On this post I will highlight the best things to do and the best things to visit in Granada in two days.
In the morning, we checked out of “Hotel Carpe Diem” and had our breakfast in the café next door, after breakfast we headed to Granada.
We had a great time in “Córdoba” on the previous day (see my post about “Córdoba“), but after breakfast we hit the road in the direction of Granada, about 2 hours by car.
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Where is Granada in Spain? Below there is a map showing where Granada is located and the places we visited in Granada on Day 1 or mentioned on this post:
“Granada” is of a very special interest to me as my great-grandparents and grandfather were from the province of Granada, more precisely from a small village on the top of the mountains called “Rubite”.
We visited Rubite in a previous trip to the south of Spain. To get there we drove through a very winding and long road before getting to Rubite at the “Sierra de la Contraviesa”.
That visit was very emotional to me as I got myself wondering how they managed to immigrate to a far way country as Brazil in 1904 as a young couple with 4 children, my grandfather being the youngest one at the tender age of 2.
They left their family and their small village and moved across the continents not because they wanted, but out of necessity, for a better life and better opportunities.
Sometimes people tell me how brave I was to have moved to the UK from Brazil and I think about the advantages I had when I moved, things my great-grandparents didn’t have then.
There were no cars or air planes, and travelling was done on the back of a horse/donkey and the trip was on a ship that might had taken at least 1 month in those days.
I keep wondering what that must have been like. What would have been going on their minds travelling to a destination unknown and that they might have only heard about.
It is a comfort to know that they all arrived safe and sound, they rooted themselves in Brazil and they achieved what they wanted.
My grandfather grew up, got married and had my father. My father grew up, met my mother, got married and had me and my brother continuing the Martins Murillo family.
Enough of dwelling on personal matters and let’s get on with travelling!
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GRANADA
“Granada” is another pretty city in Andalusia, spreading at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and inhabited by the Iberians, Romans, and Visigoths.
It was under Nasrid rule for 800 years, and it was the last Muslim-ruled state to be reconquered in the Iberian Peninsula according to Wikipedia.
It was reconquered in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon in a war that lasted 10 years and culminated with the Muslims’ surrender.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand also expelled the Jews from Granada, which progressively transformed into a Christian city over the next century.
After the “Reconquista” Granada became the site of the Royal Court of Isabella and Ferdinand where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition.
Granada means “pomegranate” in English, a fruit that is abundant in the area and official symbol of the city.
The city is a full plate for those who love architecture, culture, and history.
Granada’s architecture is notable and full of artistic monuments in Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles as well as Islamic Architecture, an inheritance of the Moors.
Andalusia is a fascinating part of Spain and Granada is the perfect location to spend a few days indulging on its history, architecture, and tapas bars!
VISITING GRANADA
We had tickets booked to visit the “Nasrid Palaces” (part of the Alhambra complex) for 12:00 o’clock, so we drove straight to the complex when we arrived in Granada. There is a large car park and we just parked in there and walked to the entrance.
“Alhambra” (Red Castle in English) dominates the skylight. It is a palace-fortress complex of the Nasrid Sultans and one of the most visited attractions in Spain.
It was started in 1238 by the first Nasrid on a site of a previous fortress of the 11th century. After the reconquest it became the palace of the Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand.
It is probably the finest example of Islamic architecture of the 13th/14th centuries. One of the most beautiful palaces in the world with its intricate architectural inspirations from the Muslim/Christian cultures.
Because of its rich history and stunning beauty, it has been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
You can easily spend the whole day wandering through the complex of Alhambra, but if you are short of time like we were reserve at least 3 to 4 hours to explore the most important parts.
You can book a guided tour to explore Nasrid palaces and the Alhambra Complex via this LINK or you can buy a fast-track ticket only to Nasrid Palaces and the Alhambra via this LINK. If you want a skip-the-line ticket with an audio-guide it is HERE.
For us the most important part was the “Nasrid Palaces” where you will find the Muslim architecture, decorated tiles, beautiful courtyards, and gorgeous fountains. (as if we haven’t had enough of it in Seville and Córdoba).
To enter the “Nasrid Palaces”, you need to book a designated time and be there at the queue half-an hour before your timed hour. If you miss this slot, you will not be allowed in at any other time. This is to control the amount of people that visits the palace at every hour.
We visited inside the “Nasrid Palaces” first and admired its stunning carved stonework in Islamic details.
Above various photos of “Nasrid Palace”
Afterwards we moved to the “Charles V Palace”, a Renaissance-style building in total contrast to the “Nasrid Palaces” next to it.
At the time of our visit, they were having some kind of theatre presentation in the courtyard, and we could see all the chairs and the stage in preparation for the show.
From there we moved on to the “Alcazaba”, which is the oldest part of the Alhambra and used to be a military fortress for being the highest part of the complex and having full view of the entire city.
In this part there are various towers, and you can climb one of them to appreciate the stunning views of Granada.
You can also see a maze of walls within the fortress. These walls were used to collect rainwater and the dungeon of the fortress is located just below.
Next, we moved on to “Generalife” which houses the wonderful gardens of the Alhambra. The garden is full of lush plants and trees and is full of beautiful things to see, such as immaculate trees and bushes groomed to perfect shapes.
There is also a lovely water stairway where you can see the water sipping through from the top of the garden to the bottom. It is just gorgeous!
By then we had already spent about 4 hours there and it was time to head to our hotel for a refreshing shower as we were quite sweaty by then. It was hot over there!
We drove to our hotel, “Sercotel Palacio de los Gamboa“, which unusually had a garage, so we could park there without too much stress.
The hotel was very nice, with Spanish style decorations and comfortable rooms. It had a restaurant where we stopped for something to eat to keep us going until dinner time.
We had the most delicious tomato salad from the entire trip. I think it was the most memorable dish we had so far! Oh! It gives me water in the mouth just thinking about it!
After a shower and some rest we left the room later in the evening to look for a place to eat as we did not reserve anything for that night.
We just walked around the roads near the hotel, which were full of restaurants, and picked one. We chose the restaurant La Chicotá on Calle Navas.
The choice was OK, and I had paella and sangria for the first time on this trip. The dish was good, but too much food for only one person and a lot was left (my husband does not like paella).
After dinner we walked back to our hotel for some sleep as next day we had more things to explore in the vibrant city of Granada!
I hope this post helps you to plan your own visit to Granada and gives you an idea of what can be fitted in one day in the city.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Granada. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
THINGS TO DO ON DAY 1
GRANADA ATTRACTIONS
1 – The Alhambra Complex – ***
WHERE TO STAY
HOTELS
1 – Hotel Sercotel Palacio de los Gamboa – 4* – ££
2 – Vincci Albayzin – 4* – ££
3 – Parador de Granada (Inside Alhambra) – 4* – ££
4 – Palacio Gran Via, a Royal Hideaway Hotel – 5* – £££
5 – Gar Anat Hotel Boutique – 3* – ££
6 – Palacio de Santa Inés – 3* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation just search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – La Chicotá – ** – ££
2 – Atelier Casa de Comidas – ££
3 – Restaurant Las Tomasas - Views to Alhambra – ££
4 – La Cuchara de Carmela – ££
5 – Apo Restaurant – ££
6 – Restaurante Arriaga – £££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
On this trip to Spain:
1 – Experiencing Gibraltar -Day 1
2 – Experiencing Gibraltar – Day 2
3 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 1
4 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 2
5 – How to Explore Jerez de la Frontera and Seville – Day 1
6 – Seville – Day 2
7 – Córdoba
8 – Granada – Day 1
9 – Granada – Day 2
10 – Setenil de las Bodegas and Ronda
11 – Marbella
12 – Gibraltar – Day 3
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