I invite you to take a walk and become intensely acquainted with the old district of San Juan.

Minor Basilica of San Juan Bautista

Grace and distinction distinguish the old part of Telde’s San Juan neighbourhood. Small in size, keep in mind that this is only one part of Telde’s historic quarter, which was listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1981 as part of the Historic-Artistic Ensemble of the San Juan and San Francisco districts. The tour around San Juan is soon completed if you limit yourself to walking the streets, but it is worth your while to view the interior of the minor basilica of San Juan, the most important of the city’s historic-artistic monuments. To this end, it is best to do the route in the morning.

The boulevard and square were separate in the past but today shape a single scenic space surrounded by stately buildings dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of them is home to the City Hall and is currently the Information and Tourist Centre, and another one is the La Unión Casino. The others belonged to families that were well to do in their day and currently house the municipal facilities.

The church or minor basilica of San Juan Bautista, listed as an Asset of National Cultural and Monumental Historic-Artistic Interest on 21 June 1991, is one of the oldest in the Canaries. It thus constitutes one of the best examples of the influence of Andalusian and Portuguese Mudejar art on the Islands. Its origins can be traced to the late 15th century, to a small stone and mud chapel erected next to the small fort of San Juan.

Work on the new church started around 1519 and continued into the 17th and 18th centuries. The construction consists of three naves with a rectangular chancel flanked by chapels at the head of the lateral naves. Particularly noteworthy is the exterior of its main entrance door. The two towers date from the 20th century. The interior boasts a wide cross-section of artworks, notable among them the reredos of the high altar and the triptych, both of them Flemish and gothic in execution, as well as the Christ of the high altar, a sculpture made from millet (maize) paste by the Tarascan Indians of Michoacán, in Mexico, which arrived in Telde in 1550.

Plaza de San Juan

Among the group of buildings situated to the right of the square as you leave the church is that of the Town Hall. It is distinguished by the flags on its balcony. It boasts an exhibition hall on the ground floor, which often shows the work of local artists, and the city’s information and tourist centre, with the inner courtyard typical of traditional Canarian houses. Next to the Town Hall is the Casino building, where you can have a snack before continuing on your route. From the Casino we can cross over to the Rincón de Plácido Fleitas, an old garden transformed into a monument to one of the local artists. And from the Rincón we urge you to head towards calle Duende to enter the garden of Santa Rosalía, where its traditional use coexists with a children’s playground.

Streets of San Juan

Upon leaving the garden of Santa Rosalía we go straight into the pedestrian street of Licenciado Calderín. Here coexist several centuries of architecture, with modern buildings from the second half of the 20th century sharing the space with houses that go back as far as the 17th century. At the end of the street you will find the public library in the house of Quintana-Zumbado, dating from the late 17th century.

To the left of calle Licenciado Calderín is the Placetilla square leading to calle Conde de la Vega Grande, so called because here is the well-known Casa Condal, the old house of the Ruiz de Vergara family. The construction dates from the 16th century and belonged to the family of the Counts of Vega Grande de Guadalupe. Today it is the city’s Ethnographic Museum and the site of the Municipal Crafts and Folklore School. Restrained on the outside, its main entrance door speaks of the building’s importance. It features a Manueline-type arch, with the family’s coat of arms above it.

Continue your walk to the end of the street and head towards the right until you reach the main street of Juan Carlos I. You will see the church of San Pedro Mártir de Verona.

Church of San Pedro Mártir de Verona

The church of San Pedro Mártir de Verona was listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1981. Its location has a rich history going back to the late 15th century. Inés Chemida, an aboriginal woman who cared for the poor sick, founded on this spot the hospital of San Pedro Mártir in 1490. Later the church was built here, completed in 1551. Closed to worship in the mid-19th century, it remained in a ruinous state for almost a century, with its restoration completed in 2001. Today it is one of the City Hall’s exhibition rooms.

The building consists of a single nave and two lateral chapels opened up by pointed arches. The gothic one on the right was built in the 16th century; the one on the left is of later date, the mid-17th century, and is covered by an octagonal coffered ceiling similar to the original one.

Outside, from the square that surrounds the construction, you can see part of the San Francisco and Cendro districts as well as the old gateway into the city from the bridge of the seven arches, built over the Royal Ravine of Telde in 1868 by the engineer Juan de León y Castillo.

I recommend that you return to calle Juan Carlos I. When you come level with plaza San Juan, you will find on your right calle Inés Chemida. From here you have a view of part of the San Francisco neighbourhood, the one known as El Bailadero.

León y Castillo House Museum

At numbers 43 and 45 of Calle León y Castillo we come upon the León y Castillo House Museum. Here were born the politician Fernando and his brother Juan, who was behind many of the Island’s infrastructures, among them the harbour. The Museum today encompasses two houses, the original one belonging to the León y Castillo family, and another one once inhabited by the poet Montiano Placeres. Their rooms give us an overview of Spain’s political history in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Furthermore, the houses are two magnificent examples of traditional Canarian architecture, with their inner courtyards and wooden verandas in the upper storeys giving onto those courtyards.

If you come to Telde, don’t hesitate to visit the Tourist Information Office in the town hall buildings on Plaza San Juan, the best place for finding all the information on the municipality. Tel. 828 013 312