When
your are planning a trip to Lanzarote, the first zones in which you usually think are Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca, Puerto
del Carmen or Puerto Calero. Most of the times Arrecife, the capital of the
island, is not considered. Today as Canarian Transfer we will explain what to see in Arrecife.
Where is Arrecife?
Arrecife
is a municipality of Lanzarote, ubicated
on the east coast of the island,
very close to the international airport , with its same name. Remember that as Canarian Transfer we organize your transfer from the
airport to your hotel in Lanzarote.
It
is the capital of Lanzarote since
the XIX century. Since then, most of the administrative and commercial
activities of the island are concentrated in this town.Of course Arrecife is much more and it worths to visit
it.
What to see in Arrecife
First
of all we inform you that Arrecife it is not the typical huge capital but a
small town. This make it suitable for a visit by walk.
It
curious that Arrecife is considered as
the smallest municipality of Lanzarote,
with just 22 km2. On the other side it’s the most populated town of the island, with more than 55.000 inhabitants.
Charco de San Ginés
In
the neighborhood of San Ginés, we
can find the Charco de San Ginés such as incoming sea water in the heart of Arrecife. It’s important because here the
first group of fishermen in Lanzarote was born.
In
the past it was known as Venic of the
Atlantic vs the italian city. After the reforms apported by César Manrique, today it’s
charactherized by small boats and fishing boats.
The
view is really nice: the lagoon with its boats, surrounded by white houses,
bars, restaurants and a special environment. It worths the visit.
Church of San Ginés
The Church of San Ginés was a small hermitage than it has been transformed in the actual temple. Actually it counts with typical elements of the canary architecture, mixed with Baroque and Mudejar tints. Just beside there is the ancient Market Square.
Puente de las Bolas
This bridge, was built in XVI century, it has a longitude of 175 meters,
that were the access to San Gabriel Castel from the mainland.
San Gabriel Castle
It is a fortress built on an islet, opposite the port of Arrecife.
Its function was to protect the port and the city from the attacks. Nowadays, inside the castle there is the Museum of history of
Lanzarote.
Castillo de San José
San
Jose Castle is known also as Fortaleza del Hambre and it has
been built as defense, aprox. between 1776 y 1779. Later on, in 1975 has been
built the actual headquarter of the
Internationl Museum of Contemporary Art (MIAC).
La Casa Amarilla
It
was the ancient headquarter of the Cabildo of Lanzarote. It has been declared as
place of cultural interest in 2002. In its bottom floor there are several
expositions about the history and the life in Lanzarote.
These are
just few ideas about what to see in Arrefice, above all from a cultural point
of view. If you like the idea to choose the
best excursions to discover Lanzarote, have a look to our website
and choose yours!