interest (Bien de Interés Cultural) on 10 April 1975. Visit La Palma puts it this way: the town itself is a monument, with palaces, town walls and cobbled streets.
We cover the rest of the island in a separate article: What to see in La Palma.
A little history: the port where ships set sail for the Americas
The Spanish settlers chose this spot for two reasons: the excellent bay made a natural harbour, and there was a permanent water source nearby. The town lay in the middle of the shipping routes, and exports of sugar and wine, above all malmsey (malvasía), made it rich. As early as 1541 it was granted the title of "Very Noble and Loyal City" (Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad), and on the Calle Real a plaque still proclaims: "Muy noble y muy leal ciudad de Santa Cruz de La Palma".
In 1564 the first Juzgado de Indias in the Canary Islands was set up here, a branch of the royal office that oversaw sea trade with the Americas. According to the town council, the town was one of the most important ports of its time, and the official tourism portal of the Canary Islands says that in the 16th century it became the third port in Europe, after Antwerp and Seville.
The wealth also drew pirates. On 21 July 1553 the French corsair François Le Clerc, better known as Peg Leg (Pata de Palo), besieged and plundered the town for more than ten days. In 1585, on the other hand, Francis Drake's English fleet was driven off by the island's militia. By the end of the 16th century the coast was guarded by three forts and a line of defences. The 1553 attack is remembered today in the Día del Corsario, with a theatre performance, usually held in August.
The Calle Real and the Plaza de España
The heart of the centre is two cobbled pedestrian streets, the Calle O'Daly and the Calle Anselmo Pérez de Brito, which locals call by one name: the Calle Real. It starts at the port and runs up to the tower of the El Salvador church, so you can turn straight into it from the harbour. It takes its name from Dionisio O'Daly, an Irish merchant who settled on the island in the 18th century. He and Anselmo Pérez de Brito broke the rule of the hereditary councillors, and from 1773 the members of the town council were elected: according to the town council, this was the first such election in Spain. Today it is the town's main shopping street: between old houses, including the Casa Sotomayor and the Casa Salazar, you will find shops, cafés and bars.
The Casa Salazar is a 17th-century noble house with a lovely inner courtyard, and today it hosts exhibitions and cultural events.
The Plaza de España has changed its name several times: until 1835 it was the Plaza Principal, then the Plaza de la Constitución, and finally the Plaza de España. In the middle stands a bronze statue of the priest Manuel Díaz, surrounded by the town hall, the El Salvador church and the fountain. According to Visit La Palma, experts consider it the finest Renaissance ensemble in the archipelago.
Work on the town hall began in 1553, and according to the town council, together with the church and the fountain it forms the most important Renaissance ensemble in the Canary Islands. The stone was brought from La Gomera. On the façade you can see the coats of arms of Spain and of the island, a bust of Philip II and an inscription saying it was completed in 1563. If you get inside, look for the fresco "La Romería" by the La Palma painter González Méndez, and Mariano de Cossío's mural on the main staircase.
The Calle Real and the streets around it are also the stage for the big day of the carnival, Los Indianos: white clothes and talcum powder are a must. We have a separate article on it: The carnival of Santa Cruz de La Palma and Los Indianos.
The El Salvador church and the Flemish traces
The Iglesia de El Salvador is the main parish church on the Plaza de España, founded in 1500. It took on its present three-nave form through several rebuildings, and the tower beside it was built from blocks of volcanic stone. Inside, the highlights include a statue of Christ of Flemish origin, the Cristo de los Mulatos. The church's listing.
According to Visit La Palma, many Flemish families settled on the island, their influence grew out of sugar, and you can follow their traces in the churches: El Salvador has Flemish wooden sculptures, the Santo Domingo church holds one of the most important collections of Flemish paintings in the Canary Islands, and the San Francisco church has the wood carving "Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child".
The wooden balconies on the Avenida Marítima
The town's most famous view is the row of houses on the seafront promenade, the Avenida Marítima, with colourful carved wooden balconies. These are actually the backs of the houses: their main façades face the Calle Real, and the balconies were added on the side facing the sea. According to the town council, the double balconies here are unique to La Palma. The houses are narrow and tall in the Portuguese style, and the enclosed, latticed box balcony (balcón de ajimez) is of Arab origin.
When the promenade was built in 1949, the town lost its direct link with the sea, and only got it back on 20 April 2017, when the artificial black volcanic sand Playa de Santa Cruz de La Palma opened on the site of the old Caleta del Varadero beach. It is about 550 metres long, and the sand is at least 60 metres wide even in front of the balconies. It has flown the Blue Flag since 2021. The beach's listing. We wrote about the island's other beaches here: The best beaches in La Palma.
The Barco de la Virgen and the Castillo de Santa Catalina
At the northern end of town, by the Plaza de la Alameda, stands the Barco de la Virgen, a replica of Columbus's ship the Santa María, with the naval museum (Museo Naval) inside. The ship honours the sailors of La Palma, who crossed the world's seas in ships built from the island's timber. The present ship was built for the Bajada festival of 1940 at the initiative of Armando Yanes Carrillo, La Palma's last builder of sailing ships, who worked from data supplied by the naval museum in Seville. It has been a museum since 1975, and reopened in 2009 after a renovation.
The exhibition tells the story of the island and the sea from the 15th-century conquest to the present day, with objects from explorers, merchants, corsairs, pirates, sailors and shipbuilders. According to the town council, the museum also holds priceless 18th-century sea charts drawn on parchment. Check opening hours and tickets on the museum's website. The museum's listing.
The ship also plays its part in the Bajada festival: when the statue of the Virgin reaches the ship, the play "Dialogue between the Castle and the Ship" (Diálogo entre el Castillo y la Nave) is performed. The work by the poet Antonio Rodríguez premiered in 1875, and has been performed without a break since 1885. According to Visit La Palma, the restored cannons of the Castillo de la Virgen fire every five years, during the Bajada. The listing for the Castillo de la Virgen.
The Castillo de Santa Catalina also stands on the Avenida Marítima, and according to Visit La Palma it symbolises the island's defence against pirate attacks. It was built between 1683 and 1692 and declared a monument in the 1950s. It belonged to the army until 1950, and has been in private hands since then.
A museum, quieter squares and the market hall
The Museo Insular, the island museum, is housed in a 16th-century Franciscan monastery built around two large courtyards with wooden galleries: the small cloister dates from the 16th century, the large one from the 18th. The museum has been here since 1986, and has archaeology, ethnography, natural science and naval sections. The museum's listing. In the San Francisco church, next to the museum on the Plaza de San Francisco, you will find the Señor de la Piedra Fría, the town's most venerated statue, whose chapel was built in 1565, with an octagonal dome and a Mudéjar wooden ceiling.
The town also has two old theatres, the Teatro Chico and the Teatro Circo de Marte; we wrote about the latter here: Culture in the Canary Islands, island by island.
If you are looking for local produce, the municipal market hall (Mercado Municipal) is a good stop. It stands on the plot where the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores hospital operated from 1514, and the building was designed in 1886 by the local master builder Felipe de Paz Pérez. According to the town council, island produce takes centre stage: nuts, vegetables, seasonal fruit, mojo sauces, cheese, sweets and wines with the La Palma designation of origin. The market hall's listing.
Las Nieves and the Bajada de la Virgen
On the edge of town, up on the mountain, stands the Real Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, the shrine of the island's patron saint, Our Lady of the Snows. The oldest surviving mention of the name "Santa María de las Nieves" dates from 1507, and the present church was built in 1646. Inside you will see Flemish wooden sculptures, more than a thousand votive offerings (ex voto), gilded Baroque altarpieces and an embossed silver altar throne. The shrine's listing.
The town council also recommends a circular walk starting from the shrine: less than half a day from town, easy, with little change in height.
The shrine is the starting point of the Bajada de la Virgen, the town's biggest festival: the people of La Palma carry the statue of the Virgin on their shoulders down the mountain to the town by the sea. The tradition dates back to the 17th century, when the faithful asked for the Virgin's intercession in the disasters striking the island. Following the bishop's decision, it has been held every five years since 1680, in years ending in 0 and 5. Since 1975 its main programme has taken place in the first two weeks of July, and it ends on 5 August, the feast of Our Lady of the Snows, when the statue returns to the shrine. In the meantime it stays in the El Salvador church for about a month.
The best-known part of the programme is the Danza de los Enanos, the dance of the dwarves; alongside it, the Carro Alegórico y Triunfal, the Pandorga parade and the processions of the throne are also at the heart of the festival. It has been a festival of national tourist interest since 1980, and in 2024 the Canary Islands Government declared it protected intangible cultural heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural) by Decreto 31/2024.
When is the next one? The most recent, the 70th Bajada, took place in 2025. Under the rule of years ending in 0 and 5, the next one comes in 2030, and the Canary Islands tourism portal also gives July 2030 for the Virgin's entry into town. There is no exact date or programme yet; the organisers publish them on bajadadelavirgen.es. We wrote about the other big festivals in the Canary Islands here: Fiestas and romerías in the Canary Islands.
Getting there and getting around
By air: according to Aena, La Palma airport is 8 kilometres from Santa Cruz de La Palma. A direct guagua (local bus) runs from the airport to town via Los Cancajos; check the route and timetable on the Aena website or on the site of the island bus company, Transportes Insular La Palma.
By ferry: the town is the island's main port. The ticket offices of the ferry terminal (Estación Marítima) are at the entrance on the town side, and since the Calle Real starts at the port, you can walk into the centre. On car hire and ferries between the islands: Car hire with no deposit and ferries between the Canary Islands.
By car: you reach the town on the LP-2 from the south and on the LP-1 from the north. The Plaza de España and the Calle Real are a pedestrian zone, so you will have to leave the car in the nearest car park.
Without a car: The Canary Islands without a car.
If you want to go further from the capital: The best viewpoints on La Palma, The Tajogaite volcano viewpoints, and, since La Palma's sky is protected by law, where to see the stars in the Canary Islands.
In short
The main sights are all within walking distance: Calle Real, Plaza de España, El Salvador, the balconies, the Barco de la Virgen.
The airport is 8 kilometres away, with a direct bus into town.
Since 2017 there has been a black sand town beach in front of the houses with balconies.
The Bajada de la Virgen takes place every five years, the next one in 2030; the organisers will announce the exact programme later.
Sources: Santa Cruz de La Palma town council (santacruzdelapalma.es): the town's history, its tourist information pages (Calle Real, Plaza de España, town hall, El Salvador, Casa Salazar, the balconies of the Avenida Marítima, Castillo de Santa Catalina, Museo Naval, Museo Insular, San Francisco, Real Santuario de las Nieves, Bajada de la Virgen, Día del Corsario), the town beach and the market hall; Cabildo de La Palma, Visit La Palma (visitlapalma.es); Gobierno de Canarias, BOC (Decreto 31/2024 on the Bajada de la Virgen) and press releases; Hola Islas Canarias (Promotur); the official Bajada de la Virgen website (bajadadelavirgen.es); Museo Naval Barco de la Virgen (museonavaldelbarco.es); Aena; Autoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (puertosdetenerife.org); Transportes Insular La Palma.
Cover photo (cropped): houses with wooden balconies on the Avenida Marítima, Santa Cruz de La Palma. Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.