Tenerife Culture

Culture in Tenerife is a combination of tradition and modernity. Traditional celebrations and fiestas, preserved arts and crafts like basket-making, embroidery, ceramics, traditional sports, such as lucha canaria, juego del palo and salto del pastor are examples traditions that have been preserved.

The Canary Islands have a multinational environment resulting in a blend of art, architecture, culture and food. The lifestyle is very outdoor and warm weather orientated with lots of beach activities and outdoor games like roller blading, skate boarding, surfing, wind surfing, Tennis, Golf, soccer etc.

People of Tenerife love to party and their carnival celebrations are big. These celebrations don't have any religious meaning and are mainly just social events. These occasions allow locals and visitors to enjoy the parades, stalls and folk dancing. Fiestas are usually associated with the celebration of saints' days and religious dates. Fiestas happen somewhere on the islands every day.

The fiesta of Corpus Christi is a lot of fun where islanders spend endless hours building dream carpets made of sand and flowers. Some of the most amazing decorations can be seen in the floral carpets at La Orotava and La Laguna.

The annual Mardi Gras Carnival at Santa Cruz is the second largest in the world. This spectacular event is held in February every year and involves all the people of Tenerife.

Throughout the year you can find a complete calendar of cultural events, such as photography, music, dance and theatre.

Worthy of note, are concerts by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, one of the permanent and most renowned orchestras in Europe.

For general information on the history of tenerife please refer to our Tenerife History page.