Contents |
Introduction |
Map: Granada & Sierra Nevada |
Planning your trip |
Best time to visit Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Getting to Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Transport in Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Tourist information |
Where to stay in Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Food and drink in Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Essentials A-Z |
Granada and Sierra Nevada |
Granada |
Background |
Map: Granada |
La Alhambra |
Map: La Alhambra & Generalife |
Plaza Nueva to Sacramonte |
Map: Granada centre |
El Albayzín |
The cathedral and around |
University district |
In Lorca’s footsteps |
Listings |
Sierra Nevada |
Getting there and around |
Pradollano (Solynieve) |
Listings |
La Alpujarra |
Getting there and around |
Walking in La Alpujarra |
The road from Granada |
High Alpujarra |
Southern Alpujarra |
Northeastern Alpujarra |
Listings |
East from Granada |
Guadix and around |
Listings |
La Costa Tropical |
Listings |
West from Granada |
Listings |
Footnotes |
Basic Spanish for travellers |
Food glossary |
The city that became the last outpost of Moorish Spain rules over a spectacular and mountainous province encompassing remote uplands as well as the snowy Sierra Nevada and the dry but fertile valleys of the Alpujarra. What draws visitors beyond all else is a single monument, the Alhambra. This palace and fortress complex above Granada needs no gimmicks or pushy PR: it’s simply magnificent. But Granada is no one-hit wonder; you could happily spend weeks pursuing the spirit of Federico García Lorca, one of Spain’s greatest poets, pacing the quiet streets of the Moorish Albayzín district, investigating the Renaissance buildings erected after the Christian conquest and enjoying the classy free tapas in the city’s bars.
Overlooking the city is the lofty Sierra Nevada, a protected zone offering year-round outdoor activities. Mulhacén, the peninsula’s highest peak, can be fairly easily climbed in summer, and in winter there’s decent skiing at the Solynieve resort. On the south side, the range drops into the valleys of the Alpujarra, where there’s great hiking between charmingly compact villages.
Further south, the province has a short coastline known as the Costa Tropical. Although getting more developed and increasingly settled by expats, the beachy towns of Almuñécar and Salobreña are still a far cry from the resorts further east and west, and make tempting stops.
The towns to the east of Granada still feature extensive districts where the inhabitants live in caves dug into the rocky hillsides. One of these, Guadix, boasts a fine cathedral; nearby is one of Andalucía’s most memorable castles at La Calahorra. On the other side of the provincial capital, the spa town of Alhama and the craggy olive community of Montefrío are excellent places to experience authentic Andalucían pueblo life.