On this post I will highlight the places we visited, the best things to see and best things to do in Granada Day 2.
We woke up to a new sunny day in Granada and after breakfast at Hotel Sercotel Palacio de los Gamboa, we started our explorations of the day.
The previous day was spent at the Alhambra Complex (see my Granada post Day 1), but today we wanted to explore the centre of town and to visit Sacromonte another neighbourhood in Granada.
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Where is Granada? Below is a map showing Granada location and the places we visited or mentioned on this post in Granada Day 2:
We walked through the centre of town stopping at Plaza Bib-Rambla. This is the oldest square in Granada dating from the Nasrid times. This is the heart of the city, where all important events happened and are still happening. From executions to bullfights and from Christian processions to popular celebrations.
The square was renovated and extended in the 16th century and continued to be an important place reflecting Granada’s history.
The plaza today is a lively spot with flower stands, tapas bars and restaurants, shading lime trees and a 19th century fountain called “Gigantones Fountain”.
From there we entered “Alcaiceria Market”, which was the original silk market. It is also known as the “Bazaar of Granada” selling ceramics, lamps, and lots of other interesting items.
The market is on a group of narrow streets where selling of all kinds of souvenirs also happens. It is very close to the Granada’s Cathedral where we headed next.
Granada Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church and construction started on the 16th century. It took 181 years to build and didn’t have the 81 metre towers as per original design on the plans. If the towers were to be built it would have taken many more years to finish.
However, the result was a beautiful cathedral with its five naves, dome with golden stars and chapels with marvellous paintings by El Greco. We wandered through the cathedral admiring the beautiful details and once we were finished, we headed next door to the Royal Chapel.
The Royal Chapel was constructed between 1505 and 1517 and was integrated to the Granada Cathedral Complex.
This is where the graves of Queen Isabella I of Castile and her husband, King Ferdinand II of Aragon are. There are other important royals also buried in there, but the more famous ones are those two.
The most important things to see inside the chapel are the “altar”, the “reredos” (an altar piece decoration placed behind the altar in a church) and the crypt where the coffins are.
The visit to the Royal Chapel is usually done together with the cathedral and you can get combined tickets.
You can visit the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel in a guided tour that also includes the Alcaiceria Market and the historic centre that lasts 3 hours HERE.
If you prefer a shorter tour, there is this ONE HERE that lasts 2 hours only.
You can also get a combo ticket that includes another 3 monuments HERE.
After the visit we walked to Plaza Nuevo to catch bus 34 to go to Sacramonte, a neighbourhood in Granada where they have the “Museum Cuevas de Sacromonte”. We stopped at a tapas bar near the plaza for some lunch before going.
The journey of the bus is through “Camino del Sacromonte” and you get off at “Sacromonte 2”. It takes about 15 minutes.
This museum is a group of about 10 caves that had been recreated to show how the caves used to be 100 years ago. Visitors can see how the inhabitants of the caves used to live in those days.
It is a lovely visit and one of the best things to do in Granada. You can learn a lot about the art and culture of the area on this interesting museum.
Above: Various photos of the caves
There are very nice views of Alhambra and the valley from there but prepare yourself to climb lots of ramps and steps to get to the museum.
You can book a 3-hour, guided walking tour to Albaicín and Sacromonte that includes a visit to the museum HERE.
We wanted to visit El Bañuelo (diminutive of bath in English) after this visit to Sacromonte, but by that time we were very tired and feeling very hot. We just decided to catch the bus back and had a little nap at the air-conditioned hotel.
El Bañuelo is one of the few baths that survived from the destruction of the Catholic Monarchs. It is now a National Monument since 1918 and it had been restored as the construction dates from the 11th century, being the oldest Arab public baths in Spain.
Obviously, this one is not a working bath and if you want to have an experience of bathing in a genuine Arab Baths, you should go to Hammam Arab Baths nearby.
I think a visit to El Bañuelo and the bath experience are very cool things to do in Granada and we were sorry we didn’t make it, but it is certainly on the list for our next time.
You can book an experience at Hamman Al Andalus HERE.
Once we arrived at our hotel room, we only went out again later in the evening to another restaurant nearby, that ended up being unremarkable as many others on this trip.
We had an early evening as next day we were leaving to Setenil de las Bodegas and Ronda ending our day in Marbella.
I hope this post helps you to plan your own itinerary and gives you ideas of what can be done in two days in Granada.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR GRANADA 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 IN GRANADA
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Plaza Bibi-Rambla – ***
2 – Alcaiceria Market – ***
3 – Granada Cathedral – ***
4 – The Royal Chapel – ***
5 – Museum Cuevas de Sacromonte – ***
6 – El Bañuelo
7 – Hammam Arab Baths
WHERE TO STAY IN GRANADA
HOTELS
1 – Áurea Washington Irving by Eurostars – 5* – £££
2 – Alhambra Palace Hotel – 5* – £££
3 – Palacete 1620 – 4* – £££
4 – Villa Oniria – 4* – ££
5 – Hotel Casa Morisca – 3* – ££
6 – Casa del Capitel Nazarí – 3* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation just search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Restaurante Damasqueros – £££
2 – Restaurante El Trillo – ££
3 – Amazonia Fine Food – ££
4 – Ruta del Azafrán – ££
5 – Siloé Bar & Grill – £
6 – Humo Origen – £
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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