The Plaza del Adelantado is the main square of the La Laguna historic centre and the focal point of the city's public life. It is lined on three sides by buildings of historical significance: the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (founded 1611), the 18th-century ayuntamiento (town hall) with its handsome Classical facade, and the Palacio de Nava, one of the finest aristocratic palaces in the Canaries with a deeply carved wooden balcony running the length of the facade. A covered market operates in the square on certain mornings.
The square has the lively, unhurried atmosphere of a place where people actually gather rather than just pass through. Students from the nearby university use it as a meeting point; local families sit on the benches in the evenings. The surrounding streets are pedestrianised and lined with old houses that show off the characteristic La Laguna balcony style — elaborate carved-wood structures projecting over the pavement, often with potted plants and painted in ochres and terracottas.