Top Places to Explore in Granada
Granada is a beautiful city located in Spain’s Andalusia region in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We visited on a road trip through the region.
The city boasts iconic medieval Moorish architecture, particularly Alhambra palace, one of Spain’s biggest tourist attractions. Plus the beautiful natural landscape and surrounding mountains make it a charming place to visit. Former US President Bill Clinton once claimed Granada had “the most beautiful sunset in the world.” When you visit, it’s not hard to see why.
Plus, Granada is famous for its tapas. One of the best part of exploring Granada is popping into a bar, ordering a drink, and getting served some surprise food for free. Whenever you’re exploring our list of top things to see below, make sure to save time to have some drinks and tapas.
But of course the city has much more to offer than tapas, the palace, mountain views, and sunsets. So let’s get into it!
Albaicín
Albaicín is Granada’s Arabic neighborhood and one of the oldest parts of the city. It has narrow, winding cobblestone roads lined with small shops and restaurants. You can admire traditional Moorish homes and buildings.
Also, did you know there’s actually a point to the narrow, maze-like passageways? It’s actually a pretty brilliant defensive strategy. First, the narrow streets prevent enemies from entering in large numbers and forces them to disperse. And second, the labyrinthine streets make it easier for them to get lost.
Plaza de San Nicolas
Plaza de San Nicolas is located in Granada’s Albaicín neighborhood and is known for having one of the best views of the city, Alhambra, and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains. I’d actually recommend going both during the day and in the evening to see the palace when it’s lit up. The plaza is also home to San Nicolas Church, which dates back to the 16th century, and several street musicians and vendors selling handmade jewelry and other souvenirs. It’s a bit of an uphill hike though and may be hard for some people, but you can always take a taxi or see it on a segway tour, which is what we did.
Plaza Nueva
Plaza Nueva is the oldest square in Granada and is centrally located within the city. The square is home to the Royal Chancellery building and Santa Ana Church, which both date back to the 16th century, and are built in a renaissance and Moorish style, respectively. The Royal Chancellery building served as a court and prison throughout history and still serves as a court today. To the right of Santa Ana Church you’ll also find the Pilar del Toro, a 16th century fountain depicting a bull, two young boys, and the city’s coat of arms. Aside from these historical buildings, the plaza is also lined with several bars and restaurants.
Carrera del Darro & Paseo de los Tristes
Carrera del Darro is considered one of the prettiest streets in Granada. It’s a charming cobblestone road following the Darro River. You’ll pass by renaissance and Moorish buildings, churches, a stone bridge, and El Bañuelo, an 11th century Arabic bath house.
As you continue east on Carrera del Darro the street turns into Paseo del Padre Manjón, known informally as Paseo de los Tristes (or Promenade of the Sad Ones) since funeral processions used to take this path on their way to San José Cemetery. Today, it’s lines with several cafes and restaurants and has a great lower view of Alhambra.
Sacromonte
Sacromonte is Grenada’s Roma or Gypsy neighborhood on Valparaiso Hill. When the Roma people first immigrated here during the 15th century, they lived in caves dug into the side of the mountain, which helped keep them warm during the winter and cool during the summer. Today there are still about 50,000 Roma people living in the Sacromonte neighborhood. They live in more traditional homes now, but many still have part of the original cave dwellings in the back. It’s a quieter area, with white washed houses and views of Alhambra. You can also visit Sacromonte Abbey and the open-air Cave Museum. Or check out a zambra performance, Roma style flamenco song and dance.
Albaicín Mosque or Mosque of Granada
The Albaicín Mosque is a newer addition to Granada, built in 2003 near Plaza de San Nicolas in the Albaicín neighborhood. The mosque was built in a traditional Arabic style, paying homage to the city’s moorish roots, and consists of three parts: the garden, the prayer room, and the Center for Islamic Studies. The garden looks out of the Darro River and features two fountains, as well as a variety of local vegetation, including pine, olive, and various fruit trees. The mosque itself was designed after several other famous mosques, including the one in Cordoba, Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, featuring cedar wood panels and multi-colored marble tiles.
Alcaicería Market
The Alcaicería, also known as Granada’s Great Bazaar, dates back to the 15th century. Unfortunately, the original bazaar burnt down during the 19th century. Lucky for us it was partially restored. However, the one you’ll see today is less than half the size of the original. In the market, you can find a variety of Moorish goods, including silk scarves, inlaid wood, tapestries, painted ceramics, tea sets, and stained glass lamps. It’s a great place to take in some neo-Moorish architecture and pick up some souvenirs for family and friends.
Alhambra
The absolute number one must visit attraction in Granada is Alhambra. Alhambra is a sprawling Moorish palace and fortress dating back to the 13th century and is one of the best examples of Moorish architecture in Spain.
The palace complex is huge, but there are four main attractions: the Palace of Charles V, Alcazaba, Palacios Nazaries, and Generalife.
The Palace of Charles V was built by King Charles V in 1526. It’s a two story renaissance style palace with a circular courtyard lined with columns. The palace never served as a residence, but instead was used for official functions. Today it houses the Alhambra Museum, which contains approximately 2,000 pieces.
Alcazaba, which means castle or fort in Arabic, is the oldest part of Alhambra, dating back to the 13th century and served as a military citadel. It includes remains of several buildings, towers, and a dungeon.
Palacios Nazaries served as the royal residence and was one of my favorite parts of Alhambra. The architecture there is amazing, with intricately carved walls, arched doorways, stone columns, and courtyards with pools and fountains.
Generalife was the summer palace for the last Moorish dynasty at Alhambra. This is where the family went during summer months to escape the heat. The architecture from the palace continues here into beautiful sweeping gardens.
As one of the most visited tourist destinations in Spain, Alhambra is in very high demand, and you absolutely must purchase tickets in advance.
The only negative I have about Alhambra is that it does get quite crowded and tours can feel a bit rushed, but I understand why because it is absolutely a must see destination!
Hammam Al Ándalus
Hammam Al Ándalus is a Turkish bathhouse located at the foot of Alhambra. I highly recommend making this one of your stops on your trip. It was awesome! Such a cool, relaxing experience. It’s beautifully designed, with Moorish arches, columns, ceramic tiles, and soft warm lighting from skylights and candles surrounding the baths. The hammam has 4 pools (cold, medium shallow, medium deep, and hot), a steam room, complimentary tea you can drink whenever you want throughout the experience, and wonderfully smelling body oils in amber, rose, lavender, and pomegranate scents. With our experience we also booked a 45 minute massage. It was a great way to relax at the end of the evening. Be sure to make a reservation though, because spots do fill up. Especially if you want to have a massage or other treatment.
Granada Cathedral and Royal Chapel
The Granada Cathedral dates back to the 1500s and is the second largest cathedral in the country. It took nearly 200 years to finish and as such has a combined renaissance, gothic, and baroque style. The cathedral features sweeping ceilings, white marble columns, stained glass windows, a gold altar, and a whopping 15 chapels.
Next to the Granada Cathedral is also the Royal Chapel, which was built as a resting place for the royal monarchs and originally housed the remains of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The chapel contains marble effigies in their honor, as well as coffins of a couple former monarchs.
Plaza Bib-Rambla
Plaza Bib-Rambla is Granada’s main square in the center of the city. The tree-lined square is known for its Neptune fountain and flower market and is surrounded by 19th century town houses, as well as various restaurants, bars, and cafes. And it’s especially known for its hot chocolate and churros. This is a great place to go grab some delicious tapas and people watch.
