Casa de los Balcones

Built in 1632, Casa de los Balcones is a historic mansion in La Orotava, Tenerife, renowned for its traditional Canarian architecture and as a center for local crafts.

Planning your visit

Casa de los Balcones is the best-known example of Canarian domestic architecture on Tenerife, built in 1632 around a central patio with two storeys of carved Canarian pine balconies running around the interior — the timber worked in a style that developed on the islands from Portuguese, Spanish and Moorish influences, adapted to a climate that made shaded outdoor-indoor space essential.

The house functions as a museum of traditional island life, with furnished period rooms, agricultural and domestic implements, and a substantial display of calado, the drawn-thread embroidery for which La Orotava is known. Women demonstrate the technique on site, and the associated shop sells the work.

La Orotava itself is among the most attractive towns on Tenerife, climbing a hillside above the Orotava valley with Teide behind it, and its historic centre of noble houses and churches sees far fewer visitors than the coastal resorts.

Allow forty-five minutes. The main booking is an entrance ticket. Current availability is shown below.