Granada Sights

  1. Albayzín

    On the hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro valley, Granada's old Muslim quarter, the Albayzín, is one of the city's most fabulous treasures. The steep, winding, cobblestone streets with gorgeous cármen es (large mansions with walled gardens, from the Arabic karm for garden), reveal the best views of the Alhambra and, likewise, the best views of the Albayzín are from the Alhambra.

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  2. Alcaicería

    Just south of the Capilla Real, the Alcaicería was the Muslim silk exchange, but what you see now is a restoration after a 19th-century fire, filled with tourist shops.

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  3. Alcazaba

    What remains of the Alcazaba is chiefly its ramparts and several towers, the most important and tallest being the Torre de la Vela (Watch Tower), with a narrow staircase leading to the top terrace, which has splendid views. The cross and banners of the Reconquista were raised here in January 1492. One of the Alhambra's many dungeons is set in the ground just inside the Alcazaba's eastern walls.

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  4. Alhambra

    Stretched along the top of the hill known as La Sabika, the Alhambra is the stuff of fairy tales. From outside, its red fortress towers and walls appear plain, if imposing, rising from woods of cypress and elm, with the Sierra Nevada forming a magnificent backdrop.

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  5. Aljibe Baños Árabes

    Granada has two Baños Árabes (Arabic baths) and a visit to one of these is a must for the sheer lazy pleasure of it. Both baths offer a similar deal: a bath and aromatherapy massage that last for two hours (bath 1hr 45min, massage 15min) and both need advance reservations. Swimwear is obligatory (you can rent it), towels are provided, and all sessions are mixed. The better of the pair is Aljibe Baños Árabes.

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  7. Alminar de San José

    The lovely Alminar de San José survives from an 11th-century mosque.

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  8. Arco de las Pesas

    An impressive gateway in the Albayzín's 11th-century defensive wall.

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  9. Baños Árabes El Bañuelo

    Along narrow Carrera del Darro, stop by 11th-century Muslim bathhouse, Baños Árabes El Bañuelo.

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  10. Catedral

    Adjoining the Capilla Real but entered separately, from Gran Vía de Colón, the cavernous Gothic-Renaissance cathedral was begun in 1521, and directed by Diego de Siloé from 1528 to 1563. Work was not completed until the 18th century. The main façade on Plaza de las Pasiegas, with four heavy buttresses forming three great arched bays, was designed in the 17th century by Alonso Cano.

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  11. Centro de Interpretación del Sacromonte

    This wide-ranging ethnographic and environmental museum and arts centre is set in large grounds planted with all manner of herbs where you can also see art exhibitions and attend a herbal remedy workshop. Morning is the best time to see the artists at work. The centre has an outdoor flamenco music, dance and film programme on Wednesday and Friday from June to September.

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  13. Centro José Guerrero

    The Centro José Guerrero is dedicated to the most celebrated artist to come out of Granada - abstract expressionist José Guerrero (1914-91), who was born in the city but found fame in New York in the 1950s. The centre, which opened in 2000, exhibits good temporary shows as well as a permanent collection of Guerrero's dramatic and colourful canvases. It's well worth a visit. Located just along the street from La Madraza (in the university).

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  14. Colegiata del Salvador

    Plaza del Salvador is dominated by the Colegiata del Salvador , a 16th-century church on the site of the Albayzín's main mosque; the mosque's horseshoe-arched patio, cool and peaceful, survives at its western end.

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  15. Convento de Santa Isabel la Real

    The Convento de Santa Isabel la Real was founded in 1501. A few more steps down the street is Placeta de San Miguel Bajo, with many cafés and restaurants with outdoor tables. The plaza's Iglesia de San Miguel is another church on the site of a former mosque.

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  16. Corral del Carbón

    You can't miss the lovely, horseshoe-arched, Islamic façade of this building, which began life as a 14th-century inn for merchants. It was later used as an inn for coal dealers (hence its modern name, meaning Coal Yard) and subsequently a theatre. It houses government offices and a government-run crafts shop, Artespaña.

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  17. Generalife

    The name Generalife means 'Architect's Garden', and this soothing composition of pathways, patios, pools, fountains, trimmed hedges, tall trees and, in season, flowers of every imaginable hue, is the perfect place to end an Alhambra visit.

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  19. Gitanos

    Fancy some fresh air? Then make your way up to the Sacromonte district (up Granada's sacred mountain) to the cave-dwelling neighbourhood of gitanos (Roma). Once deemed a danger to public order and still largely on society's margins except for the area of music (mainly flamenco), the gitanos probably started inhabiting the caves before the 14th century. General poverty made many poor peasants who'd come to live in Granada move to the caves in the 19th century.

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  20. Granada's Cathedral

    Granada's Cathedral is a cavernous Gothic and Renaissance building. Construction began in 1521 and lasted until the 18th century. It was directed from 1528 to 1563 by Renaissance pioneer Diego de Siloé, and the main façade on Plaza de las Pasiegas, with four heavy square buttresses forming three great arched bays, was designed in the 17th century by Alonso Cano.

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  21. Hammam Baños Árabes

    Granada has two Baños Árabes (Arabic baths) and a visit to one of these is a must for the sheer lazy pleasure of it. Both baths offer a similar deal: a bath and aromatherapy massage that last for two hours (bath 1hr 45min, massage 15min) and both need advance reservations. Swimwear is obligatory (you can rent it), towels are provided, and all sessions are mixed. Hammam Baños Árabes is the older and smaller of the two.

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  22. Huerta de San Vicente

    This house, where Federico García Lorca spent summers and wrote some of his best-known works, is a 15-minute walk south of the city centre. It was once surrounded by orchards. Today the modern Parque Federico García Lorca separates it from whizzing traffic.

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  23. Iglesia de Santa Ana

    Plaza Nueva extends northeast into Plaza Santa Ana, where the Iglesia de Santa Ana incorporates a mosque's minaret in its belltower.

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  25. La Cartuja Monastery

    This architectural gem stands 2km northwest of the city centre. The monastery was built between the 16th and 18th centuries.

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  26. Mexuar

    This 14th-century room is the entrance to the palace. It was used as a ministerial council chamber and as an antechamber for those awaiting audiences with the emir. The public would generally not have been allowed beyond here. The chamber has been much altered; it was converted into a chapel in the 16th century, and now contains both Muslim and Christian motifs. At its far end overlooking the Río Darro is the small, lavishly decorated Oratorio (Prayer Room).

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  27. Mezquita Mayor de Granada

    Just east of Mirador San Nicolás, off Cuesta de las Cabras, the Albayzín's first new mosque in 500 years, the Mezquita Mayor de Granada, has been built to serve modern Granada's growing Muslim population.

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  28. Mirador San Nicolás

    Callejón de San Cecilio leads to the Mirador San Nicolás, a lookout with unbeatable views of the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada. Come back here later for sunset (you can't miss the trail then!). At any time of day take care: skilful, well-organised wallet-lifters and bag-snatchers operate here.

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  29. Monasterio de San Jerónimo

    The 16th-century Monasterio de San Jerónimo, 500m west of the cathedral, is the burial place of El Gran Capitán (the Great Captain), Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the military right-hand man of the Catholic Monarchs. It's a treat for fans of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and stone carving. Don't miss the two lovely Plateresque doorways in the cloister, carved by the chief architect, Diego de Siloé, or the profusion of brightly painted sculpture inside the monastery church.

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