Puerto del Carmen (Pto. del Carmen) is the main tourist town on the island of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is part of the municipality of Tías. Most of Lanzarote's over 1 million visitors per year choose this town as their destination. As a result, almost all of the town's economy revolves around tourism.

History

The area of Puerto del Carmen was inhabited before the arrival of the Normans on the island and, at least since the 16th century, known as Tiñosa, so it appears on the maps of Torriani (as Tinosa), Brihuela/Cosala (as La Tiñosa), P.A. del Castillo (as La Tiñoça) and Riviere (as La Tinosa). This toponym is probably of

Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language Guanche is an extinct language that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It died out after the conquest ...

origin, adapted to the phonetics of Spanish and related to other lexical variants such as Tiñor in

El Hierro El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...

or Tiñoa in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. After The Conquest it becomes a place of anchorage. In 1591 Leonardo Torriani, refers to the natural port of La Tiñosa. Later on, it became important with the barrel trade. In 1900 it was declared a Port of General Interest, a distinction it lost in 1928 in favour of

Arrecife Arrecife (; ; ) is the capital city and a municipality of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was made the island's capital in 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ("arrecife" being Spanish for "reef") which covers its local beach. It als ...

. In 1904, La Tiñosa became a town with 194 inhabitants, mainly dedicated to fishing. In 1957, the small fishing village was renamed Puerto del Carmen, in honour of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. The promenade known as "Avenida de las Playas" contains many restaurants, shops, bars and casinos. From the coast it has been extending inland, up to a distance of approximately one kilometre.

Tourism

Since the opening of the Hotel los Fariones in 1967 it attracts tourists from all over

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, particularly Ireland, the UK and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as well as from

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and

. The ''Avenida de las Playas'', the main street/avenue in the town, extends some 7 km along the island's southern coast, with beaches on one side and many restaurants, bars, shops and other tourist attractions on the other. Apartments, villas and hotels cover a kilometre or so inland from the coastline. The quaint and peaceful old town includes the harbour and docks, the Puerto Tinosa. Here there are a smaller variety of restaurants and bars with views across the harbour and the sea to the volcanic mountains of Papagayo beyond to views of another Canary Island:

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...

Scuba diving

Puerto del Carmen is host to a large number of dive centres and scuba diving is one of the most popular sports there with very favourable conditions all year round. Water temperatures vary from 19 °C in the winter to 23 °C in the summer and visibility averages over 25 metres to 30 metres. Playa Chica is based in the old town of Puerto Del Carmen and is home to over 10 dive sites, with dives available from shore and boat.https://manta-diving-lanzarote.com/

Shopping and dining

Puerto Del Carmen hosts a variety of shops which sell mainly tourist-oriented products. The new town hosts bars, restaurants and tourist shops. The old town has many restaurants with outdoor terraces that overlook the marina below and the distant volcanic peaks. The Biosfera Plaza is a shopping plaza, opened in 2002, which includes many international brands and has entertainment facilities. There are a handful of clubs in the open until 6am which are often popular with many younger tourists.

References

External links

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Things to do in Puerto del Carmen
{{Authority control Populated places in Lanzarote