Sitio Litre (Puerto de La Cruz) was not only the oldest English owned property on Tenerife but is also the oldest Garden in Tenerife. It is a private mansion that dates back to 1730 with a world famous Orchid Garden that is open to the public.

Built is 1730, the villa Sitio Litre was originally a monastery but was bought in 1774 by the English Merchant Archibald Little when the now famous gardens were established. The Little family lived in the Villa and tended to the gardens until 1856 when they sold the Tenerife Villa to Charles Smith who’s family still owned the property right up until 1996 when it was sold. Whilst the Villa is still privately owned, the present owners have opened the gardens to the public.

The gardens of Sitio Litre were once famous for the Garden Parties often attended by such famous people as William Wilde and his son Oscar Wilde, painter Marianne North and the German explorer and botanist Alexander von Humboldt. Agatha Chrisite famously gained the inspiration for her novel ‘The Magnificent Mr Quin’.

Nowadays, the garden is a bit more sedate and boasts a collection of over 350 different types of Orchid, a pond and a fountain.