Climb the vaulted cathedral’s campanile for views of Vegueta, the charming cobblestone old quarter, and dip into the golden hall of the gracious 19th-century Gabinete Literario. Poema del Mar offers a world-class aquarium; Las Canteras brings clear shallow seas and 3km of buzzing beachfront boulevard; and Mercado del Puerto pulses with superb food stalls and tapas bars. Beyond the capital, swim and dive with butterfly rays, turtles and (if lucky) endangered angel sharks, seek pristine golf courses and the north shore’s surfing hotspots, or journey the island’s verdant, mountainous spine to pretty villages, lava caves and the wildly beautiful sand dunes at Maspalomas.