Welcome to our guide to the stunning city of Granada. We spent 72 hours in Granada in September 2023 and instantly fell in love with its incredible Moorish architecture, endless sunshine and tapas culture.
In this guide you will find a run down on what to see, the best viewpoints and our favourite tapas spots we discovered during our time in the city, plus some highly recommended spots we didn't manage to make it to, because 72 hours just isn’t enough time in this gem of a city!
If you found this guide useful please feel free to reach out to us on Instagram @awhimandaplan - we would LOVE to hear from you! 🫶✨
Granada gets extremely hot in the summer so the best time to visit is Spring, Autumn or even Winter! We visited in September and this was a great time to visit, as it was still warm and sunny, but we were able to walk around the city without sweltering.
Where to stay?
We stayed at Boutique Hotel Luna and would highly recommend, especially if you are visiting May - September as there is a small rooftop pool to enjoy.
It's a short walk from the city centre, with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars nearby.
We stayed at Boutique Hotel Luna and would highly recommend, especially if you are visiting May - September as there is a small rooftop pool to enjoy.
It's a short walk from the city centre, with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars nearby.
📍 Alhambra, Granada
Known as the crown jewel of Granada and one of the most visited sites in Spain, with over 2 million visitors a year!
As you can see it is a spectacularly impressive monument, with outstanding detail and beautiful gardens. It really feels like you are walking through history - it truly is unmissable! 😍
Everything you need to know before visiting the Alhambra ✨
🎟️ Firstly let’s talk tickets - there are three main ways you can book your ticket:
1. Directly through the Alhambra website (19 euros) Try and book at least a month in advance as it will sell out!
2. Book a guided tour. (From 35 euros depending on the company and group size).
3. Book using the Granada card. If you have left it late to book tickets, this is your best chance to visit as they keep some slots for Granada card holders. (From 49 euros).
✨ Other important information
⏰ The quietest time to visit is the first or last slot of the day. We booked the 8:30am slot.
⏳ Don’t be late to the Nasrid Palace - if you miss your slot they won’t let you in!
🪪 The ID you book with IS your ticket. You need to scan this to enter the site and palaces. Do not forget this!
🚶♂️ The Alhambra sits atop a pretty big hill so be prepared for a tiring uphill walk! Trust us though it’s worth it!
🚍 Alternatively there is a bus which will drop you off right outside. They seemed to run pretty regularly and are clearly marked ‘ALHAMBRA’.
👣 The site is HUGE and will take 3-4 hours to see it all. Wear comfy shoes!
📸 Make sure your phone / camera is fully charged as you will be taking a lot of pictures!
Catedral de Granada is over 500 years old and is the second largest religious site in Granada after the Alhambra. It's ornately decorated in a Spanish renaissance style.
Entrance is 5 euros and includes an audio guide - the audio guide wasn't our favourite but it depends on your interests!
Entrance to the Royal Chapel is ticketed separately so bear that in mind if you want to visit both.
The Royal Chapel is part of the monumental complex that includes the Cathedral of Granada, the Lonja de Mercaderes (former trading hall) and the church of the Sagrario, in the heart of the historic centre of the city.
It was built as a burial site for the catholic monarchy, and is the final burial site of a number of Spanish royalty.
The Royal Chapel is ticketed separately from the main Cathedral.
Entrance costs 5 euros and includes an audio guide.
Perched next to the charming Albaicín district, the Sacramento Caves Museum showcases the life of the Roma community that lived on the outskirts of the city of Granada.
Step inside traditional cave houses, learn about the origins of flamenco and enjoy incredible views of the Alhambra.
Just be prepared for an uphill climb - and if you are visiting in the summer avoid visiting during the hottest part of the day.
Allow about an hour to complete the visit.
Entrance - 5 euros
Popular viewpoint at the foot of the Albaicin district, head here for sunset and enjoy the views over the Alhambra.
You can climb the church tower for 2.5 euros - but like much of Spain the opening times don't seem to match what is listed online!
📍 Carmen de la Victoria, Granada
Carmen de la Victoria is a private garden owned by the University. It is often used for University events and there is accommodation which houses visitors of the University - life goals are now to get on the visitor list as this would be such a dreamy spot to stay in!
The University kindly allows visitors and tourists to visit the gardens for a couple of hours a day. There’s no need to book or purchase tickets - full details on how to visit are below! 👇
How to visit Carmen de la Victoria
✨ This hidden garden is open for only a couple of hours a day so plan accordingly. Check Google for latest opening times (when we visited it was only open 5-7pm).
✨ Enter via the gate on Cta. Del Cadiz. The gate will be locked so you need to ring the buzzer for entry. Ring once and wait for someone to buzz you in.
✨ Entry is free of charge
- Book a free walking tour - we booked the Essential Tour with Walking Free Tours Granada and enjoyed our tour a lot. Our guide was very knowledgable and engaging and was happy to answer any questions to help you get the most of your time in Granada. They also do an evening tour exploring the Albacin and Sacromonte areas.
- Take in a flamenco show and discover the local culture 💃
- Escape the city and visit the mountains! Spend some time out of the city exploring the Sierra Nevada National Park.
- Take a day trip to walk the Caminito Del Rey, you can hire a car and drive yourself or book an organised day trip from Granada.
Eating & Drinking
Tapas Bars
Southern Spain is undoubtedly one of the most affordable places for food in Europe, particularly Granada, due to the tapas culture.
In Granada whenever you order a drink in a restaurant or bar you will get a free tapa. Drinks typically cost 2-3 euros, meaning you could spend the whole evening eating and drinking for less than 20 euros! And you don’t need to order an alcoholic drink, you get a tapas with soft drinks or hot drinks too.
The tapas culture in Granada is one of the main draws of the city so we recommend you embrace it and spend your evenings on a tapas bar crawl.
A few things to know…
Every bar we went to in Granada offered a free tapas with every drink you ordered whether they advertised themselves as a tapas bar or not, so even if you are just ordering drinks come hungry! We found the quality of food wasn’t as good in places that weren’t fully fledged tapas bars so keep that in mind when planning your tapas crawl!
Some tapas bars will let you choose your tapas, but others will bring you out a dish of their choosing. These normally get better the longer you stay in a spot!
If you have any dietary requirements let them know when you are placing your drinks order! The first time we forgot to mention we don’t eat meat and had to send back some meatballs that came with our drinks (they did look good though).
Must try dish: Whilst in Granada don’t miss this local sweet treat - Piononos. Piononos are small pastries traditional in Santa Fe, a small town close to Granada. Thin pastry, sweet syrup, toasted cream, these delicious small bites have it all!
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Other great spots
A few of our other favourite food and drink spots, from craft beer to the best value falafel in Granada!
Hands down the best thing we ate this whole trip. For just 10 euros we got two enormous falafel wraps, two cans of Fanta Lemon and even two bonus falafel tapa to go with our drinks. Such unbelievable value. Highly recommend!!
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Stunning terrace with incredible views of the Alhambra - expect to pay a premium for the views. You can choose to dine here but in our opinion there are better places to eat in Granada and get better value for money, so we'd recommend just going for a drink.
Hi! We're Jonny and Kirstin from A Whim and A Plan!
There is nothing we love more than exploring a new place, and if you are reading this I am sure you share the same love of travelling that we do.
Before we go anywhere we spend hours scouring blogs and guides researching the best places to visit, most delicious things to eat, and most memorable experiences to make the most of our trips.
We like to think we have had some amazing trips over the years and we want to share them with you to help you plan your next adventure.
