Must-see attractions in Granada

  • Alhambra columns around the Court of Lions

    Alhambra

    Granada

    The Alhambra is Granada’s – and Europe’s – love letter to Moorish culture. Set against the brooding Sierra Nevada peaks, this fortified palace started…

  • Capilla Real, Royal Chapel, Granada, Spain.

    Capilla Real

    Granada

    The Royal Chapel is the last resting place of Spain’s Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs), Isabel I de Castilla (1451–1504) and Fernando II de Aragón …

  • Inside the Gleaming Golden Basilica of San Juan de Dios.

    Basílica San Juan de Dios

    Granada

    Built between 1737 and 1759, this spectacular basilica unveils a blinding display of opulent baroque decor. Barely an inch of its interior lacks…

  • Court of the Lions is part of Nasrid Palaces of Alhambra palace complex, Granada, Spain.

    Palacios Nazaríes

    Granada

    This is the stunning centrepiece of the Alhambra, the most brilliant Islamic building in Europe, with perfectly proportioned rooms and courtyards,…

  • Courtyard of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) in La Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

    Patio de los Arrayanes

    Granada

    In the Alhambra, this elegant patio is the central courtyard of the Palacio de Comares, the palace built in the mid-14th century as Emir Yusuf I’s…

  • Courtyard of the Palacio de Carlos V in La Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

    Palacio de Carlos V

    Granada

    This huge Renaissance palace clashes spectacularly with the style of its surroundings on the Alhambra. Its main (western) facade features three porticoes…

  • SPAIN - ANDALUSIA - GRENADA - GATE OF THE CARTUJA MONASTERY

    Monasterio de la Cartuja

    Granada

    Built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Carthusian monks themselves, this monastery features an imposing sandstone exterior and some incredibly…

  • Granada / Spain - December 2 2019: Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos Hermanas) of Nasrid Palaces (Palacios Nazaríes), Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia                    ; Shutterstock ID 1602394498; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Sala de Dos Hermanas

    Granada

    The richly decorated Sala de Dos Hermanas (Hall of Two Sisters), in the Palacios Nazaríes section of the Alhambra, sits on the northern side of the Patio…

  • Dome Inside Granada Cathedral

    Catedral de Granada

    Granada

    From street level it’s difficult to appreciate the immensity of Granada’s cavernous, boxed-in cathedral. But it’s nonetheless a monumental work of…

  • July 1, 2014: Patio de los Leones (Patio of the Lions) at Palacios Nazaries in the Alhambra.
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    Patio de los Leones

    Granada

    The celebrated Patio de los Leones (Lion Courtyard) sits at the core of the Palacio de los Leones, the palace built in the Alhambra in the second half of…

  • Council Hall (Sala del Mexuar) at Nasrid Palaces of Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

    Mexuar

    Granada

    This 14th-century hall forms the entrance to the Palacios Nazaríes in the Alhambra. Originally, the council of ministers would have met here and the…

  • Comares Tower above the Courtyard of the Myrtles.

    Torre de Comares

    Granada

    Rising above the Patio de los Arrayanes (Patio of the Myrtles) on the Alhambra, this tower houses two fine rooms: the Sala de la Barca (Hall of the…

  • The Alcazaba Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

    Alcazaba

    Granada

    Occupying the western tip of the Alhambra are the martial ramparts and towers of the Alcazaba, the site's original 13th-century citadel. The Torre de la…

  • Granada, Spain - The nave of baroque-renaissance church Monasterio de San Jeronimo.

    Monasterio de San Jerónimo

    Granada

    With Gothic cloisters, fragrant orange trees and a lavishly decorated interior, this 16th-century monastery is one of Granada's most stunning Catholic…

  • Evening view of  Palace of Charles V at Alhambra.  Granada ; Shutterstock ID 495206575; Your name (First / Last): redownload; GL account no.: redownload; Netsuite department name: redownload; Full Product or Project name including edition: redownload

    Museo de la Alhambra

    Granada

    Inside the Palacio de Carlos V in the Alhambra, the Museo de la Alhambra has an absorbing collection of Islamic artefacts, including the wood-carved door…

  • Alhambra sunset

    Mirador San Nicolás

    Granada

    For those classic sunset shots of the Alhambra sprawled along a wooded hilltop with the Sierra Nevada mountains looming in the background, wander up…

  • GRANADA, SPAIN -  JULY 12, 2016: The Hall of the Abencerrajes, Sala de los Abencerrajes, at Royal complex of Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia, Spain.; Shutterstock ID 1137875510; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Sala de los Abencerrajes

    Granada

    This is one of the star rooms in the Alhambra. Boasting a mesmerising octagonal stalactite ceiling, it's the legendary site of the murders of the noble…

  • Granada, Spain - Jun 5,  2019: Hall of the Ambassadors at Nasrid Palaces of Alhambra - Granada, Andalusia, Spain; Shutterstock ID 2314805491; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Salón de los Embajadores

    Granada

    The Chamber of the Ambassadors is where the emirs would have conducted negotiations with Christian emissaries on the Alhambra. Located in the Torre de…

  • Partal Palace and Gardens at El Partal area of Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia, Spain.

    Jardines del Partal

    Granada

    An area of beautiful terraced gardens laid out in the Alhambra in the 20th century. Its most famous landmark is the Palacio del Partal, a 14th-century…

  • Generalife Palace in Granada, Spain.

    Palacio del Generalife

    Granada

    This whitewashed country house served as the sultan's summer palace on the Alhambra. In the Generalife gardens, it boasts a series of delightful…

  • Patio de Lindaraja, 16th-century courtyard adjacent to the Palace of the Lions, in Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

    Patio de la Lindaraja

    Granada

    In the Palacios Nazaríes on the Alhambra, this is a beautiful porticoed patio with trees and a small formal garden set around a central fountain. In the…

  • Lower gardens of the Generalife, Alhambra de Granada.

    Jardines Nuevos

    Granada

    Also known as the Jardines Bajos (Lower Gardens), these gardens were laid in the Alhambra in the early 20th century as an approach to the Palacio del…

  • Museo Arqueológico

    Granada

    Relaunched in 2018 after an eight-year restoration, Granada's archaeology museum is spread across the 16th-century Casa de Castril, with its elaborate…

  • Patio del Cuarto Dorado

    Granada

    This Alhambra courtyard, in the Palacios Nazaríes, is where the emirs would have given audiences to their subjects. It features a small fountain and the…

  • Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta

    Granada

    On the Realejo hill, the Carmen Blanco houses the Rodríguez-Acosta foundation in a building created in 1914 by the Granada-born modernist artist José…

  • Palacio de Dar-al-Horra

    Granada

    Up high in the Albayzín – down a lane off Placeta de San Miguel Bajo and Callejón del Gallo – this 15th-century Nasrid palace was the home of sultana Aixa…

  • Palacio de la Madraza

    Granada

    Easily recognisable by the trompe l'oeil on its facade, La Madraza was founded in 1349 by Yusuf I as a school and university – and still belongs to…

  • Torre de la Vela

    Granada

    Of the towers in the Alcazaba section of the Alhambra, the most celebrated is this, the so-called Torre de la Vela (Watchtower) where the cross and…

  • Palacio del Partal

    Granada

    A green reflecting pool announces this small porticoed palace, one of the oldest buildings in the Alhambra, dating from the time of Mohammed III (r 1302…

  • Casa-Museo Max Moreau

    Granada

    Get a rare (and free) glimpse of one of Granada's secret cármenes at the former home of 20th-century Belgium portrait painter and composer Max Léon Moreau…

  • Casa-Museo Manuel de Falla

    Granada

    Arguably Spain's greatest classical composer and an artistic friend of Lorca, Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) was born in Cádiz, but spent his key years in…

  • Museo Casa Natal Federico García Lorca

    Granada

    In Federico García Lorca's birthplace, the village of Fuente Vaqueros 17km west of Granada, this small but lovingly maintained museum displays photos,…

  • Museo CajaGranada

    Granada

    A peripheral location makes this museum a rather under-visited place. It charts Andalucía's history, culture and geography through displays and…

  • Huerta de San Vicente

    Granada

    The house where the great poet and playwright Federico García Lorca spent summers and wrote some of his best-known works retains the evocative aura of an…

  • Sala de los Reyes

    Granada

    In the Alhambra, at the eastern end of the Patio de los Leones, is the Sala de los Reyes (Hall of the Kings), with a leather-lined ceiling painted by 14th…

  • Corral del Carbón

    Granada

    Just east of Calle Reyes Católicos, an elaborate horseshoe arch leads through to the 14th-century Corral del Carbón, a cobbled, much-restored courtyard…

  • Mirador de Daraxa

    Granada

    A tile-trimmed lookout in the Alhambra, in the Palacios Nazaríes. Situated in the Sala de Dos Hermanas (Hall of Two Sisters), it looks over the Patio de…

  • Sala de la Barca

    Granada

    Just off the Patio de los Arrayanes in the Alhambra, the Sala de la Barca (Hall of the Blessing) is named after the Arabic word for blessing, al-baraka,…

  • Centro de la Memoria Sefardí

    Granada

    Since being expelled en masse in 1492, there are very few Sephardic Jews left living in Granada. But this didn't stop one enterprising couple from opening…

  • Calle Calderería Nueva

    Granada

    Linking the upper and lower parts of the Albayzín, Calle Calderería Nueva is a narrow street famous for its teterías (teahouses). It's also a good place…