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What Is The Casa del Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife Officially?
Casa del Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife describes itself as a cultural hub that celebrates and preserves the island's famous Carnival. It also claims to be an "International Tourist Attraction", which is a pretty impressive title, if it's true.
If you've spent two minutes on a Tenerife travel website, you'll have heard that the Santa Cruz Carnival is one the biggest in the world. It's second only to Rio de Janeiro.
This museum aims to capture all the glamour, excitement, and passion of the Carnival so you can still experience it, even if you can't get to the real thing.
Carnival House (as it roughly translates) is a permanent exhibition featuring vibrant costumes and historical artefacts from past Santa Cruz Carnivals. It also honours the people who made it all possible: the queens, designers, pioneers, and the famous Carnival characters.
The museum invites you to immerse yourself in interactive experiences, including trying on Carnival costumes and viewing multimedia displays that capture the festival's essence.
But was it for us?
What Is The Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife Really?
The first plus for Casa de Carnaval is that it is centrally located in a quiet tree-lined back street, making it easily walkable from the port or Santa Cruz bus station.
The building has a very modern design and is air-conditioned throughout, making for a comfortable visit. Even in the middle of summer! There's also a mini cafe for those who don't mind their coffee from a vending machine.
While the costumes and multimedia exhibits offer an immersive dive into the Carnival’s history and culture, the museum can feel more like a niche attraction rather than the claimed "sprawling cultural hub".
The exhibits are beautifully presented, but visitors may find the space not as extensive or as interactive as hoped. "Viewing a multimedia display" could be more accurately described as watching a video on the telly.
It’s a charming, informative spot, and to see the intricacy of the work that goes into the costumes is amazing. However, you're most likely to have a brief visit rather than a day-long experience.
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Ian's Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife Review
My hopes were not particularly high for the Casa de Carnaval, especially when Nicky told me that it was free to enter. However, upon arrival and seeing a modern art-decor style entrance, my prejudgement subsided.
Once inside you follow the guide numbers through each section starting with the temporary exhibit. Strangely, this number system seemed to involve a lot of backtracking. This suggests that the building, as impressive as it is, was never designed to house a museum.
The early posters and photos I found most interesting, as they are a journey in themselves. What was socially acceptable back in the day will make a modern, politically correct audience somewhat uncomfortable.
There was a whole room dedicated to the music of what I would describe as "Canarian Folk Bands". Not a big fan, I found myself much happier looking at the people dressed in vegetable costumes.
Oddly, there is a huge area dedicated to what I can only describe as a "dressing room". Here you're allowed to don an outfit (not the exhibit costumes, obviously) and take to the stage.
I'm game for a laugh, which was not a sentiment shared by Nicky, even though we were the only ones in that section at the time. Would I have been that brave with an audience? Probably not.
Overall a fun 45 minutes (including a coffee break) and the Casa de Carnaval surpassed my expectations. As part of a larger itinerary, it's a great inclusion, especially as it's FREE!
Overall rating: â…—
Nicky's Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife Review
You can't really go wrong with free things to do in Tenerife, can you? Even though entry is free, this museum has a pretty decent online presence and the Canarians go all-in for their carnival so I was expecting something cool. And I wasn't let down!
There's no little map for you to follow or audio guide option. Instead, you move from space to space reading the small intro that describes what's in the next section. Everything is bright, colourful, and written in Spanish and good English, which automatically puts this place above a lot of other museums in Tenerife.
I'm not usually into history, but I genuinely found the Casa de Carnaval interesting. The exhibits go right back to how the carnival started and how various dictators tried to ban it because they hated fun. I don't want to ruin it for you, but they were unsuccessful.
You're not stuck reading walls of text here. (Although there is plenty of info if you want to find out more.) Instead, you watch videos, listen to music, admire posters, giggle at silly costumes, and be amazed at the winning Carnival Queen dresses. We went as two adults, but I'm pretty sure you could amuse kids here for 30 minutes or so, too.
The "interactive" element is laid on a bit thick. If you're looking for somewhere that invites you to get hands-on and play with the exhibits, you need the Museum of Illusions. But there is a big area where you can play dress up and take funny pictures, so it's not completely made up.
If you've never visited the Santa Cruz Carnival and you're wondering if it's for you, the Casa de Carnaval is a great place to start. It gives you an excellent idea of the quality of the costumes, the high-octane vibes, and the immense crowds that the carnival attracts.
Even if you've got no interest in going to the real carnival, this mini experience is a fun activity to slot into your day in Tenerife's capital.
Overall rating: â…—
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Insider Tips For The Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife
There are temporary exhibitions
The Casa de Carnaval has temporary exhibitions that change throughout the year. So even if you've been once before, it might be worth visiting again to check out the new exhibition.
There's a "cafe" inside
It can get exhausting walking around Santa Cruz. If you need a break by the time you arrive at the Casa de Carnaval, you're in luck. Pop into the temporary exhibition and you'll find a cute mini "cafe".
We're calling it a "cafe" because it's actually a snack vending machine, a coffee vending machine, a few comfy seats, and a couple of tables. But when a café con leche is just €0.80, you really don't care about the luxury, do you?
You don't need a ticket
We booked our tickets online in advance because we didn't know how busy it would be and we wanted to be sure we'd get in. Spoiler alert: we really didn't need to worry.
Most people don't bother with advance tickets and just show up when they're ready. So if you're passing by and fancy it, you can just walk straight in.
Tip: Tickets are free. So if you do book in advance and your plans change, you can just not show up - no harm done.
Important Info About The Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife
It's 100% free to visit the Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife! You can book your tickets free online weeks in advance or at the very last minute - whatever works best for you.
The Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife is open every day 9am-7pm.
The Casa de Carnaval is located in a tiny street at the bottom of a barranco in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the north of the island. Here's the exact location.
You need about an hour at the Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This is enough time to enjoy all the exhibitions, read all the info, and watch all the videos. If you're in a rush, you can probably do it in 30 minutes.
The best time to visit the Casa de Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife is any time! Despite being a pretty cool place, it rarely seems to get busy. We went on a Saturday afternoon and it was quiet.
Have you been here? What did you make of it?