We are sure that Have you ever heard "I'm going on vacation to Gran Canary Islands?", "my cousin lives in Las Palmas", "I have a friend who is from Palma de Gran Canaria", etc. And you, if you are from Gran Canaria, surely every time you hear Gran Canarias or any of the previous phrases it gives you a kind of psychotic break. On the other hand, if you read us from the outside, we are sure that this article will help you properly mention each of the Canary Islands, their provinces and capitals. In this article we are going to review some terms that we usually hear for those who are referring to Gran Canaria and that they are incorrect. Here we go!
The island is called Gran Canaria, not Gran Canarias
Gran Canaria is located within the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, which has two provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas.. Within the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife are the islands of El Hierro, La Palma (singular), La Gomera y Tenerife. On the other hand, there is the province of Las Palmas, within which are the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa (in addition to the island of Lobos and other islets).
Therefore, when we refer to the tourist destination of Gran Canaria The correct thing is that we name it by the name of the island and not by the name of the province. Furthermore, Gran Canarias does not exist, the Canary Islands exist as an autonomous community and Gran Canaria as an island. The fusion of these that we sometimes hear is an invention. Just like Palma de Gran Canaria does not exist. Palma is in the Balearic Islands and is the capital of the island of Palma de Mallorca. And, at the same time, we have the Canary island of La Palma, but it is in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. We understand that all this can be a tongue twister for many, but we are here to try to clarify doubts 🙂
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of Gran Canaria
On the other hand, The capital of Gran Canaria and the largest city in the Canary Islands is called Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It would not be correct to say "I'm going to Las Palmas." Although it is true that once inside the island we locals abbreviate and say "I live in Las Palmas", referring to the city. What is not okay is for someone from outside Gran Canaria to say "I'm going to Las Palmas on vacation." That is, you are really going to travel to Gran Canaria and not to the rest of the islands in said province.
And there is nothing that bothers us more than hearing the island referred to as Gran Canaria. Well, it may bother us more that they say that We Canarians say “yayo” instead of chacho, but this would be for another article hehe. We hope that this mini speech on how to call Gran Canaria has been helpful to you. The ideal is that together we can call each "thing" by its name.
Gran Canaria Guides
By the way, if you are going to visit the island soon, we invite you to take a look at our guide with the places to see in Gran Canaria. If you don't want to waste your time organizing the trip, we already have itineraries configured for you that you can see below.
We are Ruth & Jorge, Gran Canarian people with a traveling soul. Experts in tourism and digital marketing. We share the most authentic side of Gran Canaria (where we live) and… our adventures around the world!
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