Look at any interiors magazine, fashion shoot or cutting-edge furniture store and you’ll see that cacti – once the dusty inhabitants of old ladies’ windowsills – are having a moment. Their hipster fans should get themselves over to Lanzarote and the incredible Jardín de Cactus, sunken into the volcanic landscape in a disused quarry. It was designed by César Manrique, the island’s most influential artist and architect, who saw these spiky characters’ funky appeal way before today’s deco bloggers.

All manner of otherworldly protrusions – over 1,100 species – from towering saguaros and spiny over-sized globes to more unusual species that resemble giant white maggots, thrusting asparagus spears, prickly mounds of broccoli, or dark green corals and sea anemones were curated here by Manrique as a botanical amphitheatre, walled with bridges and paved paths carrying visitors to different levels, past red rocks, black volcanic soils and pools. There is also a stunning bar and cafe, again designed by him, including chunky mid-century furniture, an elegant spiral staircase and curved wooden bar.

Ignore the tacky bits and the whole of Lanzarote can seem like a Manrique art project. He created so many beautiful attractions there from the 1970s to the 90s: the Bond-lair-esque Jameos del Agua, a huge venue with restaurants, bars, auditorium and club in underground caves, and his two amazing homes, now open to the public. But the cactus garden, his final project, which he worked on for 20 years but completed in 1990 (two years before he died in a car crash) is the funkiest of them all.

• Adults €5, kids €2.50, lanzaroteinformation.com