San Sebastián de La Gomera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids San Sebastián de La Gomera
Municipality
San Sebastián de La Gomera
Coat of arms
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Canary Islands
Province	Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Island	La Gomera
Area
• Total	113.59 km2 (43.86 sq mi)
Population
• Total	KIDDLE_IB
Time zone	UTC+0 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (CEST (GMT +1))
Postal code	38880
Area code(s)	+34 (Spain) + 922 (Tenerife)
Website	Town Hall

San Sebastián de La Gomera is the capital and a municipality of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, Spain. It also hosts the main harbour. The population was 8,699 in 2013, and the area is 113.59 square kilometres (43.86 sq mi).

The port serves ferry routes to the islands of Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. Streets include Calle Real and F. Olsen. A bus station named Estación de Guaguas is used for bus lines throughout the island; it is located on Avenida Del Quinto Centenario.

History

The area was inhabited by the Guanches before the arrival of the Spanish. Hernán Peraza arrived in 1440. Christopher Columbus stopped at the harbour on 6 September 1492 before heading to India but arrived in America instead. The building in which Columbus stayed whilst on the island is now a museum. The town is named after Saint Sebastián de Milán, an early Christian saint and martyr.

Historical population

Sites of interest in the town

• Torre del Conde - a tower in the middle of the valley
• Casa del Colón, a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus
• Museo Arqueológico de La Gomera - a museum dedicated to Guanche's social, political and religious structures
• Casa de los Peraza
• Pozo de La Aguada
• Iglesia de La Asunción and Ermita de San Sebastián Churches
• Ermita de la Virgen de Guadalupe
• Playa de San Sebastián
• Playa de la Cueva
• Mercado Municipal

Municipality

Apart from the town of San Sebastián the municipality includes the settlements of

• Benchijigua
• Jerdune
• La Laja
• Lomo Fragoso
• the eastern part of Playa Santiago

The municipality also includes these sites of interest:

• Barranco del Cabrito
• Los Roques rocks
• Punta Llana
• Majona Nature Park

Economy

The economy of San Sebastián de La Gomera is centered on the functions of the capital and its port, as well as in the public sector, particularly in the transportation, trading, and tourism of Tenerife.

Tourism

The port serves as a hub for tourists arriving on the 35-minute ferry ride from the nearby island of Tenerife, which is almost always visible from La Gomera. The main ferry companies are Fred. Olsen Express and Naviera Armas.

In Puntallana is the chapel of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the island of La Gomera.

List of Notable people

• Ignacio Lorenzo de Armas (1706 - unknown), settler and mayor of San Antonio, Texas in 1738 and 1764.

Gallery

• 

  San Sebastián de La Gomera

• 

  Torre del conde

• 

  Church Iglesia de La Asunción

• 

  Roque de Agando

• 

  The big Fred. Olsen Express ferry

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  Old and new in San Sebastian

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  Old windmill in San Sebastian

San Sebastián de la Gomera, with the towering volcano Teide in the background on the island of Tenerife

San Sebastián de la Gomera seen from the northwest

See also

In Spanish: San Sebastián de La Gomera para niños

• List of municipalities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife