What you can see on the Las Canteras webcam
The camera looks north along the beach from high on a building on the promenade. The sand curves away towards La Puntilla, with the city on the right and the hills of La Isleta behind, and out in the water runs the line of La Barra, the natural reef. The picture comes as a time-lapse of the last 24 hours, which shows the beach filling up and emptying through the day.
Las Canteras beach webcam, Las Palmas
From high on a building along the promenade, this camera looks north up Las Canteras towards the volcanic hills of La Isleta. The beach curves away below, with the palms of the promenade and the city's apartment blocks on the right and the Atlantic on the left; out in the water, a line of breaking waves marks La Barra, the reef that shelters the bay.
It shows at a glance how crowded the sand is and whether the water inside the reef is calm enough for swimming. In the early morning the picture is dim and grey, and spots on the lens show after rain; it is at its best from mid-morning. It is shown as a time-lapse of the last 24 hours.
The quarries that named the beach
La Barra is a long bank of sandstone running parallel to the shore. It breaks the swell that rolls in from the north and leaves calmer water inside, where people swim and snorkel among fish only a short way from the promenade. The rock was once quarried, and stone from it went into buildings across the city, among them the cathedral; the beach took its name, "the quarries", from that work.
When to watch Las Canteras
The beach faces north-west, so the sun sets over the sea, and on clear evenings Mount Teide on Tenerife can be seen on the horizon. Mornings tend to be greyer in the north of the island than in the south, especially in summer, when a layer of low cloud often sits over the city until it burns off. Gran Canaria is on UK time, so there is no difference to work out.
Around Las Canteras
The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium stands at the southern end of the promenade; at the northern end is La Puntilla, and beyond the hills the wilder beach of El Confital. A short walk inland is Santa Catalina park, where the science museum occupies the Elder building, named after the British shipping line Elder Dempster. The old quarter of Vegueta, with the cathedral and the Columbus House museum, is a bus ride to the south.
Visiting Las Canteras
Las Palmas is about 12 miles (20 km) north of the airport. The promenade is level along the whole beach. When the tide is low the reef comes close to the surface, so swim inside it and keep an eye on the flags.
