Tenereife Uncovered: Porto De La Cruz Street Art

1 day ago

One in a while I fade crypto and leave the Metaverse unattended, as I go away to touch some grass! I don't disconnect 100% because you know a true Chad can't go Out Of Office for too much time... it's just impossible!

Tenerife is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, and my holiday destination for a while! It is a remarkable destination that offers a striking mix of natural wonders, cultural richness, and culinary delights.

I took you for a tour of the island, showed you the beaches, the volcano, and we had some food! You've seen the magnificent Loro Parque and now you will enjoy street art!

Tenerife Uncovered: Volcanoes, Beaches, and Culinary Delights

Reporting Live from Tenerife - Touch Grass, Touch Sand, Stay Chad

Tenerife Uncovered: The Magnificent Loro Parque

One of the most talked-about places on Tenerife for graffiti and street art is Puerto de la Cruz, especially the neighborhood of La Ranilla, often casually referred to as the Puerto Street Art area.

Rather than being a single graffiti-covered street, it feels like an open-air urban art museum, where entire building façades are transformed into colorful murals. It's art... on the walls!

Walking through it feels less like spotting random graffiti and more like strolling through a curated art walk woven into everyday city life. Each artist added his soul and passion on their paintings!

Over the years, this part of northern Tenerife has evolved into a genuine street art hotspot. Large-scale murals spill across walls and residential buildings, created by both local and international artists.

As you wander through the narrow streets, you’ll come across roughly 15 to 17 major works, each with a distinct style. Some pieces are surreal or abstract, others playful and bold!

They give the area the feeling of a free, outdoor gallery rather than a space dominated by tagging. The whole project began as a civic initiative, aimed at reimagining public space and turning the town itself into a cultural experience.

Most of the murals are concentrated around La Ranilla, close to Plaza del Charco and the old town, so simply exploring that historic quarter on foot lets you take in much of the scene without needing a map or plan.

It’s the kind of place where you turn a corner and suddenly run into a massive artwork you weren’t expecting. Yes... including giant robotic bugs taking over the building!

While Puerto de la Cruz is the island’s best-known street art destination... but it’s not the only one. Santa Cruz de Tenerife has a growing and more scattered collection of murals and painted walls throughout the city center.

La Laguna also features street art, particularly around areas like Avenida de la Trinidad, though on a smaller scale. In towns such as Los Realejos the murals are often tied to festivals and public art programmes, forming part of a broader urban art movement.

If you’re imagining one long alley completely plastered with tags, Tenerife is a bit different. The street art scene here is more dispersed and intentionally made bigger!

In Puerto de la Cruz murals are spread across multiple streets and blend naturally into the fabric of the old town rather than existing as a single graffiti. This is why even the "street cat" looks amazing!

If you get tired of walking and watching art... take a sit and have a barraquito! This layered ritual coffee is usually served in a clear glass so you can see each distinct layers!

The restaurants are also matching the art, with the sweet condensed milk at the bottom, followed by Liquor 43 with its vanilla-citrus warmth, a shot of espresso, and a soft cap of foamed milk on top.

It’s finished with a strip of lemon peel and a dusting of cinnamon, which might sound strange at first... but it clicks the moment you smell it! The taste will make you ape into barraquitos!

One of the most popular stories links it to a café regular nicknamed “Barraquito” who reportedly ordered his coffee prepared this way every day until the recipe stuck and the drink took on his name.

Over time, it became a local classic, especially after meals, sitting somewhere between a coffee and a dessert. The drink has deep roots in Tenerife’s café culture, particularly in the north of the island.

Licor 43 is central to the barraquito’s identity. Although the liqueur originates on mainland Spain, it found a natural home in the Canary Islands, where sweeter, layered coffees suit the relaxed pace of café life and long post-lunch sobremesas.

Locals will tell you there’s a proper way to drink it... so don’t stir straight away. Take a few sips and let the layers blend naturally! If you spot “barraquito auténtico” on a menu while you’re there... don’t hesitate. It’s Tenerife in a glass ☕🍋