Las Canteras isn't Las Palmas' only beach: Here's a cool video tip about the capital's other sandy beach.

Las Palmas' taxis are among the cheapest in Spain and are the easiest way to get around the city.

The Poem of the Sea building site by the port in Las Palmas is a hive of activity and the foundations are almost finished. The first walls start to go up in ten days and the vast main observation window is under construction.

Las Canteras beach, with its 3.5km of golden sand sweeping down one side of the city, is the jewel of Las Palmas. However, it is just one of five beaches in the capital city. Here's everything you need to know about them all.

For serious Gran Canaria shopping, a trip to the capital Las Palmas is always a good day trip. As one of Spain's ten biggest cities it's got the island's biggest malls, one of the country's top outdoor shopping areas and so many authentic cafes and restaurants that you'll struggle to stay focused on the task at hand.

Gran Canaria erupted with joy last night as Las Palmas' football team won promotion to the Spanish Primera Liga for the first time since 2002. 

Enough with the "one of the best" and "some think it's the best" fence-sitting. We say Las Canteras beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the best city beach in the world and here's 20 photos that prove it ...

Whether you eat it at a beachfront restaurant or carry it onto the sand, pizza is perfect beach food. Here are three top spots to get pizza by the beach in Las Palmas.

Germans know how to bake bread and this little bakery/cafe sells some of Las Palmas' best rolls, along with a range of excellent cakes and pastries. 

Las Palmas' excellent museums and galleries have everything from mummies and modern art to interactive science experiments and Columbus' notebooks. Here's the ten cultural spots you have to visit in the city.

San Cristobal fishing village doesn't need Martha Stewart tutorials on the shabby-chic look, but it could teach her a thing or two about authenticity. With two beaches and the freshest fish in town, it a great Las Palmas spot for lunch and a wander. 

For a sardine and seafood feast, head to San Cristobal village in north Gran Canaria on the weekend of April 18-19 for the Sabor a Mar festival.

Las Palmas is full of supermarkets, but which chain is best, and where do you go for the fresh stuff and the exotic stuff? Here's how to do your food shopping like a local in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

There's nowhere better to work than Las Palmas. That's what a growing number of laptop entrepreneurs and location-independent professionals are saying. The city's fame has spread so far that the New York Times recently covered it. See the article here

Las Palmas is an ideal location for modern day busman's holidays: it has the fast internet and conveniences of a European city plus the fantastic weather and beaches. There's plenty to do at night and you're only ever a few minutes from the surf break. 

Contact the Surf Office if you have questions about staying and working in Las Palmas

 In brochure-land Las Palmas is full or tourists wandering around cobbled streets between museums and galleries. They eat authentic Canarian food, buy arts and crafts, and enjoy themselves in a demure, cultured sort of way without breaking a sweat.

Las Canteras beach has many claims to fame, but most people don't get past the big one: It's the best city beach in the world. But there's more to Las Canteras than sun, sand and palm trees. Here's ten fascinating facts about Las Palmas' jewel in the crown that most people don't know. 

With everything from drag queen galas and wailing widows to tapas stands the Las Palmas carnival is an epic fiesta. It's got be Europe's biggest outdoor party and stretches out over three weeks, four if you count the times it takes to clear up the sequins.

The weekend markets at Santa Brigida and San Mateo are so popular these days that there's traffic jams on the road up. Fortunatley there's a Sunday alternative close to Las Palmas that doesn't get the crowds.

San Lozenzo market has about 20 stalls and is a genuine farmer's market with all produce grown locally. It even has a price board at the entrance listing the maximum and minimum prices for the fruit and veg on sale.

One highlight of the San Lorenzo market is the cheese stall right at the entrance. All the cheeses on display are made in the surrounding area and tasting is encouraged. They even cut your cheese with a traditional Canarian knife. Their lightly smoked goat cheese is fantastic and the stall next door does a great flor cheese suitable for veggies. 

As well as fresh produce San Lorenzo also has stall selling bread and local cakes as well as aloe vera products, Gran Canarian olive oil and local honey. There's a small cafe in the market square and another in the church square a couple of minutes walk away: It's only got six tables so be prepared to wait for a seat. 

Get to San Lorenzo from Las Palmas by car (there is parking right next to the market), taxi or on bus 335. The market runs from 0.900 to 15.00 but quite a few stall sell out well before the end. 

Las Palmas is a Spanish city with a Canarian accent and a few South American flourishes. It's the only city in Europe where salsa and coconut palms thrive alongside mojo, tapas and vino tinto. 

There are two ways to see Las Palmas: Get sore feet seeing the whole place in a day and ending up with a full memnory card and that fuzzy been-there done-that feeling that fades as soon as you move on. 

Or, you can do laid-back Las Palmas at its own pace:  Instead of charging around take your time doing very little, very thoroughly.

Start by sitting down and drinking a proper cofee

In Las Palmas coffee is made by grown ups instead of baristas and it's all the better for it: Pure bean juice unsullied by pretension, syrups and towers of cream. It comes served in a white porcelain cup with a paper bag of sugar and a tatty old teaspoon. It tastes of coffee. 

Order a café solo for a pure espresso, a cortado for an espresso with a dash of milk and a café con leche for a latte. Or go for the rocket fuel option of the leche y leche: A cortado with a shot of condensed milk at the bottom. 

In the summer, go for café con hielo. It’s a shot of espresso served with a glass full of ice cubes on the side. You pour the coffee over the ice, swizzle it around a bit and then drink. Simple and delicious. 

Every bar and café in Las Palmas has a steam espresso machine so pick one with a good view. The Canteras beachfront, the cobbled streets of Vegueta and any of the palm-shaded squares are splendid spots for a coffee break. 

Visit the Museo Canario 

In the 1500s Spanish steel met the sticks and stones of the original Canarii inhabitants. It took them 100 years to conquer the Canary Islands, longer than it took to subdue the Aztecs and the Incas. 

The unfortunate consequence of this Conquistador trial run was the extinction of Canarii culture. Their languages, religion, folk tales and music were obliterated. All we have left are their mummies and pottery: Meagre remnants of a race that considered themselves kings but didn’t understand the wheel. 

The best collection of Canarii artefacts is in the Museo Canario or Canary Museum in Las Palmas’ historical Vegueta barrio. Thankfully, it is compact and not afraid to display plenty of skulls and mummies. 

Spend an hour in the museum and then the day wandering around Vegueta. 500 years ago it was besieged by the same people now lying shrivelled in the museum: The only European city ever besieged by stone-age warriors. What if they had overrun the walls? The whole history of Spain and South America would be different. 

Learn to Surf 

Canteras Beach is three miles long and changes every 100 yards. The north end is all coconut palms, golden sand and clear water. It’s great for sunbathing and snorkelling. 

The southern La Cicer end in front of Guanarteme barrio is the surfing end. Twenty years ago it was isolated within the city and overshadowed by fish-canning factories and a power plant. When the town hall shut down the factories and extended the promenade the barrio woke up. Its sullen pot-smoking surfers went to business school and opened surf schools and hostels. 

The waves aren’t world class but they are consistent and the right size for beginners. Within a day you can learn the basics of surfing and then hit the bars for an introduction to local rum. Pace yourself because the city doesn’t liven up until midnight and dances until dawn. 

There are no flamenco shows or tour guides dressed in traditional costumes in Las Palmas. Like its coffees, it is hot, full of flavour and completely free of pretension. That’s why we love it and you will too.

Ok, so you've arrived in Las Palmas and you have a few hours to see the city and a bit of Gran Canaria island. Where do you start?