Around Gran Canaria
From the capital in the north-east and the resorts of the south coast to the harbour villages, the green north and the mountains in the middle.
Gran Canaria has one airport, on the east coast between the capital and the south, under half an hour from both Las Palmas and Playa del Inglés. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the north-east, is a real working city with its own city beach, Las Canteras, and the old quarter of Vegueta. The south holds most of the beds, most of the sunshine and the dunes: Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés and Meloneras along one continuous built-up coast, then Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán further west. The mountainous centre, with Tejeda, Roque Nublo and Pico de las Nieves, and the greener north, with Teror, Arucas and Agaete, are day trips from either.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The island's capital and the most populous city in the Canaries: a working port with a city beach and no resort strip.
Vegueta
The historic quarter of Las Palmas, where the city began: the cathedral, cobbled streets and old houses, a short walk from Triana.
Maspalomas
The island's southern tip, where a protected field of sand dunes runs to the sea between Playa del Inglés and the lighthouse.
Playa del Inglés
The best-known and most densely populated part of the Maspalomas coast, with a long beach that runs into the protected dunes.
Meloneras
The western end of the Maspalomas coast, the strip between the old lighthouse and Playa de Meloneras, joined by a seafront promenade.
Puerto Rico
A resort in a valley on the Mogán coast, with apartment blocks stepped up both slopes above its marina and beach.
Puerto de Mogán
A harbour resort at the western end of the south coast, built around canals and footbridges, with a street market every Friday.
Agaete
A town in the island's north-west, with the fishing harbour of Puerto de las Nieves and natural rock pools beside the cliffs.
Teror
A town in the northern hills with the basilica of the Virgen del Pino, the island's patron, and a balconied main street.
Tejeda
A mountain village at 1,050 metres in the centre of the island, below the caldera's rock pinnacles and Roque Nublo.
Roque Nublo
The rock pinnacle at the island's centre, a protected natural monument reached on foot by a trail that must be booked.