What to see in Lanzarote — right now

Timanfaya National Park — the Fire Mountains

The one thing everyone asks about. The volcano bus tour through Montañas del Fuego is 14km of Mars-red craters and lava tongues — you can't walk inside, the terrain is too fragile. The bus narration covers it in English, Spanish and German. After the tour, they pour water into a pipe and it explodes back as steam. 400°C just below your feet.

Eat at El Diablo afterwards — the restaurant with a volcanic grill powered by the heat below. It's a gimmick. It's brilliant.

To get to Timanfaya you'll need a car — public transport doesn't reach the park. If you haven't rented one yet, you can compare the best prices here. Don't want the hassle of driving? There are half-day tours that pick you up and handle everything — including the volcano bus ride and a stop at La Geria.

Jameos del Agua — Manrique's underground cathedral

César Manrique looked at a collapsed lava tube and saw a concert hall, a bar and a swimming pool. You descend through Jameo Chico, cross a natural lake with tiny blind albino crabs (found nowhere else on Earth), and emerge into a 550-seat auditorium carved from basalt where they still hold concerts. The pool is pure fantasy — turquoise water, white curves, strictly decorative.

Jameos sits up north — you'll want a car to get there, especially if you're combining it with Cueva de los Verdes next door. Compare rental prices here if you haven't sorted wheels yet. Prefer to leave the driving to someone else? This guided bus tour covers Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua, with no parking to worry about.

Cueva de los Verdes — the secret lava tunnel

One kilometre of lava tube open to visitors (part of a 6 km tunnel formed ~3,000–5,000 years ago when Monte Corona erupted). The guided tour takes 45 minutes through chambers with 50m ceilings, walls that shimmer green and red under carefully placed lights, and a point where the tunnel splits — one branch now houses Jameos del Agua, the other continues deep under the Atlantic. The highlight at the end is a genuine surprise. No spoilers.

Mirador del Río — the view from the top of the island

Perched 475 metres up on the Risco de Famara cliff, this is Manrique's masterpiece of blending architecture into landscape. The building is carved into the rock — you barely see it from outside. Inside, huge curved windows frame La Graciosa and the chinijo archipelago like a painting. On clear days you see all the way to the horizon. The café is expensive (€4 for a coffee) but the view makes it the cheapest million-dollar panorama you'll ever buy.

César Manrique Foundation — the artist's lava-bubble home

Manrique built his house inside five volcanic bubbles in Taro de Tahíche. You walk through rooms where the ceiling is raw lava, the floor is polished wood, and a palm tree grows through a hole into the sky. The lower level — the bubbles — is where his living room, studio and a small pool sit inside the volcano. It's the emotional centre of everything he built on the island. Upstairs is a gallery of his work plus pieces by Picasso, Miró and Chillida.

Playa de Papagayo — the beach you have to work for

Five golden coves inside Los Ajaches Natural Park at the southern tip. A 6km dirt road from Playa Blanca (bumpy but any car handles it), €3 barrier fee, then you pick your beach. Papagayo is the largest. Playa de la Cera and Playa del Pozo are smaller and quieter. No sun loungers, no bars, no umbrellas. Bring everything. That's the point.