Granada, Spain
Known for: The last Moorish state to be reconquered by the Spanish, the super impressive Alhambra, getting free tapas with your drinks!
How to get there
To get to Granada from Malaga it is a short 1.5 hour bus ride away from Malaga and will set you back roughly €13 one way. The bus stop is a little out of town, however one can either get into town by catching a bus (I think costs €2 or thereabouts) or taking cab like I did which will set you back another €13.
A quick history lesson…
Something that I did not know prior to visiting Granada is that much of southern Spain have been influenced heavily by the Moors as they inhabited much of the Iberian coast prior to the reconquistion of Spain in the 15th century. The Emirate of Granada was the last state to be reconquered by the Christians, during the Granada war.
As a result of the Moorish rule, Granda’s iconic Alhambra was built during this time and is today one of the most famous palaces in the world (and the most visited sight in Spain). It was recently a finalist in the New 7 wonders of the world. The grounds are vast, and is split into two main areas…. The royal palace… the nazri palace and generalife (the summer retreat for the royals).
The word Alhambra in Arabic means “the red fortress”. Now this references the clay surrounding the building. Additionally it was said that during the night when torches were lit within the Alhambra it would give the palace a red glow to those looking at the palace from afar.
What makes it so special….
The detail inside is unlike any other palace I have seen before. Firstly, the architecture is very different to other castles/palaces I’ve seen in continental Europe. Obviously being built during Moorish rule, the architecture is Arabic influenced and I think officially known as Nazrid architecture.
There is what I think to be Arabic scripture beautifully carved into one of the many rooms. The decorative arches and windows found all throughout the palace gives in a very ‘aladain style feel to it’. In fact when I first saw it, all I could think about was the prince of Persia game I used to play as a child lol.
There are many interior courtyards with water features and perfectly kept gardens found throughout the royal side of the palace. During the summer, a pop up concert hall is erected within the grounds of the Alhambra and classical concerts performed in the amazing surrounds. I wish I had a little more time and maybe could have experience the concert as it would have been simply spectacular listening to a live concert and have the sunset and Alhambra in the background!
I think instead of boring you with Wikipedia facts it might be more appropriate to show you just how stunning the inside is.
Useful tip on booking……
Now because this attraction is so popular with tourists it is highly recommended to book well in advance. You can only visit the Nazri palace based on pre specified time. The way I went about it was using Spain’s ticketmaster website. The Spanish (as well as being gifted with guitar skills and salsa abilities) have come up with a way whereby if you purchase tickets using a any European bankcard, you can pick up tickets from a number of ATM/cashpoint machines around the city. This is especially useful when you are always running late (guilty!).
Nearby neighbourhoods
Sacromonte
The nearby neighbourhood of Sacromonte is home to the gypsy community in Granada. The area is most famous for the gypsy style flamenco which incorporates traditional flamenco with some less traditional elements such as belly dancing.
Now Granada during the summer can reach temperatures of 40 degrees for days on end. With the extreme heat (and lack of sea breeze) as Granada is set up in the mountains, gypsy families dug caves within the mountains. This way they could deal with the heat by retiring to a natural cool room! Pretty neat huh
To get to Sacromonte I would suggest either cabbing or going on a bike tour ebike tours which can be found on Tripadvisor. The guide we had was so knowledgable and friendly and is to date the best bike tour I’ve been on. It may have something to do with the fact that electronic bikes makes it so easy to cover ground!
As I passed through the street of sacromonte on my ever so easy ebike I noticed that some house had plates on the walls of the houses. It is said the more plates that a house has, the wealthier they are. I guess this lady must be the richest lass in town!
Same Same but different
One of the unique customs in Granada surrounds the humble tapas. Now previously I wrote that san Sebstastian has the best tapas (pinxtos) I have tasted… that still remains, but unlike san Sebastian and like the rest of Spain in Granada, tapas come free everytime you buy drinks!
That’s right people, if you order a round of drinks, don’t be surprised if you find that you’ve scored a decent dinner as well! Though I don’t think the tapas will win any awards… still decent for a €2 beer and a few sides to boot
What better way to finish an epic day in Granada by visting two of the most happening places.
Bellagio
A new chic bar serving up delicious cocktails. Entry is €10 but includes a drink… not bad value if you ask me. If you are planning to bust a move probably not the best place to do it, however I can suggest…
Mae West
Rocking nightclub for the young and free. Two big rooms, various terrace areas rocking party anthems and Spanish pop songs. Good fun! And also includes a free drink on entry.
Accommodation
Granada had some of the cheapest 4 star accommodation I’ve seen… ever. £38/night twin share!? I could have been lucky and scored a sale but that’s insanely cheap! The place I stayed at was the Senator hotel, which was slightly out of town (about a €5 cab ride into the centre square. Not the newest hotel going around but has everything you need in terms of facilities. Be warned though the pool is not included in the price and unavailable during siesta time 2-5pm!
Granada has been spoken highly of by many friends and other travellers alike. I couldn’t’ understand the appeal until I experienced it first hand. The beautiful Alhambra with the mountainous backdrop , friendly locals, hot weather, Free tapas with drinks and the laid back Spanish lifestyle pretty hard to come up with a better formula for a weekend getaway! Once again Espana you’ve done it again another city I’d highly recommend.
JD
Malaga, Spain
Known for: The Airport to fly to, in order to reach Marbella, Antonio Bandereas, Pablo Picasso
Hola from the Andalusia region of Spain. This is my second time to Malaga having visited their early October 2012.
On my last visit, the weather was slightly cooler and less busy as it officially the offpeak season. I met some very cool peeps in my hostel (Oasis hostel for those looking for a good clean place to stay. On the top of the hostel is a uptown chic rooftop bar which you should definitely check out).
I also explored a few of the main sights (moorish castles), went on a walking tour (see below for details), tried some tapas and went on a 2 man pub crawl with one other person who didn’t’ drink at all. A ‘Wild’ holiday you could call it & Real character building stuff lol.
So a disclaimer that this post is kind of boring I’ll admit, but probably useful if you are wanting to get some a rundown of the main sights in Malaga!
One tip I can give is to take the subway into town, it’ll cost you less than €2 and will have you in town in less than 15 minutes (much quicker than the cab). A cab ride into town will set you back €15. To get to the train station from the airport as you come out of arrivals head toward you left and cross the two streets in front of you. There you should see a subway sign.
http://www.gomarbella.com/malaga-airport/trains/trains.htm
Click on the link should you wish to view more detailed directions
Main Attractions
I managed to track down a site which summarised what I thought to be the main sights. Instead of re-inventing the wheel I’ve included the link below.
http://www.spain-holiday.com/blog/photographical-journey-through-malagas-top-15-sights.php
Some of the highlights for me.
Teatero Cervantes:
Antonio Banderasis rumoured to come back to his hometown once a year and this theatre is where it all began for Mr Bandereas. Though he has been away from the big screen for a while now (though I could be completely wrong as I hardly watch movies) he’s still one of the cities favourite sons. Now adays the theatre hosts opera’s and other popular events.
Plaza de Constitution:
One of the main squares in the city centre. The distinguishing feature about this square is the renaissance styled fountain to the left of the square. Now if I remember correctly my walking tour guide mentioned that the fountain has travelled the world more than most of the city’s citizens. It was built in Italy and later shipped to Malaga, however during the first voyage the ship was attacked and the fountain was lost. It was then re-commissioned and ship again to its final destination. Now if anyone goes on the walking tour, please feel free to comment so that I have the story right! I tried googling the history but couldn’t get anything!
http://www.panchotours.com/tour/7/malaga.php
Magaluetta Beach
The City’s local beach. Not the cleanest beach, as the sand is quite dirty but hey a beach’s a beach. Don’t be surprised if you see more flesh than you would at the beaches back home as female beach goers tend to sunbake “euro style” (tops off)
There also a pier on near Magueletta beach which has high street fashion shops as well as quality restaurants to view the sunset.
Malaga is often a forgotten destination as it is the gateway to other popular tourist destinations such as Marbella, Torremolinos and Granada. It’s a town where you can relax, enjoy some good food, weather and mix in and amongst the local crowd. Once again Spain has another city that I would happily come back to!
JD
The JD Chronicles 