Ciudad Jardín, Las Palmas Gran Canaria
Ciudad Jardín was created in the early 20th century by English residents. It
was the English residents of Las Palmas who
dominated the economy of Las Palmas at that
time.
The English even had their own club in Las Palmas, which is still going to this day. Ciudad Jardín is residential and is an oasis in the bustling city of Las Palmas.
Ciudad Jardín has a very regular layout and today you will find many
foreign embassies here alongside many beautiful houses set in small gardens and
throughout Ciudad Jardín you will find many different architectural styles.
One of the main features of Ciudad Jardín is the
Parque Doramás which is a beautiful landscaped park with water features, cascades, statues
and a municipal swimming pool, all surrounded by numerous examples of well cared for
plants and flowers endemic to the island of Gran Canaria. Parque Doramás was named after the Guanche chief Doramás, and his resistance against the Spanish invaders is remembered, and symbolized in the park by a monument which depicts some of the aboriginal people tumbling or throwing themselves over a precipice in order to avoid being captured.
Amidst all the lush sub tropical greenery of Parque Doramás stands the Hotel
Santa Catalina. Originally built in 1890 it was redesigned between 1947 and 1952 by the
Canarian artist Néstor Fernandez de la Torre. The hotel Santa Catalina is a prominent feature of the area called Ciudad Jardín. Royalty and many celebrities have stayed in this top quality hotel but don't worry, if you are neither celebrity or royalty it
doesn't matter, you can still enjoy some stunning views of the park whilst drinking your
gin martini on the rocks, from the bar area of the hotel.
Not to be missed and enclosed within the park itself are the
Pueblo Canario (the Canarian Village) and
the Néstor Museum, making Ciudad Jardín an area of Las Palmas well worth a visit.
In Ciudad Jardín, just opposite Parque Doramás, can be found some very important sporting locations in Las Palmas. As expected Las Palmas has some water sports centres given that it is set between two bays. One of the centres is called the Club Natación Metropol, which is a swimming and sports centre. The Muelle Deportivo is accessed from an underpass that takes you under the Avenida Maritima. This is a yacht harbour and it has a seaside promenade which is away from the busy road and traffic above, making Ciudad Jardín a very pleasant area.
Ciudad Jardín boasts two renowned sailing clubs, Real Club Náutico (the Royal
Sailing Club) and Varadero sailing club, where you can almost always see some exotic
ocean going yachts. Between these two Ciudad Jardín sailing clubs is a 1km long
stretch of sandy beach known as Playa de las Alcaravaneras.
