The city overlooking the sea

Santa Cruz is a city for strolling. Let’s not fall into preconceived ideas, its slopes are not insurmountable and the small effort of walking will allow us to see the details of the city and escape the stress of traffic. For the route we propose, “a walk along the coast”, there is another option, the bicycle or scooter, because during the planned walk we will always be next to a bike path.

We start at the west end of the city, where the Palmetum https://palmetumtenerife.es/ is located, a spectacular botanical garden specializing in palm trees. It is next to the Maritime Park https://parquemaritimosantacruz.es/ a place where it is worth spending a day in its swimming pools, designed by César Manrique. Just across the street is one of the architectural jewels of the city, the Auditorio de Tenerife https://auditoriodetenerife.com/es/ which should not only enjoy the building, but be aware of its programming.

On one side of the Auditorium are the remains of what was the ancient defense of the city. The Castle of San Juan Bautista, or Black Castle, well preserved, ideal for strolling with children and encourage their imagination while they think of attacks by English corsairs in their moats filled at high tide. On the other side, and already walking towards the center of the city, are the remains of the battery of San Francisco, another old military building, of the many that we will find during the day.

Between this battery and the Plaza de España we walk along the Dársena del Este, where one of the main marinas of the city is located. The spectacle of seeing hundreds of ships, especially in autumn, preparing to cross the Atlantic is well worth the effort of walking down to the docks.

The current Plaza de España was renovated by Herzog & De Meuron, next to it are some of the most iconic buildings of the city, such as the monument to the Fallen, the Cabildo Insular, the Palacio de Correos or the Casino de Tenerife. And a surprise… under the lake in the square are the ruins of the Castle of San Cristobal, which can of course be visited. There are still large pieces of those walls and the Tigre cannon, which fought against the English when Nelson tried to take the city in 1797. On the surface there is nothing left of the Castle, which did leave its memory in the name of the main commercial street of the city.

We continue walking under the shade of the Laureles de Indias of the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena, an old recreational area of the city. To the east, always parallel to the sea, we see the hustle and bustle of the Dársena de Anaga, busy with ferries linking the islands or with cruise ships arriving with thousands of tourists. In this section of Francisco La Roche Avenue there are dozens of places where you can eat or have a drink, being a very lively place during the weekend nights.

After leaving behind the North Pier, the Yacht Club and the CDM Paso Alto we arrive at the Paso Alto Castle, which is barely visible but very well preserved. It is another example of that ancient fortification that made the entire coast of the city strong. Our end of the walk can end with a dip in the renovated area of Valleseco, next to the old coal docks now declared of Cultural Interest, or if you are brave, continue walking to the beach of Las Teresitas, about 6 km away. If you think you have had enough of walking, you can take bus 910, which runs parallel to the entire route.