Playa de Candelaria

Facing the basilica that houses the patron saint of the Canaries, this black sand beach is as much a place of worship as a swimming spot for residents of Candelaria. Overlooking the sea stand bronze statues of the nine Guanche kings, the menceyes who ruled the island before Spanish conquest, a setting that no other beach in Tenerife can claim. On August 14 and 15, thousands of pilgrims from across the island converge here for the Virgin's festival, in a fervor blending Spanish Catholicism with Guanche traditions. For the rest of the year, it's an unpretentious urban beach, frequented almost exclusively by residents of the east coast, far from the crowds of the south. The seafront promenade features a few simple tapas bars, without the tourist amenities of Costa Adeje beaches.