Agatha Christie in Puerto de la Cruz: The 1927 Visit and the Story It Inspired

A change of scene in 1927

Christie's journey came after a painful year. Her mother had died in 1926, her marriage to Archie Christie was breaking down, and the writer's brief disappearance that December had become a national newspaper story. In the new year she left England with seven-year-old Rosalind and Charlotte Fischer, who helped with her work and cared for Rosalind. The trip gave them time away from the attention at home.

In her autobiography Christie remembered the place she called Orotava: the mountain above it, flowers in the hotel grounds, and mornings that could turn cloudy later in the day. The name can confuse a modern reader. Her hotel was in Puerto de la Cruz, the coastal town historically known to many British visitors as Puerto de la Orotava.

She seems to have spent a relatively short part of the Canary Islands trip in Puerto before moving to Gran Canaria. Her own recollection says about a week, though the exact itinerary is not firmly established. The visit was brief; the impression it made on her writing lasted much longer.

The Gran Hotel Taoro and its gardens

The Gran Hotel Taoro stood above the town, surrounded by gardens and open views towards the sea and Mount Teide. Opened in 1890, it was the kind of grand hotel that had drawn European winter visitors to Puerto de la Cruz for decades. Christie's own recollection of flowers in the hotel grounds gives this part of her stay an unusually personal touch.

Imagine the view from the hill in 1927: a smaller port town below, gardens close at hand and the Atlantic beyond. The building and the surrounding area have changed, but the setting still helps make sense of why she remembered the place so vividly. Our Gran Hotel Taoro guide follows the hotel's history and its modern reopening; the Parque Taoro virtual visit shows more of the hill and gardens.

The hotel was the beginning of her Puerto story. For the place that entered her fiction most clearly, walk east towards La Paz.

La Paz and The Man from the Sea

In La Paz, a house near the edge of the cliffs and a path among cypress trees helped shape The Man from the Sea. The story follows Mr Satterthwaite and the mysterious Harley Quin through a dramatic coastal setting. Its house called La Paz and its view down towards the Atlantic make Puerto's landscape feel close, even though this is fiction and the characters are Christie's inventions.

The story first appeared in 1929 and was included in The Mysterious Mr Quin in 1930. The English Library's local history account connects the house in the story with the old Villa La Paz, associated with the Cólogan family. The Agatha Christie estate also identifies Tenerife as the real island behind the tale. There is no need to enter the house to appreciate the connection: the public viewpoint, cliff edge and nearby streets give you the sense of place.

Read the story before you visit if you can. Then take your time at Mirador de La Paz, where a bust commemorates Christie, and along the nearby Calle or Paseo de Agatha Christie. The sea, the height of the cliff and the quiet change from town to residential streets are the details that make this more than a name on a sign.

Where Sitio Litre enters the story

Agatha Christie visited the garden at Sitio Litre, according to the recollection passed down by the family who lived there. The English Library records that Mollie, the Udall-Smiths' daughter, was told of the visit by her parents. Sitio Litre's owners also remember Christie among the garden's notable visitors. The account gives this leafy place a personal link to her 1927 stay, although the visit is not dated in her own published recollections.

It is easy to see why visitors linger here. Follow the shaded paths among the orchids, pause by the koi pond and look back at the old house, which remains private. Our detailed Sitio Litre article explores the garden and its history. After visiting, continue to the Taoro and La Paz places that also shaped Christie's Puerto story.

Follow the story on foot or by video

Start with the Taoro area to picture Christie looking out from the hotel gardens. From there, the route towards La Paz takes you to the painted Agatha Christie steps, the viewpoint with her bust and the path near the cliff. The streets and buildings are modern in places, but the changing views still tell you why this setting stayed with her. Our Agatha Christie route Post has the waypoints and a filmed walk.

For local stories as you go, watch the two-part Agatha Christie walking tour with Ramón Michán. It was filmed during the town's 2025 festival and follows the people and places behind her visit. You can watch from home, then choose the sections you would like to see for yourself.

The way up to Taoro and the steps towards La Paz involve climbs. Take comfortable shoes and choose a shorter section if you would rather stay around the viewpoint. The cliffside is a place to admire the Atlantic from the public path and viewpoint, not to go beyond barriers or into private grounds.