Capilla Real

The Royal Chapel, adjoining the cathedral, is Granada's outstanding Christian building. Catholic Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand commissioned this elabor­ate Isabelline-Gothic-style mausoleum. It was not completed until 1521, hence their temporary interment in the Convento de San Francisco.

The monarchs lie in simple lead coffins in the crypt beneath their marble monuments in the chancel, which is enclosed by a stunning gilded wrought-iron screen created in 1520 by Bartolomé de Jaén. The sacristy contains a small but impressive museum with Ferdinand's sword and Isabella's sceptre, silver crown and personal art collection, which is mainly Flemish but also includes Botticelli's Prayer in the Garden of Olives. Felipe de Vigarni's two fine early-16th-century statues of the Catholic Monarchs at prayer are also here.

Just opposite is La Madraza, founded in 1349 by Sultan Yusuf I as a school and university. You can gaze into the splendid prayer hall with its elaborate mihrab where the light here has a special mellow quality. The building was closed for renovations at the time of writing.