Luxury Travel in Granada — Trip Planner

What things cost in Granada

A cana with its free tapa costs 1,80 to 2,50 euro, and four bars make dinner for well under 20. Alhambra general admission is 22,27 online and 21 at the window, with the gardens-only and night visits cheaper again. The Capilla Real is a few euro. City buses run around 1,40, and the Alhambra minibuses take the same fare.

Granada after dark

Nights here are cheap and student-driven, the university keeping prices low and bars busy midweek. For most visitors the tapas crawl along Navas and Elvira is the whole evening, and it winds up around one or two. Sacromonte's cave venues stage zambra flamenco, Granada's own gitano form rather than the Seville tablao version. Pedro Antonio de Alarcon is where the students actually drink.

What to eat in Granada

Granada still puts a free tapa on the bar with every drink, unasked, and the plate gets better with each round in the same place. Calle Navas is the famous run and the most touristed; Realejo and Campo del Principe feed you better. Order habas con jamon, remojon of orange and salt cod, or tortilla del Sacromonte if offal appeals. Piononos come from nearby Santa Fe.

Granada with kids, realistically

Granada punishes wheels: the Albaicin and Sacromonte are cobbled and steeply stepped, and the Alhambra circuit runs well over two kilometres with little shade. Take the C30 minibus up to the monument and the C31 or C32 into the Albaicin rather than walking. Under-twelves enter the Alhambra free. Older children get far more from it; the science park suits everyone from about four up.

When the weather turns in Granada

A wet day is the argument for the hammam, and Hammam Al Andalus on Calle Santa Ana runs bathing sessions by appointment in a restored bathhouse. The cathedral and Capilla Real stand side by side under cover, with the Monasterio de San Jeronimo cloister five minutes away. The Alhambra stays open in rain and the crowds thin noticeably, which is worth exploiting.

When to go to Granada

The month to avoid is July — around 36°C (97°F) with roughly 0 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: May is the sweet spot, July the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.

Where to base yourself in Granada

• Albayzín — Moorish hilltop quarter — narrow lanes, viewpoints, traditional carmen houses.
• Sacromonte — Cave-house district with flamenco shows and Roma history.
• Realejo — Old Jewish quarter — street art, tapas bars, walking distance from the Alhambra.