La Laguna - UNESCO Heritage
San Cristóbal de La Laguna was founded between 1496 and 1497 by the Adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugo and became the first capital of Tenerife. Its unwalled urban layout, conceived in the early 16th century, served as a model for many Spanish-American colonial cities. For this reason its historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
It is also a university city, home to the University of La Laguna, the first university in the Canary Islands.
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Essential information
Accessibility
Public transport access is available from Santa Cruz de Tenerife via the tram (Line 1 of Metrotenerife, which connects both cities), and the city has the La Laguna Bus Interchange (next to the Padre Anchieta tram stop) as the main bus station. The historic center is largely pedestrianized, so it is advisable to leave the car in paid public parking areas nearby (around the Interchange area, Parkia La Trinidad on Avenida de la Trinidad, or the Plaza del Cristo parking) and explore it on foot.
