Inevitably, Santa Cruz's
nightlife
is at its best during Carnival
, which can make the other fifty
weeks of the year seem like one
long anticlimax. But, by normal
standards the capital has a good
range of
bars and
clubs
(supplemented by a number of huge
outdoor venues nearby in the
summer) and a respected venue for
the
performing arts.
Most of the town's trendiest bars
and clubs line the Avenida
de Anaga , which follows the
coast northwards from Plaza de
España, and though they don't
tend to get going until midnight,
most pump out chart music until
around 5am - one longstanding
(though rather nondescript)
favourite on the strip is Nooctua
at no. 37
. During the summer months the
clubs along this strip are largely
eclipsed by the building of
temporary outdoor bars and discos,
so-called terraces.
Locations vary each year, as do
the "in" places.
The town's other main nightlife
area is rather more sedate and
tends to cater for an older
clientele who like to stroll down
Rambla General Franco, the main
arterial road inland and to the
north of the centre, which is
lined with kiosks, cafés and some
unusual modern sculptures.
The Plaza de la Paz is a
vague focus for another area of
bars including the Cervecería
Metro, Rambla de Pubido 89
, a pleasantly furnished popular
place where a varied crowd meets
in the dingy pub-style bar.
Opposite the entrance to this bar
is a small alley, the Paseo, into
which half a dozen small bars
spill. El Desvan, at no. 17
, is one of the more stylish along
here. Relatively undisturbed by
nearby main roads, the bars in the
alley hum for most of the night -
with a good mix of age groups
represented.
There's little in the way of
live music in Santa Cruz with only
occasional pop concerts
taking place on Plaza de Toros
(for ticket and concert
information enquire at the tourist
office). However, the capital's
main performing arts venue, the
Teatro Guimerá, C/de Imeldo Seris
(
tel 922/29 08 38), is rather
busier with its programme of Classical
music and theatre
performances . The annual
Classical-music festival, the Festival
de Música de Canarias , is
the highpoint of the annual
calendar here, and includes
numerous performances by the
well-respected symphony orchestra
of Tenerife (tel 922/239 801, www.cabtfe.es/ost/
) - which puts on its own festival
here in March.
