Casa de Colón

About the museum

The Casa de Colón stands in Vegueta, the historic district of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, on the site of one of the first houses of the Real de Las Palmas, the camp founded by Juan Rejón in 1478 beside the Guiniguada ravine. Tradition identifies it with the governors' house and links it to Christopher Columbus's stay on the island in 1492, when he repaired the rudder of one of his ships. The present building, dating from the late 16th century, results from the union of several houses and retains two courtyards, one with a Gothic well-head and a Renaissance arcade from the convent of Santo Domingo.

In the late 1940s the Cabildo de Gran Canaria promoted a cultural policy that led to the museum. The restoration was directed by the architect Secundino Zuazo, with advice from Antonio Rumeu, Néstor Álamo and Santiago Santana. In 1951 there was a partial and symbolic opening, and in 1954 it opened to the public; the institution was founded with the idea of being a centre of higher culture for an island that then had no university. In 1964 the Biblioteca Ballesteros and the Museo de Bellas Artes were inaugurated, with deposits from the Museo del Prado and holdings of the Cabildo.

In the following decades research, publishing and conferences were expanded, among them the Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana, held since 1976. At the end of the 1980s the museum was reorganised and renewed.

Today the permanent collection is spread across several rooms: Colón y sus viajes, cartography and navigation instruments, the relations between the Canary Islands and America, pre-Columbian America, painting from the 16th to the 20th century, and the island of Gran Canaria and the city of Las Palmas. The house also has a library specialising in the history of the Canary Islands and America.

Highlights

• Room “Colón y sus viajes”
• Cartography and navigation instruments
• Relations between the Canary Islands and America
• Pre-Columbian America
• Painting collection from the 16th to the 20th century
• Courtyards with a Gothic well-head and a Renaissance arcade

Permanent exhibition

• Colección permanente – Rooms on Columbus and his voyages, cartography and navigation instruments, the relations between the Canary Islands and America, pre-Columbian America, painting from the 16th to the 20th century, and the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Founded

1951

Operated by

Cabildo de Gran Canaria

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every Sunday and on 18 April, 18 May, 30 May, 24 June, 27 September and 12 October.

People in official unemployment, school groups, teaching staff, official guides, professional visits and holders of ICOM, AEM and MAV cards also enter free. For reduced or free admission, the valid official document must be presented at the ticket office.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

An entrance ramp provides access to the museum; lifts and platforms reach the rooms and public spaces, but not the crypt, which is in the basement. Accessible toilets on the ground floor and the first floor. The museum offers educational programmes for people with visual, hearing or intellectual disabilities.

Kids & families

Children under 14 may not enter without an adult or stay in the museum alone.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Shop at the museum exit, with free access from the plaza del Pilar Nuevo, and a specialist library open to the public (consultation on site only).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit