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Maspalomas () is a tourist resort in the south of the island of
Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...
,
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
, stretching from Bahía Feliz in the east to
Meloneras Meloneras is a tourist town on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic ...
in the west, including the
resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
s of San Agustín and
Playa del Inglés Playa del Inglés (; English: ''Englishman's Beach'') is a beach resort in Maspalomas on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and is a popular tourist ...
and San Fernando. Maspalomas constitutes the southernmost part of the municipality of
San Bartolomé de Tirajana San Bartolomé de Tirajana is a village and a Spanish municipality in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. With an area of , San Bartolomé de Tirajana is the largest municipa ...
, and of the island.


Overview

Before the era of tourism, ''Maspalomas'' was the name of a hamlet in what today is
San Fernando de Maspalomas San Fernando is the northern quarter of Maspalomas in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, and as well the name of the parish for all of Maspalomas. The patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or h ...
. Its name may derive from that of Rodrigo Mas de Palomar, a settler and soldier from
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
, or from Francisco Palomar, a Genoese friend of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo who purchased 87
Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language, an extinct Berber language, spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century *''Conus guanche ''Conus guanche'' is a species of sea snail, a ma ...
slaves from
Güímar Güímar () is the name of a municipality, town and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province). The municipality extends for 102.9 square kilometers from ...
and settled in the area. Present-day Maspalomas is the result of an ambitious development project, organized in the form of an International Ideas Contest (opened to any member of the
International Union of Architects The International Union of Architects ( French: ''Union internationale des Architectes''; UIA) is the only international non-governmental organization that represents the world's architects, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all. Abou ...
), held in 1961 under the auspice of Alejandro del Castillo, owner and promoter of most of the space under construction. The contest was won by the French office SETAP (including the urbanist Guy Lagneau and the economist Michel Weill) and covered the and of coast that constitute the core area of ''Maspalomas - Costa Canaria''. The contest paved the way for a particular way of understanding "touristic" urbanism that served as a model for later tourist development in other Canary Islands.


Tourism

Unlike the resort-like development model later extended to other locations in the Canary Islands and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
, Maspalomas has a personality of its own, as it evolved into a fully equipped town much closer to the "tourist" concept of destinations like
Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
, California or Palm Beach, Florida. It has a variety of infrastructure and public institutions rarely seen in other tourist areas, including private clinics and two hospitals, local and foreign schooling institutions (Spanish, English and Swedish schools), shopping and convention centres, two casinos, English-language cinema, golf courses, sports centres, theme parks and a Summer University (in collaboration with the
university of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also known as the ULPGC (''Spanish'' Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish university located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria island. It is the univ ...
, mainly focused on tourism-related activities). It has a wide range of accommodation on offer, although the urbanism concept speaks of an horizontal expansion (bungalows) rather than high rises. Much appreciated as a winter destination for foreign tourists, mostly from north-European countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, etc.), it remains the largest tourist destination in the Canary Islands and a worldwide-known destination for
LGBT tourism LGBT tourism (or gay tourism) is a form of tourism marketed to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. People might be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity at times, but less so in areas known for violence agai ...
. The development of luxury hotels along the coast between Maspalomas and neighbouring Meloneras has resulted in some notable architectural developments. The Lopesan Villa del Conde and the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Hotels have both been designed in a Canarian Spanish Colonial Revival style, partly derived from de la Torre's Hotel Santa Catalina (1890) in Las Palmas. For the Costa Meloneras Hotel, opened in 2005, the architect created a replica of the nearby town of
Agüimes Agüimes is a Spanish town and municipality in the eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. Presentation Agüimes is situated 5 km from the coast, and 26 km south of the island capi ...
(the home town of , founder of the Lopesan Hotel Group), including a distinctive replica of the large, domed , which serves as the hotel reception. Maspalomas serves as the base for Gran Canaria's only English language newspaper, which serves a print readership in excess of 20,000 every month and reaches up to another 30,000 readers on-line. In September 2012, the
World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading inter ...
organized its World Tourism Day in Maspalomas, as a form of commemoration of its 50 years of existence. Maspalomas is a
gay-friendly Gay-friendly or LGBT-friendly places, policies, people, or institutions are those that are open and welcoming to gay or LGBT people. They typically aim to create an environment that is supportive, respectful, and non-judgmental towards the LGBT ...
destination with many establishments catering for the
LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...
and a popular gay beach by the sand dunes. Particularly centred around
Playa del Inglés Playa del Inglés (; English: ''Englishman's Beach'') is a beach resort in Maspalomas on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and is a popular tourist ...
.


Landmarks and geography

The seafront at Punta de Maspalomas, the southernmost point of the resort, is dominated by a
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...
, '' El Faro de Maspalomas''. Completed in 1890, it was built to guide ships travelling between Europe and the Americas. The lighthouse overlooks the popular -long Maspalomas beach. To the east of the lighthouse, the
Maspalomas Dunes The Maspalomas Dunes ( es, Dunas de Maspalomas) are sand dunes located on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria, Province of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands. A area of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, they have been ...
stretch inland all the way to
Playa del Inglés Playa del Inglés (; English: ''Englishman's Beach'') is a beach resort in Maspalomas on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and is a popular tourist ...
. During the 1960s and 70s, the construction of hotels and the tourist resort began to encroach on the dunes, damaging the natural habitat, and in 1994 a area of dunes was declared a nature reserve to protect native wildlife. El Charco is a natural
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...
at the edge of the dunes which attracts many species of birds, eels and
guppies The guppy (), also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, like almost all ...
. In the north of Maspalomas San Fernando and El Tablero were built for people working in the tourist industry. In between
Sonnenland Sonnenland (German for "the land of sun") is a district of Maspalomas in the south of Gran Canaria, set on a hillside above Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés. Originally designed for expatriates, it is gradually becoming home to a growing number ...
was constructed, on a crest, to accommodate
expats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
. An array of large
satellite dishes A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite. The term most commonly means a dish which receives direct-broadcast satellite televisio ...
visible on a hill from Meloneras is
Maspalomas Station Maspalomas Station is an INTA-operated, ESTRACK radio antenna ground station for communication with spacecraft located at the southern area of Gran Canaria island, on the INTA campus. It is situated on the Montaña Blanca hill and is visible from ...
, an ESA
ground station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves f ...
that supported several
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
space missions, including the
Mercury Program Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
, the
Gemini Program Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
, the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
Moon landings, and
Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations ...
.


Transport

Maspalomas is served by the ''Faro de Maspalomas''
bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...
run by the , which is located near the lighthouse at the end of Avenida Cristobal Colon. Bus services operated by provide connections to other tourist resorts and towns in the south of the island, including Playa del Inglés and Mogán, as well as to towns along the east coast and to the island capital,
Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...
. Plans have existed for several years to construct a rail link, called
Tren de Gran Canaria Tren de Gran Canaria (TGC, the Train of Gran Canaria) is a proposed railway on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is planned to run from the island's capital, Las Palmas along the eastern coast of the island, serving Gran Canaria ...
, connecting Maspalomas to
Gran Canaria Airport Gran Canaria Airport , sometimes also known as Gando Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria), is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air-transport network (owned and manag ...
and
Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...
. A terminus station is planned at Meloneras underneath Av. Cristóbal Colón, near the lighthouse. The scheme, estimated to cost €1,500 million, has not been confirmed due to funding problems.


Photo gallery

File:VogelschutzgebietLaCharca.jpg,
Bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...
''La Charca'' File:Dunas de Maspalomas.jpg,
Maspalomas Dunes The Maspalomas Dunes ( es, Dunas de Maspalomas) are sand dunes located on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria, Province of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands. A area of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, they have been ...
File:Playa del ingles gran canaria.jpg, The beach of
Playa del Inglés Playa del Inglés (; English: ''Englishman's Beach'') is a beach resort in Maspalomas on the south coast of the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is part of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and is a popular tourist ...
File:Hotels in San Agustin.jpg, Hotels in San Agustín File:GC Faro de Maspalomas R01.jpg,
Maspalomas Lighthouse The Maspalomas Lighthouse ( es, Faro de Maspalomas) is an active 19th century lighthouse at the southern end of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary archipelago. It lies at one end of the Maspalomas beach, south of the resort tow ...
File:Lopesan Baobab, Maspalomas, May 2018.jpg, Lopesan Baobab Resort File:Maspalomas EM1B9180 (25894243208).jpg, Sand dunes at Maspalomas File:Maspalomas EM1B9192 (27987770619).jpg, Sand dunes at Maspalomas


References


External links


El nombre de Maspalomas
(etymological study)
Town HallPanoramic Virtual Tours of Maspalomas
{{Authority control Populated places in Gran Canaria Tourism in Spain