Granada Weekend: The Alhambra and the Old Town

Make this the main visit of the weekend: the Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba and Generalife gardens fill three to four hours. Book the Alhambra General ticket well ahead; your Nasrid Palace entry time is fixed, and you need the original identity document used for the booking. Fit the rest of the complex around that slot. The gardens and palace courtyards are part of the visit, so there is no need to buy a separate Generalife ticket.

Walk across to these gardens after the Alhambra. Paths run between ponds, shaded planting and terraces overlooking Granada; an hour here makes a gentle finish to a day spent in the palace complex. Take the downhill route through the Alhambra woods towards Plaza Nueva afterwards. For dinner, head into the centre around Calle Navas, where small plates and tapas are easy to find.

Visit after lunch on Sunday, when sightseeing begins at 15:00. The tall white columns and circular main chapel are the focus of a forty-five-minute to one-hour visit. The Royal Chapel has its own entrance and ticket. Afterwards, walk east to Plaza Nueva and follow Carrera del Darro towards El Bañuelo and the Albaicín.

Follow the Darro to this small eleventh-century bathhouse. Its brick chambers and star-shaped roof openings offer a close look at everyday life in medieval Granada, in about half an hour. Continue along the river towards Paseo de los Tristes, then climb through the Albaicín to San Nicolás. The uphill lanes are steep; a local minibus from the centre is an alternative to that climb.

Finish with the Alhambra across the valley and the Sierra Nevada behind it. Late afternoon light brings out the palace walls, and staying into the evening gives you a second view as the buildings are lit. The square is popular, so wander into the surrounding Albaicín lanes as well. Dinner here makes sense before the downhill walk back to the centre.

This fourteenth-century merchant inn and storehouse is a short detour near the cathedral on Day 2. The decorated gateway and open courtyard make a useful contrast with the Alhambra’s royal spaces. Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough; it fits into the morning before the Royal Chapel or the gap before Sunday’s cathedral visit.

For more of Granada’s own history, spend forty-five minutes to an hour in this sixteenth-century house in the Realejo. The rooms cover the city through art, objects and local traditions, rather than another palace tour. It is a short walk from Corral del Carbón. On Sunday it closes at 15:00, so visit in the morning before the Royal Chapel.