# Granada: map, what to do and when to go

Capital of the last Muslim emirate on the Iberian Peninsula until 1492, Granada has the Alhambra on one hill, the Albaicín on the slope opposite, and the Sierra Nevada in view.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Granada: how do you get from the airport to the center?** The airport (GRX) is 17 km from the center, and a bus links it to the city in about 45 minutes, passing the bus station and the Gran Vía de Colón.
- **Granada: how and when should I buy the Alhambra ticket?** Buy on the official site (tickets.alhambra-patronato.es) as soon as you have the date, because time slots tend to sell out days or months ahead.
- **Granada: how many days should I stay?** I'd stay two days: the first with the Alhambra in the morning and the center in the afternoon, and the second with the Albaicín, the Sacromonte and sunset at the Mirador de San Nicolás.

## The Alhambra in the morning and the center in the afternoon
Be at the Alhambra entrance at 8:30 a.m., when it opens: take the C30 bus, which leaves from the Plaza Isabel la Católica, or walk up the Cuesta de Gomérez from the Plaza Nueva, in about 30 minutes.
- Alhambra
- Capilla Real de Granada
- Corral del Carbón

## The Darro valley, the Albaicín, and the Sacromonte
Leave the Plaza Nueva along the Carrera del Darro and enter the Bañuelo; the Monumentos Andalusíes are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from September 15 to April 30, and from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from May to mid-September.
- Mirador de San Nicolás
- Carrera del Darro
- El Bañuelo
- Palacio de Dar al-Horra
- Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
- Abadía del Sacromonte

## Alhambra
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-alhambra
Granada · Half a day or more
The palace city of the Nasrids, begun in 1238 on the Sabika hill. The general daytime ticket covers four areas: the Alcazaba, the fortress with the 25 m Torre de la Vela; the Nasrid Palaces, with the Comares Palace and its Hall of the Ambassadors, 18.2 m high under a ceiling of 8,017 pieces of wood, and the Palace of the Lions; the Partal; and the Generalife, the summer residence with gardens. In the middle stands the Renaissance Palace of Charles V, begun in 1527, which houses the Alhambra Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. The general visit takes about three hours, each area admits a single entry, and the Nasrid Palaces only within the half-hour slot printed on the ticket.
Check access

## Mirador de San Nicolás
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-mirador-de-san-nicolas
Granada · Up to half an hour
The square in front of the church of San Nicolás, at the top of the Albaicín, from which you see the whole Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada behind it. Next to it is the Mezquita Mayor, from 2003, the first built in Granada after 1492. It is free and gets crowded in the late afternoon.
Check access

## Carrera del Darro
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-carrera-del-darro
Granada · Up to half an hour
The street that follows the Darro River from the Plaza Nueva, under the Alhambra wall, with stone bridges, the church of Santa Ana, the Bañuelo hammam, and the Casa de Castril, from 1539, home of the Archaeological Museum. It ends at the Paseo del Padre Manjón, from where you look up at the Alhambra from below.
Check access

## El Bañuelo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-el-banuelo
Granada · Up to half an hour
A hammam, an Arab public bath, from the 11th or 12th century, which you visit as a monument on the Carrera del Darro. It is included in the Monumentos Andalusíes ticket, which is also valid for the Palacio de Dar al-Horra and is free on Sundays.
Check access

## Palacio de Dar al-Horra
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-palacio-de-dar-al-horra
Granada · Up to half an hour
A 15th-century Nasrid palace at the top of the Albaicín. The visit is short, and it makes sense with the Monumentos Andalusíes ticket already bought for the Bañuelo.
Check access

## Capilla Real de Granada
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-capilla-real-de-granada
Granada · Up to half an hour
Built from 1505 to 1517 in Isabelline Gothic, it holds the tomb of Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs, carved by Domenico Fancelli, and that of Joanna and Philip, by Bartolomé Ordóñez; in the crypt is also the coffin of Infante Miguel, the monarchs' grandson, who died as a child. The sacristy-museum displays the crown and scepter and the queen's painting collection, with Memling, Juan de Flandes, and Botticelli. Ticket €7.
Check access

## Catedral de Granada
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-catedral-de-granada
Granada · Up to half an hour
Begun in 1523 on the site of the main mosque and completed in 1704, with a Renaissance design by Diego de Siloé, who made the circular main chapel, and a Baroque facade altered by Alonso Cano from 1667. Ticket €10.
Check access

## Corral del Carbón
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-corral-del-carbon
Granada · Up to half an hour
The only funduq, or alhóndiga, from the Nasrid era preserved on the Iberian Peninsula: a grain warehouse and inn for merchants from outside the city, from the early 14th century. Later it was a playhouse and, in the 17th century, a coal depot, which is where the name comes from.
Check access

## Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-museo-cuevas-del-sacromonte
Granada · Up to half an hour
A museum opened in 2002 on a 4,800 m² site in the Sacromonte, with up to eleven caves set up as homes and workshops. It explains how people lived in the dug-out houses of the valley.
Check access

## Abadía del Sacromonte
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-abadia-del-sacromonte
Granada · One to two hours
A 17th-century abbey at the top of the Sacromonte, built because of the Lead Books, found between 1595 and 1599 and declared forgeries in the same century. It holds the supposed relics of San Cecilio, the city's patron saint. Ticket €7, with a break for lunch during the visit hours.
Check access

## Monasterio de la Cartuja
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-monasterio-de-la-cartuja
Granada · Up to half an hour
A Carthusian monastery founded in 1506, north of the center, known for its sacristy of 1727 to 1764, one of the central works of late Spanish Baroque. Ticket €7.
Check access

## Huerta de San Vicente
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/granada/#g-lugar-huerta-de-san-vicente
Granada · Up to half an hour
The summer house of Federico García Lorca's family from 1926 to 1936, now in the Parque Federico García Lorca, west of the center. Lorca wrote Blood Wedding and Yerma there, in whole or in part. It has been a house museum since 1995.
Check access

**Granada: how do you get from the airport to the center?**
The airport (GRX) is 17 km from the center, and a bus links it to the city in about 45 minutes, passing the bus station and the Gran Vía de Colón. A taxi to the city charges the intercity fare.

**Granada: how and when should I buy the Alhambra ticket?**
Buy on the official site (tickets.alhambra-patronato.es) as soon as you have the date, because time slots tend to sell out days or months ahead. The general daytime visit costs €22.27, plus the service fee for online purchases, and children under 12 get in free, but need a ticket issued together with the adult's.

**Granada: how many days should I stay?**
I'd stay two days: the first with the Alhambra in the morning and the center in the afternoon, and the second with the Albaicín, the Sacromonte and sunset at the Mirador de San Nicolás. With a third day, I'd drive to the Alpujarras, or to the Sierra Nevada in winter, for anyone who skis.

**Granada: how do you get to the Alpujarras?**
The villages of the Barranco de Poqueira are about 67 to 73 km by road, around 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes by car. There are few buses a day, and anyone who misses the last one stays in the village, so check the return or go by car.

**Granada: when is the best time to go?**
April and May (average highs of 22 °C and 27 °C) and October (25 °C) are the best windows for walking the hills, and also the months of the most expensive hotels. July and August exceed an average high of 35 °C and have the cheapest lodging of the year.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 2 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/granada/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/granada/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/granada.md