Canary Islands Travel Guide - Going Out

In the main resorts, restaurants offer the full range of international cuisine, Spanish dishes and a limited choice of local delicacies. Often restaurants and bars, particularly at the cheaper end of the scale, simply cater for the tastes of particular holidaymaker's nationalities. British-oriented, and to a lesser degree, German-oriented establishments are common in the main resorts. Spanish wines and spirits are the best value. Local beers are pilsner-type lagers.

Regional specialities:
• Mojos (olive-oil based sauces): picón (spicy red to accompany meat) and verde (parsley and coriander sauce to accompany fish).
• Papas arrugadas (wrinkly new potatoes boiled in sea salt).
• Potaje (vegetables only soupy stew), puchero and rancho canario (meat stews).
• Sancocho (stew of salted fish, sweet potatoes and vegetables).
• Bananas, tomatoes, avocados and papayas are grown locally.

Regional drinks:
• Ronmiel (rum-honey).
• Sweet dessert wine.
• Lanzarote and Tenerife also produce good table wines.

All the major Canarian resorts are well equipped with bars and nightclubs. Revellers head for Playa de las Américas on Tenerife or Playa del Inglés on Gran Canaria; the latter also hosts one of Europe's largest gay scenes. Both are famous, sometimes notorious, for their full-on nightlife. The resorts also stage Canarian folklore and flamenco shows, even though the latter has nothing to do with the islands.

As the only major city in the archipelago Las Palmas offers a full range of cultural activities including theatres and more sophisticated nightclubs. In Lanzarote Puerto del Carmen is the most lively after-dark resort, while Corralejo flies the nocturnal flag for Lanzarote - both however are small scale compared to Tenerife and Gran Canaria. On the other islands peace and quiet predominate.

The islands are known for their duty-free shopping, which means bargains on electrical goods, cameras, jewellery, perfume, tobacco and spirits. Island handicrafts include open-work and embroidery, pottery, rugs, woodcarvings and basket-work based on palm leaves, cane and reed. Highly regarded Cuban-style cigars are a speciality of La Palma. Lanzarote and Tenerife produce good-quality wines. Specially boxed strelitzias, the most exotic of the islands' flowers, and Canarian mojo sauces are ubiquitous souvenirs.

Shopping hours: Traditional hours are Mon-Sat 0900-1300 and 1600-2000. Large shopping centres are open all day and Sunday too.