Lanzarote is an ideal holiday destination located just off the coast of Africa.
It offers great beaches, excellent year round weather and an abundance of good quality places to stay. There are for example over 200 hotels and thousands of villas and Airbnb’s in Lanzarote available for rent. And getting to the island is simple and cheap too, especially from the UK.
Many first time visitors to Lanzarote are amazed by the abundance of cultural attractions that this small Canary Island offers. It is almost impossible for example to escape the influence and work of the island’s famous son Cesar Manrique, who had a profound impact on the development of modern day tourism here.
Who is César Manrique
César Manrique Cabrera was a Spanish creative Canarian artist, sculptor, architect and nature activist from Lanzarote. Manrique’s influence is everywhere in Lanzarote.
Best Lanzarote Attractions by Cesar Manrique
From the minute you arrive on Lanzarote Manrique´s work is evident, as he had input into the design of the terminal at Arrecife airport and his paintings and murals adorn the walls. On leaving you also get your first glimpse of one of Manrique’s many wind toys, which are huge kinetic sculptures that adorn many roundabouts and public spaces.
To a large extent though Manrique´s greatest contribution is more about what you cannot see. There are no high rise hotels or apartment complexes, as he successfully secured a ban on these thanks in part to the influence he wielded with the local island government. Whilst he also managed to ensure that advertising hoardings were also outlawed. As a result Lanzarote´s landscapes have been left largely untouched by the developers and their bulldozers, which was very much Manrique´s intention.
This was entirely deliberate and in many ways Manrique was a proto ecologist, campaigning for the preservation of Lanzarote´s volcanic landscapes long before organizations such as Greenpeace came into existence. This was an artist who was very much ahead of his time – and even today when you visit some of his creations they still look surprisingly futuristic despite the fact that they were made during the 1960´s and 70´s.
This is probably most in evidence at the site of his former home, now the HQ of the César Manrique Foundation in Tahiche. Where he built the most amazing residence by uniting large bubbles in the lava flow, creating a number of unique underground rooms which are topped off with a gallery space on the upper floor. A development that works in perfect harmony with its natural surroundings.
Manrique was also responsible for the creation of another six similar sites on Lanzarote, such as the Mirador del Rio and the Jameos del Agua. All of which were built before his untimely death in 1992 in a tragic car accident.
It is easy to see why Lanzarote is such a popular European destination to retire and visit. If you are planning a holiday, you might like to view our one week Lanzarote itinerary for more inspiration for what to do here.
