Teror

If you want to see a very different side to life in Gran Canaria and can bear to drag yourself away from the beach for half a day, Teror is a place we'd really recommend visiting.

It'll take you the best part of an hour to drive there from Playa del Ingles. You should take the motorway (GC1) north, and head for Tamaraceite and Tafira when it divides, rather than going into Las Palmas. You'll see that Teror is signposted shortly afterwards. Once you leave the motorway and are on the main road to the town, it's a leisurely drive along a windy road overhung with trees, with some fantastic views on the way.

In the town, it's a good idea to park in the underground car park near the basilica.

The Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pino is the most important religious site on the island, as it's here that the Virgin is supposed to have appeared in the top of a pine tree in the 15th century.

On the anniversary every September there's a huge festival and procession in Teror, which many pilgrims still walk to on foot the day before.

Whether or not you're religious, the basilica is impressive both inside and outside. If you visit on weekday afternoons, you can go in through the rear doors and upstairs to the figure of the Virgen del Pino, and look round a small museum.

The town has some very fine examples of traditional Canarian architecture. There's one large house you can visit - the Museo Los Patrones de la Virgen del Pino - which has been owned by the same family for more than 300 years. It's just off the square in front of the basilica.

There are some good cafes and restaurants around the basilica, but apart from a couple of gift shops on the square above the underground car park, Teror isn't a place where you'll want to stay and look at the shops.

In the buildings by the town hall, you'll often find that there are temporary exhibitions.

Unless you can cope with the crowds, avoid Teror on a Sunday; it's market day, and you'll find parking a nightmare. Equally, unless you really want to be part of it, avoid it in the days leading up to the 8th of September (and on the day itself), as thousands flock to the Festival of the Virgen del Pino.