INFO ON GRANADA - HOTELS AND MUST SEE PLACES TO GO OR NOT TO GO

We are planning to go to Granada this June for the obvious  visit to the Alhambra,  however we are looking for recommendations from those more "travelled" than us to this City 

We have two days and one night,  looking for a cheap but nice place to stay  and some recommendations on the best tours and places to visit,  there is so much on the web that we are going around in circles!

Anyone got any input  - are we best to drive,  catch the train and leave the car in Guadix  (we are from Vera) etc ?

Hi we have been to Granada a couple of times and we love it. The last time we were there the famous lions weren't at the Alhambra as they were being restored so I don't know if they have been returned yet. I always find a hotel through the priceline-europe website and both times we have ended up at a hotel next to the science park which is a really good intereactive science museum. We also did the Granada tour bus. The Sacramonte area is supposed to be interesting as is the Albaicin but we haven't been yet. Tapas are supposed to be free in Granada but we haven't found "the places" yet. I would definitely recommend it although June is probably the cut off month as in July and August it is unbearably hot.

Susan

I would go by car. There are underground parking houses in the centre of Granada.

It is a nice drive, if you start from Guadix and drive to Calahorra (there is a castle famous from the movie El Cid), then to the Puerto de la Ragua and over to Alpujarra in the national park of Sierra Nevada. Then I would have lunch in the Piedra Ventana Restaurante (the food is fantastic, like home cooking - not gourmet, but delicious).

You can see the roads here:

http://www.topwalks.net/en/sierra_nevada.htm

In case you are interested in walking, there are a lot of routes in Alpujarra and on Guadix side of the mountain as well. The above mentioned website is my favourite guide to the walking routes.

One more thing:

June is hot, but it is not bad at all, if you go higher up to Sierra Nevada. For example Trevelez is some 1,300 metres above the sea level.

Hi,

We live in Granada Province about 40kms southwest of Granada City. We routinely use the city for weekly shopping.

Firstly let me say that driving in Granada City is a nightmare and quite a lot of the centre is off limits to traffic during daytime hours.

Far better to park on the outskirts and either walk or take the bus. Having said this some of the hotels have their own parking facilities but you'd need to enquire at the time of booking.

There is a flat fare on all the city buses of 1 Euro.

The main shopping area radiates outward  from the Correos at Puerto Real and everything is within easy reach of this central point.

Insofar as the Alhambra is concerned I would suggest that you do not attempt to walk there from the centre in June. its uphill and quite steep all the way and quite strenuous in the heat of Summer. Better to take the minibus service from the bottom of the hill by the Tourist Information Office. You'll be surprised how many people you can get in a minibus...

Also, given that parties tend to be guided around and after the tour left to their own devices advance booking is recommended during the Summer season.

Follow this link for updated information on all aspects of tourism within Granada and this link for the official tourist information website.

When we visit the city for other than food shopping we always park in the underground car park at the bottom end of Recogidas. The main entrance to the carpark is immediately off the roundabout linking Recogidas with the A44/E902 Granada ring road.  From here its a 10 minute stroll, slightly uphill to the Correos at Puerto Real. There are lots of outdoor cafes and bars in the various plazas off the streets surrounding the Correos. These are a mix of smoking and non- smoking establishments. Eating out at these places however in the evenings can be an expensive tourist rip-off... Taxis are all metered but the meter limit expires at the edge of town after which its all down to negotiation...

I cannot recommend any hotels other than the one way stayed at when we were investigating moving to Granada; this is on the A92G in Santa Fe (Hotel Capitulaciones). It is a modern hotel, comfortable (a bit like Travelodge hotels in Britain, but it is 7kms out of town...but it does have parking and a bus service into town...

Guess thats about it for now...if anyhting else comes to mind I'll post it here.

Hope this helps...

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Dear Sue and Paul,

You will love Granada! To add a bit more to your adventure, here are two places you MUST go, one for tapas, the other for dinner -you must book in advance.

Restaurant Chikito. This is part of Granada's social history. It is the centre, in the Campillo square.

El Huerto de Juan Ranas. With one of the most breathtaking views in the World! -and I am not exaggerating. This restaurant is situated in the heart of the Albaycin, the Jewish quarter, just underneath the San Nicolás mirador (a good place to come and enjoy a tapas lunch). The spectacular views are of the Alhambra at its full -from the Generalife, Nazaries Palace and the Alcazaba (fortress) with its impressive Tower of La Vela. And all lit up. It is really stunning. The last time I was there was with a close friend of ours from Dubai, a pure Arab with a very close -blood-line- link to Abderraman, the founder of the Caliph of Cordoba. So you get an idea, he sat there and cried when he saw the sight. Very emotional.

BTW, did you know why the rope Arabs wear to hold their turbans is black? For the mourning of the loss of Granada! Amazing but true, and apparently even few Muslims know this.

If you drive south towards Motril, you will reach a point (not so 'exotic' now with the motorway -better on the old road) called the Moor's sigh. This is the point from where Boabdil last saw Granada. And so the legend goes is where is mother told him: "don't cry like a woman what you couldn't defend like a man".

We visited La  Alhambra on Wednesday 14th October this year. Absolutely stunning.

The Palacio Carlos V is a square building with large windows and ornate decorations and massive rings held in lions mouths. You go inside the building, and it becomes circular and open air like a theatre. You have to see it to believe it. I can't count how many times I have viewed it again and again on google earth. Sadly the patio de los leones is still being renovated. Well worth the visit though.

If you haven't been and are going, be aware you may need to wait until 7pm to be allowed into the Alcazaba.

We went to see the castle at La Calahorra on Thursday 15th October. Great little place. Seems to have been built using huge blocks of what looks like red sandstone. How they got them to the top of the hill is anyones guess.

Wish we went on the Wednesday because that is the only day it is open to the public. We will go back (on a Wednesday).

We also went to see Flamenco dancers.

Love the history and culture.