Granada, with about 234,000 inhabitants, is a university city in eastern Andalusia, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, where you can ski into spring, and less than an hour from the sea on the Costa Tropical. It is world-famous for the Alhambra, but it is also a young, lively city with some of Spain's busiest student nightlife.
History
Granada was the last Muslim capital of the peninsula: from 1238 to 1492 the Nasrid dynasty ruled a kingdom covering today's provinces of Granada, Málaga and Almería, and built the Alhambra. On 2 January 1492 the last sultan, Boabdil, handed the keys of the city to the Catholic Monarchs, who chose to be buried here; legend says that as he left, Boabdil turned to look back at Granada and wept, at the place called "the Moor's last sigh" (see al-Andalus and the Reconquista). In the twentieth century Granada was the city of Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca.
The Alhambra
The Alhambra, "the red one", is a fortified citadel on a hill above the city, comprising:
- the Nasrid Palaces, with the Mexuar, the Comares palace with its Court of the Myrtles and Hall of the Ambassadors, and the Palace of the Lions, with its famous fountain and halls with muqarnas domes, decorated with stucco, poetic inscriptions and tiles;
- the Alcazaba, the military fortress, with the Torre de la Vela;
- the Renaissance Palace of Charles V, home to the Alhambra Museum and Fine Arts Museum (see the sixteenth century);
- the Generalife, the sultans' summer villa, with gardens, fountains and the Patio de la Acequia.
Tickets are limited and entry to the Nasrid Palaces is at a fixed time: book on the official website weeks, sometimes months, ahead, especially in spring and summer. Night visits are also available.
What to see in the city
- The Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter of white lanes and cármenes, villas with gardens, a UNESCO site, with the Mirador de San Nicolás, offering views of the Alhambra against the Sierra Nevada, especially at sunset.
- Sacromonte, the Gitano quarter of cave houses, where you can watch flamenco in the zambras (see flamenco), and Sacromonte Abbey.
- The Renaissance cathedral and the Royal Chapel, with the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand.
- The Alcaicería, the old silk market, and Calle Calderería, with tea houses and Arab shops.
- The Carrera del Darro, Granada's loveliest street, along the river below the Alhambra, and the Bañuelo, eleventh-century Arab baths.
- The Monastery of San Jerónimo, the Charterhouse with its Baroque sacristy, and Lorca's house, the Huerta de San Vicente.
Free tapas
Granada keeps the tradition of the free tapa: with every drink the bar serves a dish, which changes each round. The best areas are calle Navas, the Realejo, calle Elvira and the Albaicín (see tapas).
Practical information and nearby
Federico García Lorca airport has flights from Madrid, Barcelona and some European cities; many visitors fly into Málaga, an hour and a half away by bus. High-speed trains link Granada with Madrid. Nearby are the Sierra Nevada, with Europe's southernmost ski resort, the Alpujarras, white villages on the mountain slopes, and the coast at Almuñécar, Salobreña and Motril. Granada is also a favourite with Erasmus students.