Carrefour - a huge commercial centre near Santa Cruz

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Carrefour in Tenerife is a huge Commercial Centre situated next to the motorway TF-1 just a little south of Santa Cruz. For many years it was known as "Continente", then was taken over by the French company that runs it now.

It is an enormous building, containing some 120 shops on four floors and it's not unusual for Tenerife residents (both native Canarian and immigrants) living in the south to drive up and spend a good part of the day there.

It's not surprising, as you'll find if you pay it a visit. There are 28 clothes shops, featuring such quality outlets as Stradivarius and Zara. Children are well represented, with seven outlets of their own, including a Disney store. You also have 20 other shops dealing with such things as footwear and jewelry.

There are six specialist food shops and 11 music stores.

The Commercial Centre also features hairdressers, a chemist, an optician, a dry cleaners, a dentist and a driving school!

If you fancy a bite to eat, there are seven outlets, including a Burger King.

Finally, we have the hypermarket itself - Carrefour. Situated on two floors of this imposing building, it seems to me that, on walking round it, as well as all the usual groceries, you can buy pretty much anything else you can think of.

This is why people travel up from the south!

To reach this shopping centre, to have to be travelling on the TF-1 motorway. From either direction, exit at junction 6A.

Once off the motorway, just keep trying to head in the direction of the big sign on the building. There are loads of spaces in the underground car park.

Getting back onto the motorway to go home is one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted. It is an absolute maze of mini-roundabouts, give-ways, get-in-the-correct-lane situations. It's not particularly well signposted and all the other drivers seem to know exactly where they're going.

Suffice it to say, if you want to get back on the motorway to go south, you need to get on the bridge that crosses over it, then turn sharp left at the end.