Paradise Granada - Alhambra to Sierra Nevada

Tobias Heller
7. Juli 2017
5 Min. Lesezeit

Granada. The next stop. People talk about it, it should be amazing. It is situated right at the foot of Sierra Nevada mountains and houses one of the most famous places to visit in Spain, the Alhambra. It is a Moorish Citadel and Palace and is frequently booked out, even during low season it is so popular it is hard to get tickets even 2 months in advance. The coastline and the Mediterranean Sea is only one hour away.

Sightseeing

Alhambra - a must do, but you must queue

When you'll read about Granada one of the first things that will pop up in your google list will be the Alhambra. Be prepared - should you intend visiting it, you will have to book in advance, as the Alhambra is one of the most popular sights allover Spain to see. Therefore the tickets are usually booked out for the following months to come and lots of people with less preparation time in advance come away empty-handed. So did we, our futile attempt to book tickets only two weeks before the actual visit was fruitless, next available tickets only for June. So what to do now, is there a way around to finally get a grip on the desired tickets?

There is a way, indeed. To get the tickets we have to queue early in the morning as there is a certain stock of day tickets which can't be pre-booked online. Those are limited and hard to get, as they try to keep the Alhambra from overflowing with tourists and thereby make the visit a worthwhile experience. Once arrived we head to our accommodation, ring out the owner at an unearthly morning hour, who opens puzzled and we ask to drop our luggage and return later for the check-in. Afterwards we start to run in direction of the Alhambra, luckily catching a bus just right in time before it leaves and jump on panting and out of breath - morning sport! Once there we find already two different lines of people - one queuing for the cash payment, other for the operator machines, which would only accept valid credit cards. Gianfranco and I split to increase our chances. At 8 the cash desks open and the queue moves extremely slow, but after about 20 minutes Gianfranco calls me, telling me he finally got 2 tickets for us. Made it, check!

As the Alhambra is too complex to put it in just a few pics - or too complex to catch in pictures because the feeling and sensation at hand is the most important - here is a little sneak peak gallery which gives some impressions and an idea about it's splendidness:

Streetart

Artistic Clash of Granada - Astonishing Details

Strolling around from the Alhambra to the center of Granada late afternoon, we make a long bow to get to the center, encountering several nice pieces of street art on the walls. Granada in general, so we'd find out, is loaded with nice details, often hidden in various corners, where you wouldn't expect to find it. We keep our eyes open, as beauty lies on our way always within reach, be it in form of a cute square with colorful walls that opens up unexpectedly to us once we turn around the corner of a building or in the little paintings that so vividly give life to its carrier.

City Center & Sightseeing

Granadas Center - Spring Time has arrived

We enjoy ourselves by strolling around in Granada, a wonderful scent of freshly blooming flowers in the air. The center's extension is not too big, therefore everything can be reached in walking distance - which wouldn't matter to me anyways as I walk even far distances that outstretch over several kms. We walk through several of the main squares, shoppin streets and past churches until we end up in front of a dried out concrete basin for the river.

Viewpoint & Neighborhoods

The best neighborhood - Albaicin

Albaicín, which is one of the best neighborhoods to stroll around, is something that should not be missed. In the south of Granada, ll the way is leading uphill and soon flows into small streets with tiny passage ways and stairs leading upwards and opening up into little squares. The walls are adorably dotted with usually marine blue flower pots, small ceramic plates in various patterns as well as tiny balconies with an arabic style of windows and doors. Strolling around here fills me with pure joy, mesmerized by all the lovable little details and intricacies that make these streets unique and definitely worth to climb up and pay a visit!

Once in that neigborhood we find three well-known amazing spots from which you can have different kinds of great views allover the city Granada, or, at least some outstanding parts of it. The good thing is, while walking up we can easily pass all three of them, without covering much of a distance. The first one, Mirador de San Cristobal offers a lower view right into the city center and it's outskirts. It seems weird as the next Viewpoint, in spanish "mirador", is only about a 15 - 20 minutes walk from the first one, but offers a wonderful view over to the complete complex of the Alhambra, nestled in green trees and bushes, with the snow covered peaks of Sierra Nevada in the background. A sight that makes my heart beat in exuberant happiness! Several tourists have gathered here, and a trio of musicians with drums and guitars welcomes us to sit down for a while, enjoying the view and the warm spring afternoon atmosphere.

Another way leads us further up to "Eremita de San Miguel Alto", which offers a higher point of view - and also completely different people gathering around here. It is usually a place for hippies to spend time here, many living in vans which are parked in a big gravel filled parking square behind the church there. If you happen to find people running around naked there, don't be bothered, this is kind of normal. Also artists seem to be attracted by the spot, as we find some artistic guys equipped with chair, color palette and brush, trying to catch the beauty of the view with the laid back mountains on their canvas.

Hiking & Trekking

Sierra Nevada - A Hiker's Dream

And oh there they are - the mountains, my friends! Since the arrival here in Granada I wouldn't skip an opportunity to annoy Gianfranco by stretching out my hands, murmuring in a fanatic crazy voice 'mountains, oh my god!'. Sure there is no way around doing at least a day trip to go hiking in the mountains of Sierra Nevada, and it so happens that we take the bus from Granadas center to go to a village, that is close by Sierra Nevadas outskirts.