Granada, ex-capital of the Nazari Kingdom, has a lot of architectonic treasures, some of them declared Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO: The Alhambra, Generalife and Albaicin are only some examples. For thousands of years, the diversity of villages that had settled aroung the province left an incredible inheritance for humanity

The Alhambra is a palace built like a city at the top of the Darro river. Its name comes from the color of its walls, al-Hamra means “The Red” in Arabic.

The Alhambra’s origins date back to the 19th century when The Alcazaba (fortress) was used as a shelter; but it wasn’t until the 13th century when the first Nazari King, Mohamed I, settled in it and begun construction around the palace and whole city.

In the interior, precios porches and fountains surrounded by lush gardens, which take the visitor to the precious Arab palaces, such as the Comares, in which is the Arrayanes Courtyard and the Lions Courtyard.

The route through The Alhambra continues through different romos such as the Two Sisters’ Hall, the Abencerrajes’ Hall or the King’s Hall, beautifully decorated and contemplating the Alcazaba.

Just in front of The Alhambra are the built Gardens of Generalife, going through the Puerta del Hierro, and near the Tower of the Three Peaks. Inside the gardens, there is water everywhere, with uncountable fountains, channels and even a water stairway that leads to the superior door. This demonstrates the Nazari culture of nature and water that reflects not only in The Alhambra and The Generalife, buta ll around Granada’s city.

Nowadays, The Ahlambra is the most visited monument in Spain, with over three million visitors in 2011, and one of the biggest treasures of the country, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

This monument was chosen between all the world’s monuments, achieving the 10th position in the voting for the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2011, which makes this monument the 10th most beautiful in the world.

If you would like to visit this and other wonders in our city, we will offer you the opportunity, contact us!

Las Alpujarras is a mountainous zone located in the south of Sierra Nevada, in a scenery of sheered mountains, beautiful valleys, ravines and creeks that  flow into the Mediterranean Sea.

This zone is well known in Spain because of its unique microsystem. Its farmlands melt constantly through the snow that comes from the heights of the Sierra Nevada mountain, making it an oasis of vegetation at a great altitude in a marked contrast with the sandy foothills below.

This is an ideal place for adventurous visitors; each time they pass various days of hiking and camping on its mountains, of an average altitude of 1,200 metres above sea level.

The Alpujarra de Granada is located 50 km from the city of Granada and 35 from the coast. You can find the most popular villages in Barranco del Poqueira – Capileira, Bubión and Pampaneira. Other important cities include Lanjarón, Orgiva, Pórtugos, La Taha, Pitres, Capilerilla, Atalbéitar, Ferreirola, Mecinas, Busquístar, Trevélez, Ugíjar, Juviles, Bérchules, Cádiar, Mecina Bombarón, Yegen, Valor and Torvizcón.

If you want to leark about the Alpujarra and a lot more, come and MEET GRANADA!, We offer private views and in groups of all around the province. Contact us!

Granada, a city located in southern Spain, begun its magnificence during the Nazari Kingdom in the 13th century, a time when the Kingdom of Granada was set, and La Alhambra city was founded. In the outskirts the suburbs of Albaicín were surrounded by walls, and at the beginning of the 14th century an authentic city already existed with its businesses, homes and the mosque.

This period which was enriched by cultural diversity had been extended throughout time, leaving from then and up to now, a great number of architectural beauties and riches everywhere. The most important nowadays is still La Alhambra, and in 1984 it was declared World Heritage by the UNESCO, next to the Generalife and the Albaicin, being the most visited tourist attraction in Spain.

Granada is the cultural and historic capital by excelence. Its historic center is rich in monuments, buildings and roads that lead to a city filled with corners with charms which aren’t the same anywhere else.
Going into El Albaycín, the old city of Granada, we find a group of roads with white houses, balconies filled with flowerpots and vegetation, small squares, churches and motives of its Arab ancestors, that find their splendor in the Mirador of Saint Nicolas, the most famous and crouded of our city. From this beautiful balcony, there are some incredible views of La Alhambra, el Generalife, the city of Granada and Sierra Nevada.

We recommend all our friends not to miss the opportunity of joining us in our guided visits through El Albaycin to know about all its charms and a lot of other parts that aren’t as well known.

On the other side of El Albaycin there’s the neighbourhood of Sacromonte, in the Valley of Valparaiso, in front of La Alhambra.
This neighbourhood is a traditional Granada gypsy suburb, and the cradle of current flamenco. The original homes are caves, that are still mostly inhabitated now.

In the low part of El Albaycin, we find the Paseo de Los Tristes, where we can enjoy the fantastic views, and the charm of its terraces and the Darro river at the slope of La Alhambra. Going down this walkway, there are a lot of historic buildings such as the testimonial of the Muslim and Christian pass through. The Church of San Pedro is one of the most beautiful ones.

The beginning of this road is the Carrera del Darro, which joins up with the city’s historic área, connected by the lovely Plaza Nueva. The Church of Santa Ana and the Real Chancilleria are in this plaza.

Only a few metres away we will see the mouth of Elvira Road, with its Puerta Elvira, welcoming everyone to the old neighbourhood of the city.

On this very road there’s a zone where nowadays there’s a lot of conserved arab restaurants and tearooms, which is why this area is also known as the Calle de las Teterias.

Crossing Elvira Road towards the historic area, we go past the Grand Via de Granada, one of the main roads that take us to the historic area.

The most appreciated monument from after the Reconquest is the Granada Cathedral, sitting on the place where the mosque used to be, to overtake the supremacy of the Christians over the Muslims.

Around it, we will still find the footprint left by the Muslim Granada, with a lot of businesses and Little roads that are known as La Alcaicería, which originally was a silk market. These roads are limited by the Zacatín Road, and the Birrambla Plaza on the other side, a beautiful plaza with a bohemian look in which nowadays a mix of cultures and buildings live, which makes it stand out.

The Catholic Kings Road is another one of the most emblematic roads of the city, where we find the Granada Town Hall, and on the other side the Puerta Real, with its Fuente de Las Batallas.

If we continue walking through the Carrera de la Virgen, we will find another very beautiful area called El Paseo del Salón, a beautiful walk through the Darro River and in front of the Realejo neighbourhood, where we can see the homes of Granada’s higher class.

However, this doesn’t finalize the tour of the great patrimony of our city, the neighbourhood of Realejo, the Cartuja, the Plaza de Toros, the Jardines del Triunfo, the Park of Federico García Lorca, Sierra Nevada, the Tropical Coast, and much more, they’ve invited millions of tourists that nowadays have passed through our city, to wish that they could come back.

If you would like to learn about this and much more, don’t doubt about contacting us and we will create an ideal pass through Granada that you will never forget.

Get ready to enjoy the benefits of a legendary gastronomy, which mixes a thousand year old mediterranean tradition with the impacting exotic Islam culture and drags the new American trends which Colon and his men brought to Andalusia as a door to Europe.

Included on the list of Inmaterial Humanity Heritage, the mediterranean diet covers the best of its influences and the benefits have been scientifically proven. Olive oil, lush fruits and vegetables, fresh fish and a moderate consumption of meat, alongside the cristaline pureness of Sierra Nevada’s water from Granada, specifically the Alpujarran village of Lanjarón, the place with most longevity in the world.

Lamb, custard apples… even caviar from Riofrío put Granada on the top of gastronomic riches on a worldwide scale. Mangos and avocados from the Tropical Coast add color to this beautiful flavour of Trévelez, no doubt one of the best in Spain.

But what is definitely able top ut Granada on the gastronomic map is holding the capital status of culture with the tapa, consistent in, on an innkeeper criteria, inviting clients to a plate of typical food with each drink. The city and province have this custom that has a medieval origin and allows toe at and drink until you’re happy with Granada’s streets. Chunky crumbs, beans with ham, exquisite cheeses and sausages, the typical paella, will make you discover more and more until you’re tired of the generousity and good behaviour of the Andalusians.

You can finish our visit on any of the Tea Houses of Moorish inspiration that are in the city and are also a present for the senses and the siesta, with the rumour of the fountains and fresh, decorated tiles and plasters you will see yourself moved into a story of the thousand and one nights without any work.

If you decide to go to the tropical coast, its typical sardines of the traditional snack bars, or restaurants on the beach where you can eat in a swimsuit, will make you vibrate of pleasure with the waves.

Finally, the typical sweets of convents, the honey or the typical Piononos, called that in honour of the Pope Pio IX, will make the deliciousness more delicious, ore ven the artesan icecreans in the Gran Vía of the capital, which will also made the first lady explode of pleasure in her first visit to the city, they will make your visit to Granada all a culinary experience filled with a mix of cultures…

What are you waiting for… MEET GRANADA!

Granada’s coast reminds us of a brilliant blue skies and calmed waters, which remain at a moderate temperatura all year. In this enchanting place there’s a great number of beaches and attractions, adjustable to all kinds of visitors.

With it’s strategic position, the cities and villages are all around the Tropical Coast, where many civilizations had settled. Phoenicians, Romans, Muslims and Christians were enthralled by its excellent climate of soft temperaturas and located near the fertile valleys of Granada’s mountains.

The Phoenicians, expert businessmen and marines, settled in the fertile lands and developed a rich economy base don market trade, agricultura and fish salting. During this Phoenician period, Almuñecar was turned into one of the most important ports of all the Mediterranean.

Later, with the Romans, Salobreña’s economy flourished since it was a strategic point that joined Castulo with Malaka. We can highlight Salobreña’s white houses painted with lime, covering the hill, crowned by the Muslim castle. Meanwhile, Almuñecar saw the construction of great monuments in its imperial era.

Salobreña’s Castle, is the authentic jewel of all the monuments of Granada’s coast. Also, the city’s beaches are perfect to enjoy holidays and its cristaline waters, ideal for water sports and wind-surfing.

Motril, the biggest city of the province after Granada, has a lot to offer to its visitors. Its the capital of the tropical coast and its origins are Antique. We know that the Muslims went through here, due to the rich architecture of the city, and the defense forts which form the coastline. Currently, Motril is growing rapidly, and its maritime port attracts more and more commerce and toursits. With hundreds of cruise arrivals annually.

The beaches and cities on the coastline such as Motril, Salobreña and Almuñecar are definitely attracting a lot of tourists, boats and yachts, as well as navigation enthusiasts, diving and wind-surfing. They can also combine with activities such as trekking, canoe and climbing.

Do you want a first class ticket to our beaches? Don’t hesitate and contact us, MEET GRANADA!

In the heart of Andalusia, the city of Granada extends on the feet of Sierra Nevada, near the bottom of the Genil river. Granada, is a place where civilizations encountered eachother and always acted as a bridge between cultures of the east, west and Africa.

Every year thousands of tourists come to Granada to enjoy its precious places and Muslim heritage. Its coast, and only an hour away, the peak of the tallest mountain in Spain, filled with snow for half a year, makes Granada a perfect destination for each tourist.

The variety of contrasts in its views can be seen from five different zones: Sierra Nevada, Las Alpujarras and Valley of Lecrín, Poniente Granadino, Guadix and the Marquesado, and Baza and Huescar (El Altiplano).

The Sierra Nevada area mixes the charm of its natural surroundings with the modern services and infrastructures. That way, Sierra Nevada counts with the tallest peak of the Iberian Peninsula, the Mulhacen (3.482m) and the Veleta (3.394m) For the beauty and richness of its vegetation, this area was declared Biosphere Reserveby the UNESCO in 1986, Natural Park in 1989 and finally National Park in 1999.

Sierra Nevada is also the most important ski resort in southern Europe. With more sunny days a year tan anywhere else, the resort adjusts to all the snow sports. It’s also located only half an hour away from Granada, jewel of Andalusian civilization.

In the interior area of the sierra, we will also find Las Alpujarras, in the Valley of Lecrín, one of the most attractive areas of the province. Las Alpujarras’ architecture is an aspect of value, as you can see in Pampaneira, Capileira, Bubión or Lanjarón, where one of the most interesting claims in the area is found, the Ravine of Poqueira. A tranquil and relaxing ambience, which also offers the opportunity to practice different sports and routes.

Between the Nazari Kingdom and Christian territories, we can find the Poniente Granadino, which played an important part in the conquest of Granada. Villages such as Loja, Alhama of Granada, Moclín, Illora or Montefrio, combine perfectly the places such as Sierra of Tejeda, Almijara and the Natural Park of Granada, and architectural jewels such as the Peña de Los Gitanos, with its magalithic ruins or the dolmen of Sierra Martilla.

In Alhama you can also find the Baños Termales, which are dated back to the Roman period and still maintains structures from the times of Al Andalus. The waters flow at a constant temperatura of 57º. It is turning into a more popular place for tourists who visit Granada every year.

In the northwest of the province lies the Guadix and the Marquesado. Here the visitor can enjoy natural views, monumental cities, dolmens, archaeological remains and dreamlike villages.

The caves of Iznallor or Piñar are places that must be seen. The tourists can visit the Cave of Water, which also contains paintings on rocks, while in Piñar you will find a charming village crowned with an Arab castle and the Cueva de Las Ventanas. This is the most visited cave of the province, with over 50,000 visits every year.

In Baza and Huéscar (the Altiplano), the northernmost point of the province, the views of the moon and the contrast with the Sierra de Baza and Sierra de Castril, give it an incomparable charm. It’s an area that offers a grand variety of active tourism and river sports in El Negretin.

The thousand year old city of Baza offers a grand diversity of posibilities as well, and the main tourist attraction is the Cueva de San Fernando, the biggest and deepest cave in the whole province.

As you can see, there’s a lot to discover around the whole province, we can offer you the opportunity to learn about all of it. Contact us and MEET GRANADA!

Resource: NOMADEA (http://www.nomadea.com/granada/mejores-tapas-de-granada.html)

Tapas in Granada are another main attraction in the province, not only for the quality and variety of gastronomy that tapas offer, but for being part of the culture.

It’s a local custom to go out and eat tapas, which consists in going out with friends and visiting various bars. All the bars offer tapas for free with each consumption of a drink, which allows you to eat or dine at a very economic Price and try different dishes at the same time.

In any bar in Granada they will serve tapas without you having to order them. There are different tapa zones in Granada that deserve to be mentioned for their characteristic bars.

CENTER

Without any doubt, one of the most well-known bars in Granada is the Bar Diamantes (Calle Navas, 28) in the city center, and in Calle Navas, one of the main roads to have tapas in; in Bar Diamantes they offer a great variety of tapas and rations of fried fish: fried shrimps, squid… all of the best quality and very fresh!

Another place with a large sill is the Antigua Bodega Castañeda (Elvira, 5), located in a building from the 19th century, with well looked after decorations and typical Granada food. Nearby you can find La Gran Taberna (Cuesta de Gomérez 2), with a fantastic service and charming location, and Casa Julio (Calle Hermosa, 5) at two footsteps from the Baños Árabes; the most common tapas are eggplant, marinated dogfish, and fried fish in general. Los Manueles (Reyes Católicos 52), an excellent place that will trap you for its good ambience and tapa and ration quality, the most famous being their croquettes.

If we move to the La Catedral area, a bit less tan five minutes away, we will see a few places that you cannot miss. The Bar Restaurante Oliver (Plaza Pescadería, 12) offers a big variety of different types of tapas: croquettes, ensaladilla, puntilla, anchovies, monkfish, Iberian pork, crumbs, mushrooms… we recommend their dish of crumbs, they’re excellent! The Cunini (Plaza Pescadería, 14), famous for their fried foods and Motril shrimps, it has an old tradition as a quality restaurant in Granada, but if you don’t want to sit down to eat something quickly, you can do so in their bar or “tram”, as they call it, for the large amount of people waiting to be catered.

There are many other places in the center that are recommendable: La Bella y La Bestia, with their famous donuts, Taberna La Tana, recommendable if you enjoy nice wine, Taberna La Despensa, with a grand variety of excelent quality… and many more!

ALBAICÍN

If you’re enjoying a nice walk through El Albaicin, you should also try our gastronomy. We recommend Restaurante Casa Torcuato (Calle Pagés, 31), where they might even give us a generous amount of quality paella tapa or even meat or fish.

Nearby, in El Sacromonte there is Casa Juanillo (Camino del Sacromonte, 81), with a precious view and where you can also eat tapas and rations (they only open for dinner). Modest and economical, it’s frequently visited by locals, and you can normally enjoy improvised flamenco shows.

PLAZA DE TOROS

A purely universitary neighbourhood, very dynamic, and how not, filled with bars that offer tapas. A very typical destination is on a small Street called Doctor Pareja Yébenes, where there are three places at a few metres distance: Los Pescadores, Ca Miguel and El Nido del Búho.

In these bars, we guarantee that you’ll leave happy! In the Pescadores, there are a lot of fish tapas, as well as the famous bombs of meat and potatoes. In Ca Miguel, they’ll offer you full hamburgers with not only a drink, or a loin sándwich with different sauces. El Nido del Búho is a tapas temple, you’ll be able to choose any of their over 50 tapas!!!

PLAZA DEL GRAN CAPITÁN

On this plaza and its surrounding áreas we will find historic bars of Granada’s tapas such as El Establo (Almona Vieja), a very small place where you must order their famous triquini, a three decker sándwich. Their meat and sauce sándwiches are also very nice. Around the corner you will see the bar El Labrador (Rector García Duarte, 6) and their famous sweet wine, known as labrador wine.

Also, a few metres away, is the Al pan pan y al vino vino (Horno de Haza, s/n), visited mostly by students. Their hamburgers are famous, their pizza bread and their bacon toasts with quail eggs. On the same street you’ll see the Bar Páramos (Horno De Haza, 25), another of those places where you must visit early if you want to find a seat.

But, without any doubt, the star bar in this area is El Reventaero (Camino de Ronda, 101), chosen by Granada’s people in various polls as the favourite bar for tapas, especially if you’re very hungry! Here the tapas are huge, and the second or third tapa will be given to you with a flan for you to have as dessert.

LA CHANA

Away from the center, we fin done of the most popular neighbourhoods for their tapas, La Chana. Probably the most popular is El Arenal (Virgen del Monte, s/n), one of the favourite bars of Granada, where we can enjoy their many tapas of squid with potatoes and their generous sandwiches and hamburgers.
Another typical bar in the area is the Marraskesch (Raya, 3), famous for their spicy meat in sauce tapa.

These places and in general all the places in this area are spectacular for big tapa lovers; with a couple of drinks, you can also satiate your appetite with the tapas that they serve you.

BARRIO DEL ZAIDÍN

This neighbourhood at the south of the city goes unnoticed by many tourists and it hardly ever appears on the guides, thankfully for its inhabitants, who can enjoy places like the Bar Ecu (Paseo Emperador Carlos V, s/n), near the Palacio de Deportes. Large tapas and small place, which is a perfect combination for it to be difficult to find this place. Another very famous place is Mesón Casa Eloy (Avenida de América, 46).

As you can see, Granada is filled with charming places where you can enjoy the people, food and precious views. If you want to learn more about our city, don’t hesitate to contact us; we also organize tapa routes so you can discover the best places! Don’t hesitate and contact us!

Granada, ex-capital of the Nazari Kingdom, has a lot of architectonic treasures, some of them declared Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO: The Alhambra, Generalife and Albaicin are only some examples. For thousands of years, the diversity of villages that had settled aroung the province left an incredible inheritance for humanity

The Alhambra is a palace built like a city at the top of the Darro river. Its name comes from the color of its walls, al-Hamra means “The Red” in Arabic.

The Alhambra’s origins date back to the 12th century when The Alcazaba (fortress) was used as a shelter; but it wasn’t until the 13th century when the first Nazari King, Mohamed I, settled in it and begun construction around the palace and whole city.

In the interior, precios porches and fountains surrounded by lush gardens, which take the visitor to the precious Arab palaces, such as the Comares, in which is the Arrayanes Courtyard and the Lions Courtyard or Patio de Los Leones.

The route through The Alhambra continues through different romos such as the Two Sisters’ Hall, the Abencerrajes’ Hall or the King’s Hall, beautifully decorated and contemplating the Alcazaba.

Just in front of The Alhambra are the built Gardens of Generalife, going through the Puerta del Hierro, and near the Tower of the Three Peaks. Inside the gardens, there is water everywhere, with uncountable fountains, channels and even a water stairway that leads to the superior door. This demonstrates the Nazari culture of nature and water that reflects not only in The Alhambra and The Generalife, buta ll around Granada’s city.

Nowadays, The Ahlambra is the most visited monument in Spain, with over three million visitors in 2014, and one of the biggest treasures of the country, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

This monument was chosen between all the world’s monuments, achieving the 10th position in the voting for the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2011, which makes this monument the 10th most beautiful in the world.

If you would like to visit this and other wonders in our city, we will offer you the opportunity, contact us!

Esta zona es muy conocida en España por su microsistema único. Sus campos de tierras de cultivo se derriten de manera constante a través de la nieve que proviene de las alturas de la montaña de Sierra Nevada , formando un oasis de vegetación a gran altura en marcado contraste con las áridas estribaciones de abajo.

Este es un lugar ideal para los viajeros aventureros; son cada vez más lo que pasan varios días de senderismo y acampada sobre sus montañas, de altitud media de 1.200 metros sobre el nivel del mar. La Alpujarra de Granada, se encuentra a 50 km de la ciudad de Granada y 35 de la costa. Encuentra sus pueblos más populares en Barranco del Poqueira , Capileira, Bubión y Pampaneira. Otras ciudades importantes son Lanjarón, Orgiva, Pórtugos, La Taha, Pitres, Capilerilla, Atalbéitar, Ferreirola, Mecinas, Busquístar, Trevélez, Ugíjar, Juviles, Bérchules, Cádiar, Mecina Bombarón, Yegen, Valor y Torvizcón.

Si desea conocer la Alpujarra y mucho más, ven y MEET GRANADA!, Ofrecemos visitas privadas y en grupos de toda la provincia. Póngase en contacto con nosotros!