What to see in Granada

Granada highlights

The places you can’t miss. In the app we sort them by day and close to each other.

1. Alhambra and Generalife

   The Nasrid palaces; timed entry.

2. Albaicín

   The Moorish quarter with views of the Alhambra.

3. Mirador de San Nicolás

   The classic sunset with the Alhambra as a backdrop.

4. Cathedral and Royal Chapel

   Tombs of the Catholic Monarchs.

5. Sacromonte

   Flamenco caves and the Romani zambra.

6. Royal Chapel of Granada

   Tombs of the Catholic Monarchs beneath a marble mausoleum. In the crypt, the lead coffins are surprisingly simple.

7. Monastery of San Jerónimo

   A Renaissance cloister with orange trees and a church painted from floor to vault. Inside, the tomb of the Gran Capitán.

8. La Cartuja Monastery

   Unbridled Baroque twenty minutes from the centre: the sacristy has painted marble and tortoiseshell and ivory marquetry.

9. Corral del Carbón

   The only Nasrid corn exchange still standing in Spain: a brick gateway with a horseshoe arch and a three-storey courtyard.

10. El Bañuelo

    11th-century Arab baths with vaults pierced by star-shaped skylights. The capitals are reused Roman ones.

11. Carmen de los Mártires

    Seven hectares of gardens above the city, with free-roaming peacocks and a lake with black swans. Free entry.

12. Huerta de San Vicente

    The Lorca family’s summer house, with his desk and his piano, surrounded by a public park.

13. Granada Science Park

    An interactive museum with a planetarium, a tropical butterfly house and an observation tower. Half a day without a dull moment.

14. Sacromonte Caves Museum

    Eleven restored caves showing how people lived inside the hill. From the hillside you look straight across at the Alhambra.

15. Sacromonte Abbey

    At the end of the Sacromonte road, with the catacombs where the Lead Books were found. A twenty-minute climb.

Day trips from Granada

We take you straight to the best-rated tour on GetYourGuide, with its reviews and dates.

• Guided tour of the Alhambra ★ 4.6 (18,175 reviews)
• Albaicín and Sacromonte ★ 4.9 (3,609 reviews)
• Alpujarras ★ 4.7 (352 reviews)

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Book ahead

Tickets that sell out or have long queues, and closing days.

• Sells out · 90 days ahead Alhambra and Generalife

  Tickets go on sale three months ahead and sell out. This is the ticket that ruins the most trips: without it you can’t get in, and there’s no last-minute ticket office to save you.

  Official ticket office
• Opening hours Alhambra and Generalife

  Open every day except 25 December and 1 January.

Curious facts about Granada

• In many bars in Granada you get a free tapa with every drink.

Typical food of Granada

The dish you have to try there and how to make it at home, to whet your appetite before the trip (or to go back to Granada from your kitchen).

Piononos de Santa Fe

Small cakes of rolled sponge soaked in syrup, filled with custard and topped with toasted custard. They were born in Santa Fe, on the outskirts of Granada, and dedicated to Pope Pius IX.

• Serves 8
• 1 h

Ingredients

• For the sponge: 4 eggs, 100 g sugar, 100 g flour
• For the syrup: 200 ml water, 100 g sugar, 1 dash of rum or liqueur and cinnamon
• For the custard: 500 ml milk, 4 yolks, 100 g sugar, 40 g cornflour, lemon peel
• Sugar for caramelising

How to make it at home

1. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until tripled in volume, fold in the sifted flour and spread in a thin layer on a lined tray. Bake for 8 minutes at 200 °C.
2. Make the syrup by boiling the water and sugar with the cinnamon for 5 minutes; add the liqueur off the heat.
3. For the custard, heat the milk with the lemon, mix it with the yolks, sugar and cornflour and thicken over a low heat, stirring constantly.
4. Soak the sponge with the syrup, spread a thin layer of custard and roll it up tightly. Cut into pieces about 4 cm long and stand them upright.
5. Top each one with a spoonful of custard, sprinkle with sugar and caramelise with a blowtorch.

The trick: Roll the sponge while it’s still warm and let it cool rolled up: that way it won’t crack.

Frequently asked questions about Granada