The cobblestone capital of La Isla Bonita – the lesser travelled northwestern outcrop of the Canaries – was once among the most important ports in the Spanish empire. Uncover its history at a handful of museums, including the cloistered Insular Museo of Natural History, feel the Caribbean thread in the sugarcane stacks at the covered market, and stroll narrow streets with hanging wooden balconies, every house painted a different colour, to grand colonial mansions and the Plaza Espana, hustling bustling heart of Santa Cruz.