Cathedral of La Laguna
Tenerife's cathedral: Neo-Gothic inside, Neoclassical outside. The island's conqueror rests here in a Carrara marble mausoleum.
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La Laguna Cathedral stands on the site of an ancient Guanche necropolis, and then on a chapel built by order of Alonso Fernández de Lugo. Built on the site of the church of Los Remedios (1515), it became a cathedral in 1819 by a papal bull of Pius VII. Its designation is owed to priest Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez, confessor of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Bencomo's tomb rests in the presbytery, by the Epistle side.
The neo-Gothic body (1904-1915) followed a rejected neo-Renaissance design. It was the first large reinforced concrete building in Spain: architecturally pioneering for its era. The right tower was added in 1916. Between 2002 and 2014 the cathedral was closed for restoration: the dome and vaults were demolished and replaced in identical style. Cost: 15 million euros. Three eras, three materials: neo-classical stone façade (1820), neo-Gothic concrete body (1904-1915), and new polypropylene fibre vaults (2009-2014). Pioneering twice, in two centuries.
The greatest treasure is the Retablo of the Virgen de los Remedios: the largest altarpiece in the Canary Islands, a Baroque work from the first half of the 18th century with 7 panels attributed to Hendrick Van Balen, teacher of Anthony van Dyck. The panels were commissioned from Flanders by Pedro Alfonso de Mazuelos in 1597. The Virgen de los Remedios is the patroness of the entire diocese covering Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The pulpit of white Carrara marble was made by Genoese sculptor Pasquale Bocciardo (1762): one of the finest in Spain.
The cathedral holds the relics of Beato Pedro de San José de Betancur, the only Canarian blessed and patron of Guatemala, and José de Anchieta, Jesuit and 'apostle of Brazil'. Alonso Fernández de Lugo, conqueror of the island, also rests here in a Carrara marble mausoleum.
The ticket includes the Treasury Room (Sala del Tesoro): a museum of sacred art from the 16th-19th centuries, and the Icon Museum with 160 original Byzantine icons. This is the largest collection of Orthodox icons in all of Spain, most around 300 years old, from Russia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Italy and Greece. The cathedral is the only place in the world where both great branches of Christianity coexist in the same building: Orthodox icons hang beneath a Catholic Gothic vault.
La Laguna historic center. TF-5 or TF-13. Park at Parking San Juan (C. San Juan 19, central) or PARKIA La Trinidad (Av. Trinidad, 24h, more spacious). Both 5 min walk.
Tram Line 1 (Santa Cruz-La Laguna), stop La Trinidad, 5 min walk. TITSA lines 14 or 15 to Intercambiador La Laguna, 10 min walk.
Get here by busParking San Juan is more central but small and pricey. PARKIA La Trinidad (24h) has wider spaces and EV charging. Both are great starting points for the entire historic center.
Navigate to parkingThe Icon Museum in the Treasury Room is an absolute gem: 160 originals, most from the 17th-18th centuries, brought from Russia and Romania. Most tourists skip it entirely. Look for the Retablo of the Virgen de los Remedios in the transept: 7 panels by Hendrick Van Balen (Van Dyck's teacher), commissioned from Flanders in 1597. It is the largest altarpiece in the Canaries.
The cathedral stands on an ancient Guanche necropolis: beneath your feet lie indigenous remains from before the conquest. Ask the guide about the emparedadas: in the 16th century Isabel de la Cruz lived here voluntarily walled in. It was the only such case in the Canary Islands. An extraordinary story.
The cathedral is technically pioneering twice: as the first large reinforced concrete building in Spain (1904-1915), and then with polypropylene fibre vaults (2009-2014). Architect and art historian Juan Alejandro Lorenzo stresses this point.
Parking San Juan or PARKIA La Trinidad → Cathedral (audio guide + tower, 1h) → Calle Obispo Rey Redondo → Plaza del Adelantado → Casa Lercaro → Church of La Concepción → tapas in the old town.
Neoclassical façade
From the plaza, the full Neoclassical facade in morning light. Best without cars - early on weekdays.
Bell tower
Inside the cathedral, the Neo-Gothic ribbed vaults. From the tower, panoramic view of all La Laguna.