Icod de los Vinos became in 2021 the first municipality of Canary Islands that entered the Network of Magical Towns of Spain, promoted by the National Institute of Local Development and Social Studiesand now it is the first to obtain the highest award from this entity that brings together more than a hundred Spanish municipalities with unique characteristics. The Ciudad del Drago will receive in the next edition of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur), in Madrid, the award that accredits it as the Magical Town of Spain of the year 2023. An honor that will be shared with the populations awarded in previous years such as Tgold (Castilla y León), Cangas de Onís (Asturias) or Comillas (Cantabria).
The awards were decided on the night of November 30, although they were not announced until December 1. The organizers emphasize thatThe philosophy of these awards is to recognize the effort made by the municipalities of the Network of Magical Towns of Spain, and to ensure that the award-winning towns serve as an example for their management, strategies and achievements. These awards have “an honorary character” and are symbolized in a bronze artistic piece created by thel Hermanos Moreno Sculpture Workshop, Granada.
In this fourth edition of the Magic Towns of Spain Awards six different categories are awarded: Magic Town of the Year for the city of Icod de los Vinos; the Rural Tourism Award for Portomarín (Lugo); the Valorization of Historical Heritage to the historic town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres (Ávila); the Communication Award, which is awarded every two years, went to Hola magazine and its Travel section, for its involvement and dissemination of the rural environment, its tourist attractions, monuments and landscapes. In addition, they were awarded Recognition 2023 to the Management of Natural Spaces to the City Council of Duruelo de la Sierra (Soria), and to the Organization of Singular Cultural Events, which was awarded ex aequo to the Medieval Days of Cortegana (Huelva) and the Templar Festival of Jerez de los Caballeros (Badajoz).
The Network of Magical Towns of Spain highlights that Icod de los Vinos “is the municipality that preserves the most living traditions in the Canary Islands” and it is also “a territory with great natural values, which have become a first-class tourist resource.” They add that “the magic of Icod de los Vinos is in the Cueva del Viento, the longest labyrinthine volcanic tube in the world. It’s in the Teidewhich from Icod de los Vinos has the best and most characteristic views and is, especially, in the Drago Milenario, a national monument since 1917, which is embraced by an immense botanical park, in the heart of the historic center, where the most representative plants are of the Canary Islands, and what is called to be a great cultural and congress space in the Canary Islands: its modern Drago Park Interpretation Center».
Along with these natural jewels, the promoters of the prize emphasize that the magic of Icod de los Vinos «is throughout its territory. Living fields where banana trees and vineyards maintain a unique agricultural landscape. Slopes of Teide with centuries-old forests and endemic plants where you can go hiking. Large lava masses that reach the sea in impressive cliffs or allow shelters like the one on San Marcos Beach.
«Icod de los Vinos is, in addition, a historic and monumental city. It has been declared a Historic-Artistic Site and has monuments declared BIC such as the Church of San Marcos or the Church of San Agustín. Convents, mansions or parks with romantic gardens make Icod de los Vinos a place of excellence due to its urban quality”, they highlight. For the jury of this award, «Icod is a tourist reference in the Canary Islands. The quality of its charming hotels. Their places in rural accommodation. The existence of a highly developed commercial fabric, together with a quality gastronomic offer in its restaurants, make Icod a good place to visit, to stay and to return. Magic is also the conservation of folklore, which has one of its references in Icod and, along with it, a vast cultural and festive program throughout the year.
For the mayor of IcodFrancis González (CC), this award has “great tourist importance” and It is “a great honor” for the town. “That they have recognized us helps us to continue on the path we are on, to continue the work carried out as the first magical town of the Canary Islands,” he concludes.
