Museo Canario

Canarian Museum

Useful Information

**Guanche** living in the cueva pintada. This is not the real cave but the model in the **Museo Canario** in Las Palmas.

The artist at work: a **Guanche** drawing the exceptional geometric patterns. This is not the real cave but the model in the **Museo Canario** in Las Palmas.

Location:	Calle Doctor Verneau 2, Las Palmas. (28.099640, -15.415220)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 10-20, Sat, Sun, Hol 10-14. Closed on 01-JAN, 25-DEC. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, Children (0-12) free, Students EUR 3, Seniors EUR 3, Unemployed EUR 3, Disabled free. [2023]
Classification:	Cave Replica
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Museo Canario, Calle Doctor Verneau, 2, Vegueta, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tel: +34-928-336800, Fax: +34-928-336801. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1879	founded by a small group of members of the local bourgeoisie lead by Dr. Gregorio Chil y Naranjo.
24-MAY-1880	museum in the third floor of the City Hall inaugurated.
1901	Gregorio Chil y Naranjo died and bequeathed his house to the city of Las Palmas.
1930	museum completed and opened in this house.
1962	declared a Historic Artistic Monument.
1984	exhibition restored and updated to its current state.
1987	incorporated into the Spanish Museum System.

Description

The Museo Canario shows the most comprehensive exhibition about the Canarian Islands and the Guanches. Archaeological treasures like mummies, skulls, pottery, and tools from the pre-Hispanic period between 500 B.C. and the 15th century are shown. Several famous archaeological sites are explained with artifacts, text, images, and mock-ups. The museum was founded by a small group of members of the local bourgeoisie, lead by Dr. Gregorio Chil y Naranjo. Opened to the public in 1880, it was relocated to its current place in 1930. It is the house of Dr. Gregorio Chil y Naranjo who bequeathed it to the city of Las Palmas. However, first his widow had the right to live in the house, and after her death there were many difficulties like a World War and financial problems. But finally the museum was relocated.

While the museum has no speleological or geological exhibition, it has a lot of archaeological connections to the numerous cave houses and cave temples of the Guanche. The reason why we originally listed the museum was the really impressive model of Cueva Pintada. The model has true size and shows the paintings and how people lived in these caves. We reviewed both sites in the late 1990s, and at that time the original painted cave had been closed for many years. There were plans, but no scheduled reopening, and this model was the only possibility to see it. This changed in 2006 when the site was reopened, the replica at the museum is nevertheless worth a visit. You can have a much better look, fewer people around you and no thick security glass.