6 great museums you shouldn’t miss
Warm, diverse, friendly, inspiring, energetic, beautiful… Defining Tenerife is impossible, and boredom is on this island too. Among the many activities and visits that can be planned, it is worth devoting some time to museums. It will surely surprise you.
Exploring museums is one of the best ways to learn about the history of the place you are visiting and enrich yourself with its culture. Whether you are with family, friends or with your partner, it is an enjoyable experience that inspires, excites you, keeps you energized and of course enhances the journey. Museums of history, nature, art … The range of options is so diverse that it is difficult to choose.
Tenerife has many museums across its geography. In this list, we’ve picked the six most important for you to make the most of your trip to the largest of the Canary Islands.
1. Museum of Nature and Archeology of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (MUNA)
MUNA is one of the most important museums on the island. A true gem located in the historic heart of the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Housed within an emblematic neoclassical building from the 18th century, the city’s former civic hospital, offers two very interesting circuits for viewing. One dedicated to the natural sciences and the other to archeology, linked to a common area and arranged around two central courtyards.
MUNA Natural Sciences includes educational exhibits related to the flora, fauna and geology of the island, based on knowledge gained during decades of research in the archipelago, presented in a very entertaining way, which amaze all visitors.
MUNA has invaluable collections of Guanche culture, and is especially famous for the important collection of indigenous mummies that it displays in one of its rooms. Your visit can be perfectly combined with a pleasant walk through Santa Cruz to discover its most emblematic corners.
2. Susal Wine House
An excellent way to learn about the wine culture of the island is achieved by visiting Casa del Vino in the municipality of El Sauzal. Knowing and tasting both the rich Canary gastronomy and its wines are more than enough reasons to organize a trip to the island. So for those who want to delve into the history of Tenerife wine, this museum located in an old Canarian farm is the perfect place.
Tenerife has five appellations of origin (Abuna, Tacoronte-Asentejo, Valle de Guimar, Valle de la Orotava and Icoden-dut-Isora) and a wine history that goes back to the end of the fifteenth century when the first vineyards were introduced to the island from different parts of the world. .
The quality of the volcanic soil, the climate, the elevation, … favors the growth of many varieties that allow the production of very diverse wines of excellent quality. Each of them is unique and unique, which makes a visit to the wine museum a great way to learn about the island through the palate.
Associated with Casa del Vino is the Tenerife Honey Visitor Centre, a small center where you can delve into the history and flavors of the different types of honey that have been created in Tenerife thanks to the presence of many endemic plant species, meaning who only breeds on the island.
3. Museum of Ibero-American Crafts in La Orotava (MAIT)
The historic center of Villa de la Orotava is one of the most beautiful places in Tenerife. Its colonial streets hide many art treasures and one of them is the Museum of Ibero-American Crafts located inside the former San Benito Abad Monastery, an elegant 17th-century building in the Canarian style.
The Museum of Ibero-American Crafts has dozens of rooms dedicated to permanent and temporary exhibitions of Ibero-American pieces. One of the most important collections is called “Folk Art of America and the Philippines”. It also contains musical instruments from America, folk pottery and a room dedicated to the Tenerife Rose, one of the island’s oldest handicrafts which later spread to other countries in the world.
Its ideal location in the historic heart of La Orotava makes it an essential visit when exploring Villa de la Orotava.
4. Museum of Science and the Universe in Laguna
Things of great value are not revealed, but ideas and experiences are revealed. This space of inspiration and emotion makes the Museum of Science and the Universe an excellent activity that little ones will enjoy at home, as well as young ones. The visitor is the one who conducts the experiments directly. The museum contains shows, workshops, and activities aimed at an audience of any age.
One of the great attractions is the magnificent planetarium equipped with a large dome with a diameter of more than 6 meters where the night sky is displayed in a completely encapsulated way, allowing you to observe more than 2,000 stars while traveling to the ends of the universe. One of the best tools for scientific dissemination of astronomy is carried out by a museum closely linked to the prestigious Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC).
5. Museum of Contemporary Art Eduardo Westerdahl (MACEW) in Puerto de la Cruz
Its temporary residence is located in the Casa de la Real Aduana in Puerto de la Cruz, a valuable building located next to the pier in the heart of the historic centre. On a permanent basis, it allows you to enjoy collections of 20th century art with works by great artists of international stature.
Founded by Eduardo Westerdahl in 1953, it was the first museum of contemporary art in Spain, bringing together his own collection of surrealist, abstract, and modern art, later funded by the Instituto de España de España in the Canary Islands. derivation.
A visit to MACEW is a unique opportunity to learn about the art of the twentieth century in the Canary Islands, through works such as those of Oscar Dominguez, César Manrique, Manolo Millares, Juan Ismail, Lola Maceo or Pedro Gonzalez. It also has works by non-Canarian painters such as Wolfgang Paalen, Ángel Ferrant, Luc Peire, or Eduardo Úrculo, among others.
6. Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife in La Laguna (MHAT)
Casa Lercaro is a palace dating back more than four centuries, located in the historic city of La Laguna, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, and within its walls houses the Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife.
The house of Lercaro itself is of high heritage value, an imposing manor house from the end of the 16th century, with a splendid inner courtyard with fine latticework in canary pine. through groups,
Exhibits and activities provide an overview of the social, economic and cultural development of Tenerife between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries.
To complete the anthropology presentation, we find the Casa de Carta in the municipality of Valle Guerra and the Castillo de San Cristobal Interpretation Center in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
If you want more, don’t worry. On the island, we find other museums or translation centers of great importance such as the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Archaeological Center of Puerto de la Cruz, the Carnival House of Santa Cruz de Tenerife or the uses and customs of the Balcony House in La Orotava.
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