Spain
Granada & Sierra Nevada — Boutique Hotels & Travel Guide
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Granada is the city of the Alhambra — the Nasrid palace complex above the city that is the finest example of Islamic architecture in Europe and one of the most visited monuments in the world. It is also a university city of extraordinary character, with a free tapas culture, a Gypsy flamenco tradition centred on the cave district of Sacromonte, and the Sierra Nevada visible from the city centre — a ski resort at 3,000 metres that is forty-five minutes from the Mediterranean coast.
Why Visit Granada & Sierra Nevada
Book the Alhambra tickets three months in advance — the Nasrid Palaces have timed entry and sell out completely. Go for the evening visit as well as the daytime — the palaces lit at night have a quality entirely different from the daytime experience. The Albaicín neighbourhood opposite the Alhambra — a Moorish quarter of whitewashed houses on a hillside — is the finest historic neighbourhood in Andalusia. The mirador of San Nicolás at sunset, with the Alhambra across the valley and the Sierra Nevada behind, is one of the great views in Spain.
Best Towns in Granada & Sierra Nevada
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When to Visit
March through May for the city at its most beautiful — the gardens of the Generalife in spring are extraordinary. October and November for the autumn light and the beginning of the ski season in the Sierra Nevada. July and August are hot but the city retains life because of the student population. Book the Alhambra regardless of when you visit.
Nova Insider
The hammam at El Bañuelo — the 11th-century Arab baths in the Albaicín, the oldest surviving in Spain — is open to visitors and almost entirely overlooked in favour of the Alhambra. Spend an hour in the vaulted chambers of hot and cold water, lit by star-shaped skylights, and you will understand more about Moorish Granada than any museum can explain. It is free, it is extraordinary, and the queue is never more than ten minutes.
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Andalusia — Boutique Hotels & Travel Guide