Granada and the Alhambra: 9 things to see

The Alhambra is the most visited monument in Spain, and there is a reason for that. But Granada is more than the palace. It is a city where snow-capped mountains stand behind palm trees, and where you still get a free tapa with your beer. Here are the nine things I think you should not miss.

1. The Nasrid Palaces

This is the heart of the Alhambra, and the part everyone comes for. Three palaces built in sequence during the 1300s by the Nasrid sultans: the Mexuar where they governed, the Comares with its hall of ambassadors, and the Court of the Lions with twelve marble lions around the fountain.

The walls are covered in Arabic calligraphy. One phrase repeats thousands of times: "There is no victor but God." The sultans built a palace that reminded them daily how small their own power was.

Note: the Nasrid Palaces have a separate timed slot on your ticket. Arrive late and you will not be let in. There are no exceptions.

On your way in to the Nasrid Palaces you pass through the palace Charles V had built in the 1500s. From outside it is a square Renaissance block, but inside is a circular courtyard with two tiers of columns — the only one of its kind in Spain. The emperor never lived there; the roof was not finished until 1957.

2. The Generalife gardens

The sultans’ summer residence, a little higher up the slope. Simpler architecture, but the finest gardens in Spain. The water channel in the Patio de la Acequia is the same canal that has carried water down from the mountains since the 1200s.

Water is the whole idea behind the Alhambra. The engineers brought it from the Sierra Nevada with a gradient that gave enough pressure for the fountains, without pumps. That system still works.

3. The Alcazaba fortress

The oldest part of the complex, and the one many skip because they are tired after the palaces. Do not. From the Torre de la Vela you see all of Granada, the Albaicín on the far side, and the Sierra Nevada behind. This is where you understand why the site was chosen.

It was on this tower that the Castilian flag was raised on 2 January 1492 — the day the last Muslim kingdom in Western Europe fell.

4. The Albaicín

The old Moorish quarter on the hill facing the Alhambra. Whitewashed houses, streets too narrow for cars, and hidden gardens behind the walls. A UNESCO World Heritage site in its own right.

Los cármenes

This is what makes the Albaicín different from other old quarters. Behind the white walls lie the cármenes — houses with their own garden, a terrace and usually a view of the Alhambra. The word comes from the Arabic karm, vineyard, and the house is built around the garden rather than the other way round.

From the street you see nothing. Just a wall, a door, and perhaps a branch hanging over it. That was the point: the garden was private, for the family, screened from the lane. Walk through the Albaicín and you pass dozens of them without knowing.

A few are open to visitors. Carmen de los Mártires below the Alhambra has large gardens and is free. Carmen de la Victoria belongs to the university and can be visited. And the Casa del Chapiz, which houses a research institute, has two cármenes with gardens you can walk in.

5. The cathedral and the Royal Chapel

Granada’s cathedral is Renaissance, not Gothic, and was built over the city’s main mosque. Next to it lies the Capilla Real, where Isabella and Ferdinand are buried — the monarchs who completed the reconquest and funded Columbus in the same year.

They chose Granada over Madrid as their resting place. It was the city they were proudest of having taken.

6. Sacromonte and the cave homes

The district behind the Albaicín where the gitanos settled, in caves dug into the hillside. Some are still lived in, others have become flamenco venues. The zambra form of flamenco comes from here and is danced seated.

Be aware that the cave shows vary a great deal in quality. Ask at your hotel which ones are still the real thing.

7. Free tapas

Granada is one of the last cities in Spain where you get a free tapa with every drink. Not an olive — actual food. Order four beers and you have had lunch.

Calle Navas and the area around Plaza Nueva are the safe bets. The further from the Alhambra, the better the tapas get.

8. Mirador de San Nicolás

The square in front of the San Nicolás church, at the top of the Albaicín. From here you see the whole Alhambra across the valley, with the Sierra Nevada behind — on clear winter days, snow-capped peaks over 3,000 metres.

This is the image of Granada you have seen. Come half an hour before sunset, when the light turns and the palace goes golden. It is crowded, full of guitar players and vendors, and it is worth it anyway.

The walk up is steep through the lanes of the Albaicín. Buses C31 and C32 run from the centre if you would rather not climb.

9. Monasterio de la Cartuja

The Carthusian monastery sits some way north of the centre, which is why most people miss it. From the outside it is plain. Inside you find some of the most lavish Baroque work in Spain.

The sacristy is what you come for: marble in several colours, stucco covering every surface, and woodwork inlaid with tortoiseshell, ivory and silver. The monks worked on it for over three hundred years, from 1516.

It shows you a different Granada from the Moorish one. The Alhambra shows the city before 1492 — the Cartuja shows what came after, and how much silver was flowing in from the Americas. Bus 8 or U2 from the centre, or a twenty-minute walk from the university.

«The Alhambra was never built to impress from the outside. It was built to be experienced from within, room by room.»

Getting there on your own

The coach is the simplest option. Alsa runs several departures a day from the Plaza de Armas bus station in Seville to Granada, and the direct services take around three hours. The ones that stop along the way take four and a half, so check that yours is direct.

There is a train, but it goes via Antequera and takes longer than the coach. By car it is motorway all the way, the A-92, and about three hours. Parking in central Granada is difficult — use a car park and walk.

The Alhambra sits up on the ridge. Minibuses C30 and C32 run up from the centre, or you walk twenty-five minutes up the Cuesta de Gomérez. Taxis exist, but they are not allowed all the way in.

Your Alhambra ticket

This is what ruins the trip if you get it wrong. The Alhambra caps entry at around six thousand visitors a day, and tickets are released three months ahead at alhambra-patronato.es. In high season they sell out weeks in advance.

Your ticket carries a time slot for the Nasrid Palaces, and that time is absolute. Arrive fifteen minutes late and you will not be let in, and there is no refund. The rest of the grounds you can walk at any point during opening hours.

Bring your passport. The ticket is issued in a name, and ID is checked at the entrance to the Nasrid Palaces. If the name does not match the document you will not get in — that applies even if you bought the ticket for someone else.

And be careful where you buy. Plenty of websites sell Alhambra tickets well above the official price, and several of them do not include the Nasrid Palaces — only the gardens and the fortress. You would then have travelled three hours to see everything except the thing you came for. Always check that «Palacios Nazaríes» appears on the ticket with its own time slot, and buy from the official site if you can.

What to expect of Granada

Granada is a student city with a university dating from 1531, and you can tell. It is young, cheaper than Seville, and has more nightlife than its size would suggest. At the same time it sits 700 metres above sea level with mountains on three sides, so the air is drier and the nights colder than you are used to in Andalucía.

The different quarters

• The Alhambra ridge — the palace, the Generalife and the woods around them. Allow half a day.
• Albaicín — the old Moorish quarter, steep and whitewashed, with the viewpoints.
• Sacromonte — the cave homes behind the Albaicín, flamenco and gitano culture.
• The centre — the cathedral, the Royal Chapel, and the Alcaicería, the old silk bazaar that now sells souvenirs.
• Realejo — the old Jewish quarter, quieter, with street art and the tapas bars the students use.

Food and markets

Mercado San Agustín near the cathedral is the city food market — fish, meat, cheese and vegetables, mostly local customers. It is small and quick to walk, but it shows you what people actually eat.

Granada has kept the custom of a free tapa with every drink, and it is not an olive but proper food. Three or four rounds is lunch. What to try: habas con jamón, broad beans with ham; piononos, a sweet cake from Santa Fe just outside the city; and remojón, a salad of orange, salt cod and olives that resembles nothing else.

The area around Calle Navas and Plaza Nueva is where the tapas bars sit thickest. The further you get from the Alhambra, the better the food.

Mistakes people make

• Arriving late for the Nasrid Palaces. The time on the ticket is absolute. Be there twenty minutes early.
• Buying the ticket from the wrong site. Many resellers charge far above the price, and several do not include the Nasrid Palaces. Check that «Palacios Nazaríes» appears on the ticket with its own time slot.
• Assuming one day covers everything. The Alhambra takes half a day. If you want the Albaicín and the centre as well, you have to choose.
• Going up to San Nicolás at midday. The sun is then behind the Alhambra and your photographs shoot into the light. Go at sunset.
• Forgetting the passport. The ticket is issued in a name and ID is checked at the entrance to the palaces.
• Underestimating the hills. The Albaicín is steep and the cobbles are slippery. Hard-soled sandals are a bad idea.

Frequently asked questions