The island’s capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is located on the north-eastern side of the island, where a small peninsula juts into the sea. The city centre is divided by the old Guiniguada Gorge, which marks the boundary between the historic city centre and the more commercial and cosmopolitan parts of the city.

Las Palmas was founded in 1478 as a stopover for Spanish voyages of discovery to the New World. In 1492, Christopher Columbus is said to have stopped here before his first voyage.