Access Granada The last kingdom, and the hill it held.

The Patio de los Arrayanes in the Nasrid palaces

GRANADA · ANDALUSIA

The emirate here outlasted the rest of al-Andalus by 250 years, and spent the difference on one hill.

Córdoba fell in 1236 and Seville in 1248. Granada paid tribute, kept its head down and lasted until 1492 — and built the Alhambra while it did. What that leaves you is one enormous timed appointment on a hill, and a city underneath it where most of the good things are free and all of them are uphill.

Photograph by the author

Granada in brief

Country	Spain — Andalusia, in the province of the same name
Population	Around 230,000 in the city, roughly half a million with the metropolitan area
Language	Spanish. English is common in the old city and thins fast outside it
Currency	Euro
Getting around	⭐ On foot, but it is steep — the Albaicín and the Alhambra hill are both climbs. Small buses run up both
Arriving	The high-speed line reaches Madrid; Córdoba and Seville are doable for a day out. The airport is west of the city
⚠️ Summer	June to September the middle of the day is genuinely hostile. Plan around it
⚠️ Corpus Christi	Granada's fair week, in late spring, fills the city. Best time to come, hardest time to get a bed

1013Granada becomes a capital

1238the Nasrids arrive, and the Alhambra

1492the last emirate falls

1527Charles V's palace is begun

1829Washington Irving moves in

3,479 mMulhacén, mainland Spain's highest

Start here

Ten sections. The city is small enough to walk in a morning and layered enough to take three days, so these are ordered by what people actually come for.

THE FULL HISTORY OF THE HILLThe AlhambraA fortress that became a palace city, survived the kingdom that built it by five hundred years, and was saved by tourists.THE LAST MUSLIM KINGDOM IN IBERIAThe NasridsHow a small tributary emirate outlasted al-Andalus by two and a half centuries.TWENTY PLACES, ONE PAGE EACHLandmarks & SightsEverything in Granada worth your time, with the walk from the cathedral and what it costs you.THE TWO HILLS OPPOSITEThe Albaicín & SacromonteThe old Moorish quarter and the cave houses beyond it — both free, both uphill.BY HOW LONG YOU HAVEItinerariesHalf a day to four, built around the one appointment that cannot move.MOSTLY ON FOOT, AND MOSTLY UPHILLGetting AroundThe centre is walkable. The bits you want are above it.THE TAPA COMES WITH THE DRINKFood & DrinkGranada still gives you food with your drink, and it is not a gimmick.THE MOUNTAIN AND THE COASTDay TripsGranada has a 3,000-metre range behind it and the sea an hour away.GRANADA IS NOT ONLY THE HILLThe City BelowWhat is worth your time once you come down from the Alhambra.

All twenty sights