Granada

Why visit Granada

Granada is the most mountainous of Andalucía’s provinces, stretching from the snowfields of Sierra Nevada, home to the highest peaks on mainland Spain, down to the subtropical Costa Tropical in barely an hour’s drive. As the last Moorish kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, it holds an extraordinary Nasrid legacy, crowned by the Alhambra above its capital. Beyond the city the landscapes keep changing: terraced Alpujarra villages, the cave towns and badlands of the northern high plateaux, fertile valleys of orange and olive groves and a rugged Mediterranean shore. It suits travellers who want world-class heritage, mountains and beaches in a single trip.

Main attractions in Granada

The Alhambra and Generalife, the Albaicín and the Royal Chapel, where the Catholic Monarchs are buried, make the capital an essential stop, and its tapas bars still serve a free bite with every drink. Sierra Nevada offers Europe’s southernmost ski resort in winter and high-mountain hiking to Mulhacén and Veleta in summer, while the Alpujarra’s white villages are linked by centuries-old footpaths. In the north, Guadix’s cave houses, the Renaissance castle of La Calahorra and the Granada Geopark’s badlands feel worlds away from the coast, where Almuñécar and Salobreña offer diving, kayaking and a mild winter. Lovers of history can trace Lorca’s footsteps around the Vega, and food lovers can sample Trevélez ham, Alpujarra wines and the plato alpujarreño, with Granada’s Corpus Christi fair a highlight of late spring.

Good to know before you go

Alhambra tickets often sell out weeks ahead. Book on the official site as soon as your dates are fixed, and bring the ID used for the booking.