The Canary Islands are Europe´s only genuine winter sun getaway. At just four hours flying time from the UK these seven specks of Spain enjoy temperatures in excess of 20C all year round. Thanks to their location just 70 miles off the coast of Africa.
The most easterly of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote, is home to a population of around 127,000 people and is a unique melting pot of African, European and South American influences. Thanks to its historic position as a staging post between the Old World and the New.
UK tourist continue to flock to the island and as a result demand for Lanzarote villas and apartments has remained relatively stable. Whilst property prices have also started to fall on the island it is less noticeable than in other european destinations.
This is probably due to the fact that Lanzarote has much more to offer tourists than just sunshine alone though. As the island boasts a unique volcanic scenery, idyllic beaches, a host of natural attractions and some of the most unusual tourist sites found anywhere in the world. All of which is largely thanks to an island born artist and architect called Cesar Manrique.
understandable of the damage that this could cause to his birthplace Manrique returned home to ensure that his beloved Lanzarote was not buried beneath a sea of five star concrete.
As a result of his efforts Lanzarote has largely been spared the type of over development now commonly found in other Spanish sun spots and other Canary Islands resorts. High rise buildings are banned, advertising hoardings are outlawed and all of the islands three main tourist resorts are well contained.
Manrique´s other main initiative was to create a unique set of tourist attractions on the island that essentially fused art with nature.
In tandem with close collaborators such as Jesus Soto he lit an alternative path for island development with the creation of sites such as the Jameos del Agua, which embodied his desire to fuse art with nature.