Fundación César Manrique (Taro de Tahíche)
About 7 km north of Arrecife on the road to Tahíche, César Manrique built his own house inside five interconnected volcanic bubbles formed by a lava flow — and it remains the most intimate and extraordinary way to understand the artist whose vision shaped modern Lanzarote. Many visitors skip it in favour of bigger attractions, which means you often have the lava rooms almost to yourself.
The House as Artwork
Manrique discovered the hollow lava bubbles in 1968 and spent two years converting them into living spaces — a bedroom in one bubble, a studio in another, a swimming pool in a third whose walls are raw black basalt. The contrast between the savage geology and the artist's white walls, primary-colour furniture and tropical plants is startling and completely coherent.
The upper floors, added later, contain the main gallery with rotating exhibitions of Manrique's paintings, sculptures and early sketches for his major public works across Lanzarote. Seeing the preparatory drawings for Jameos del Agua makes that site feel even more deliberate and personal.
The Garden and the View
The rooftop terrace looks out over a sea of frozen black lava — the malpaís — stretching to the horizon, with the white villages of Tahíche and Teguise visible in the middle distance. It is a landscape that looks post-apocalyptic and beautiful simultaneously, and it explains everything about why Manrique chose to live here.
The garden surrounding the house is planted with dragon trees, cacti and Canarian palms that Manrique selected personally; it is a living extension of his design philosophy that indigenous plants and volcanic rock are more beautiful than imported ornament.
Getting There and Tips
The foundation is on the LZ-1 highway between Arrecife and Teguise; there is a signed car park at the entrance. Bus Línea 9 from Arrecife stops nearby, but a rental car gives you the flexibility to combine the visit with Teguise market (Sundays only) or the Mirador del Río further north.
Tuesday mornings are the quietest time to visit. The gift shop sells high-quality reproductions of Manrique's graphic work — his poster designs for Lanzarote are genuinely collectable and make far better souvenirs than anything sold at the airport.
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