Things To Do in Lanzarote holidays

Cesar Manrique was a man who led by example. He didn’t just lobby for strict planning rules in Lanzarote, he built his house following his guidelines, too. His home is now a museum run by the Cesar Manrique Foundation. From the front, it looks like any other whitewashed Canarian house, but step inside, and you’ll find futuristic rooms tucked into volcanic caves.

Epiphany is a big deal in Lanzarote. The day marks the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem, and you’ll spot lookalikes riding camels through the main towns. They’re not bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh, though – these days they chuck out sweets and prezzies to crowds of chuffed kids. One for those with little ‘uns…

If you’re looking for outstanding natural beauty, you’ll find it in this collection of beaches, a 15-minute drive from Playa Blanca. They’re completely unspoilt, with nothing but imposing cliffs and white sand to distract you. If you’re planning on spending the day here, pack a picnic – when we say unspoilt, we mean it.

Lanzarote goes all out to celebrate Carnival, but Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen throw the biggest parties. Every year, the festivities in these resorts take on a different theme – they’ve tried everything from Vikings to cowboys and Indians, so far. The highlights of the annual celebrations are the daily parades, firework displays, and open-air dance performances.

It’s easy to nip across to Fuerteventura from Lanzarote. The islands are neighbours, and it only takes 30 minutes on the ferry to reach Fuerteventura’s biggest beach resort, Corralejo. There are bars and restaurants all the way along its waterfront. The star attraction, though, lies just south of here. Parque Natural de las Dunas is a gigantic beach measuring 10 miles long by three wide.

Past and present collide at the Castillo de San Jose, in Arrecife. This castle was built by King Carlos III at the end of the 18th century. Nowadays, it’s home to a collection of cutting-edge contemporary art. The works on display come from a group of international artists, including the surrealist painter, Joan Miro, and Cesar Manrique himself.

Playa Cucharas is the biggest of Costa Teguise’s 5 beaches, and the big draw is windsurfing – it’s one of the best spots in Lanzarote for it, and you’ll find a bunch of schools that’ll help you pick up the basics. Vibe-wise, it’s fairly sedate, but you’ve got a few restaurants and bars on the beachfront.

Hundreds of years ago this place was such a nifty hideout from pirates, one of its tunnels earned the nickname ‘The Refuge’. These days, it’s not terrified locals that head into the network of caves and tunnels, it’s curious tourists instead. The real highlight, though, is an underground lake. Stand on its edge, look down, and the reflection of the roof will leave you feeling like you’re gazing into an abyss.

Matagorda’s stretch of golden sand is home to quite a few rockpools. When the tide is out, you’ll often see kids huddled over them, trying out their fishing skills. There’s also a really long promenade that goes all the way to Puerto del Carmen town – you can hire a 4-seater bike and take a ride along the seafront.

Stretching out for more than a mile, Playa Grande is the main beach in Puerto del Carmen. And it’s got a lot going on. You can hire a pedalo, play a game of volleyball, or even sign up for a diving trip. What’s more, the beach is backed by the town’s main strip, Avenida de la Playas, which means you’ve got shops, restaurants and bars on tap.

Back in the 18th century, pirates were a real headache for Lanzarote’s locals. To protect their treasures from swashbuckling thieves, King Carlos II ordered the Castillo de San Jose to be built. Centuries later the fort had started to crumble, so Manrique stepped in for a Grand re-Design. Now, it’s an art gallery with an impressive collection of abstract works by artists like Picasso.

This system of underground tunnels and caves looks like something from a James Bond movie. Hollowed out by volcanic activity hundreds of years ago, these empty subterranean passageways were converted by architect, Cesar Manrique, during the Sixties. Today, they’re home to a series of chic bars and restaurants.

Playa Blanca is home to a hat trick of beaches. The main beach – also called Playa Blanca – flies a Blue Flag for its spotless sands and clear waters. Playa Dorada is a favourite with locals. And Playa Flamingo is a gentle curve of sand which serves up views of Fuerteventura.

The celebrations for this event take place all over the island to honour the blood and body of Christ. In Arrecife, festival goers congregate around the Church of San Gines and create patterns on the ground using brightly-coloured salt. The next day a processions walks over the art works.

Cast your eye over any Lanzarote coastal town during this 10-day fiesta and you’ll notice the religious statues have vanished. Look out to sea, though, and you’ll clock them being paraded on boats in honour of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the Patron Saint of Fishermen. In Teguise Town, Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen, locals go the extra mile – as well as giving the saint a boat trip, they carry her through the streets, too.

The 30^th May marks the date when the Canaries first gained autonomy from Spain, and celebrations take place all over the island. People dress up in traditional clothing and restaurants cook up local cuisine. The pocket-sized village of Puerto Calero, a few miles south of Puerto del Carmen, pulls out all the stops for the festival. Paper lanterns and flags are strung up two weeks before the festival. On the day, the village puts up bouncy castles and offers donkey rides and face-painting for the little ones.

As far as lookout points go, the Mirador del Rio, on Lanzarote’s north coast, is in a league of its own. Designed by Cesar Manrique, this stylish bar and restaurant has been quarried out of the mountainside, almost 500 metres above the sea. Clinch a seat by one of the aquarium-style windows and you can look out over the island of La Graciosa in the distance.

Get a taste for island hopping with a trip over to Fuerteventura. The ferry from Playa Blanca will speed you over there in just half an hour. Your port of call will be the harbour town of Corralejo, which has a full quota of surf shops and craft stalls to its name. Corralejo is also close to El Jabe dunes, which offer mile-after-mile of bleached white sand.

If you’re wondering how Lanzarote managed to escape the clutches of high-rise hotel chains, it’s all down to Cesar Manrique. This ground-breaking architect dedicated his life to the sympathetic development of the island. Based at the artist’s cutting-edge home, on the outskirts of Costa Teguise, the Cesar Manrique Foundation has a collection of international art, including works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro.

Known as ‘the village of a thousand palms’, Haria, about half an hours’ drive from Costa Teguise, is one of Lanzarote’s prettiest places. As the name suggests, the valley here is sprinkled with palm trees, and the rest of the land is covered with whitewashed houses. Head here on a Saturday and you’ll find a craft market full of handmade goods like pottery and painted canvases.

Cesar Manrique used his architecture a lot like a calling card. His boundary-breaking buildings can be found all over Lanzarote. Set in Guatiza, 20 minutes from Puerto del Carmen, the Jardin de Cactus was a disused quarry until Manrique transformed it into a unique piece of garden design. You’ll find 10,000 cacti from all over the world on display here.

Dig out your cowboy hat for a day out at Lanzarote’s biggest theme park, Rancho Texas Park. The whole place is themed around the Wild West, and activities like pony rides, canoeing and panning for gold are some of the big draws. Plus, you can see tigers, snakes and giant tortoises in the Animal Magic zoo. The fun continues at night with a barbecue, line dancing and cowboy show.

Explore Lanzarote from the inside out. The Green Caves are a series of underground tunnels that run through the island’s northern tip like arteries. The passageways here were formed more than 3,000 years ago when the Monte de la Carona volcano exploded and the heat of its lava flows hollowed out the ground on its route to the sea.

Playa Cucharas is the most popular beach in Costa Teguise. If you want a break from sunbathing, this stretch of sand is one of the best places in Lanzarote to learn how to windsurf, thanks to the winds that blow in off the sea.