Other centres to visit
COLÓN HOUSE
Calle del Medio, s/n
38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera
Monday to Friday
from 8:00 to 15:00
The location of this building must have coincided in its time with the limits of the village and it was here, according to oral tradition, that Christopher Columbus spent the night before leaving for the New World.
The current building occupies a small plot of land and is based on a 17th century house. Its spatial layout has an L-shaped floor plan and two storeys. In 1979 it was refurbished to become the building we find today.
The Casa Colón is an exhibition space that today houses an exhibit of Chimú and Mochica ceramics. The upper floor is used for temporary exhibitions.
THE CUSTOMS HOUSE
Plaza de la Constitución
Calle del medio, s/n
38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera
Temporarily closed
Residence of the Counts of La Gomera during the 16th century until its destruction in 1618 as a result of an attack by Barbary pirates. The site was to be the site of the Customs House, the name given to the building since that time, which also served as a prison.
Nowadays the building, reduced to a third of its original size, has an architectural style typical of the 17th century, with a single L-shaped floor and a cloistered courtyard; in it stands a well from which, according to the popular saying, Christopher Columbus’ sailors were supplied with water.
TORRE DEL CONDE - "THE COUNT'S FORTRESS"
Calle del Medio, s/n
38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera
Temporarily closed
Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (1993), this fortification is one of the most important pieces of military architecture in the Canary Islands.
Hernán Peraza “the Elder” built it around 1450 to defend the colonists from potential aboriginal attacks, hence its location. Later Beatriz de Bobadilla took refuge in it during the “Rebellion of the Gomeros” (1488).
After this period, the tower did not meet the defensive needs of San Sebastián, and suffered several attacks, the last of them in 1743. Subsequently, various building improvements kept it standing until the construction of the Parque de La Torre at the end of the 20th century, which ensured that the building retained the prestige it still has today.
INTERPRETATION CENTRE "CASA DE LA MIEL DE PALMA" (PALM SYRUP HOUSE)
Caserío Aldama, 80
38852 Alojera
Opening hours
From Wednesday to Saturday
from 10:00 to 17:30 (Admission until 17:00)
E-mail: casadelamieldepalma@aidergomera.com
Facebook: Casa de la Miel de Palma. Centro Interpretación. La Gomera
Instagram: @casa_de_la_miel_de_palma
This centre shows the culture of the palm tree (Phoenix canariensis); an endemic and protected species that has been and still is, indispensable for the economic and social development of the people of La Gomera.
In its installations you can learn all the steps involved in the production of palm syrup. In the traditional world, everything from the palm tree was used in its entirety: leaves, roots, fruit, trunk, sap, etc.
The spirit of La Casa de la Miel de Palma is to share the culture of the community in which it is located, and at the same time to provide a space for the community to grow.
LAS LOCERAS DEL CERCADO INTERPRETATION CENTRE
Plaza de El Cercado
38869 El Cercado
Opening hours
Wednesday to Sunday
from 10:30 to 17:30
The Las Loceras Interpretation Centre tells us what is behind one of the most important and characteristic crafts of La Gomera: traditional pottery, which is still made just as it was centuries ago, by hand and without a potter’s wheel.
Through information panels and the exhibition of an important collection of pieces, its history, production processes and ceramic designs are explained. This centre is part of an integral rural development project for El Cercado.
BENCOMO HOUSE
Calle Real, 34
38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera
Opening hours subject to the opening hours of the Island Tourist Office
Built in the first half of the 19th century, although the interior has features reminiscent of 18th century architecture, it is one of the few representative buildings of this period in San Sebastián de La Gomera. Its original style, typical of urban domestic architecture with a U-shaped floor plan, has hardly been altered.
It currently houses the Island Tourist Office, which has a permanent exhibition space with the exhibition: “La Memoria de Las Piedras” (The Memory of the Stones). Its theme is the geological origin of La Gomera and how its landscape has influenced the island’s development.
JUEGO DE BOLAS VISITOR CENTRE
Calle de la Palmita
38890 Agulo
Opening hours from Monday to Sunday
from 9:30 to 16:30
Information telephone: 922 477 222
“La Casa de La Memoria” is an annex of the Juego de Bolas Visitor Centre (Garajonay National Park), and a permanent exhibition space dedicated to historical elements of traditional life on the island. It includes reproductions of a peasant dwelling and an aboriginal burial site. In addition, an ethnographic audio-visual is projected inside the building.
On the outside of this building a series of elements of rural culture, such as an oven, a wine press or sown plains, complement this exhibition, creating a welcoming space for the visitor.
