Lanzarote has seven Municipios; which, for a small island, are surprisingly different in look, feel and even weather conditions.
Arrecife — pop. 51,633
Contains Arrecife the island’s current day capital and is the administrative centre of Lanzarote. Has the largest population of any other area on the island with almost half of all island residents living here. The town of Arrecife makes up the whole of the municipio.
Haría — pop. 4,747
The northern tip of Lanzarote is under the control of the municipio of Haria. Main towns are Haria, the fishing port of Orzola and the expanding resort of Arrieta. It features some staggering countryside and although it is the least populated municipio it has some of the islands most important tourist attractions, including the Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes, Mirador del Rio and the Jardin de Cactus.
San Bartolomé — pop. 16,884
San Bartolomé is centrally situated and is quite diverse. It includes the important agricultural town of San Bartolomé as well as the Commercial and Beach front Residential Area of Playa Honda with the major Deiland shopping centre, as well as the Airport — which is not in Arrecife as its name would seem to imply.
The population here is predominantly resident — both Canarian and Ex-pat — so it forms a vibrant hub for the island.
Teguise — pop. 14,477
The town of Teguise was the islands old capital and it still retains many administrative functions, as well as the famous Sunday market. The central part of the municipio is mainly agricultural, although the residential areas of Nazaret and Tahiche have become quite popular places to live.
Taking in both coasts, the attractions of Teguise cover the fishing village of Famara — now a surfers paradise — and one of the islands main resorts, Costa Teguise on the southern coast.
Tías — pop. 15,788
Probably the municipio with which most visitors to the island are familiar, Tías has the islands most established resort Puerto del Carmen.
In contrast to the bustling tourist resort, the municipios capital, the town of Tías, is inland and because of its central location has formed a lively residential community of Canarians and ex-pat Brits.
Work is currently racing ahead on the new golf course between Tías and Puerto del Carmen. You can stay updated by visiting our Lanzarote Golf pages.
Tinajo — pop. 5,123
Yaiza — pop. 8,130
Containing the up and coming resort of Playa Blanca at the southern tip of Lanzarote, the municipio has its administrative centre at Yaiza, which has — more than once — been voted the most beautiful village in Spain.
Yaiza municipio is also fortunate in having the marina at Puerto Calero within its boundaries as well. This means that along with the Sport Marina Rubicon at Playa Blanca, it contains the two most prestigious marina facilities on the island.
It also contains the spectacular national park of Timanfaya, with its lava fields and the Manrique designed visitor centre at its heart.
Resources
The Spanish National Statistics Institute website has been very useful in preparing the information for this page, especially with reference to Population figures, which are taken at 1st January 2004.