Tenerife is not Berlin. But for 10 years, the island's walls have been telling stories. Puerto de la Cruz launched the movement with the Mueca Festival, 4 days of street arts every May that leave permanent frescoes on the facades of the city center. La Laguna followed with murals in its UNESCO-listed streets. And Santa Cruz, the capital, has transformed entire neighborhoods into open-air galleries. All without a counter, without a timetable, without a ticket, you just have to walk.
The port district and the streets around the Plaza del Charco concentrate the oldest and most spectacular frescoes. The Mueca Festival (May, 4 days) invites international artists every year who paint live, the walls change from one year to the next. Look for the works on Calle San Juan, Calle Blanco, and around Lago Martianez. Some frescoes are 6 stories high, others are hidden in dead ends. The tourist office (Plaza de Europa) sometimes has a map, otherwise take Calle San Juan and go north. The best ones are found off the main roads.
La Laguna is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its colonial architecture. Street art coexists with 16th century facades – a juxtaposition that the city's student density makes natural. The murals are more discreet than in Puerto: you have to look up, enter the interior courtyards, explore the alleys perpendicular to Calle Herradores. The student district (around the University, the oldest in the Canaries, founding decree in 1792, modern university in 1927) is the liveliest, bars, graffiti, alternative galleries. On the first Friday of the month, the art galleries of La Laguna open their doors in the evening (Noche en Blanco), wine, music, and contemporary art in the colonial patios.