The Albaicín kept its street plan when the rest of the city was rebuilt: narrow lanes that follow the contour, blank walls with gardens behind them, and cármenes — walled houses with their own courtyards and views, invisible from the street.
⭐ It is a UNESCO listing in its own right, alongside the Alhambra, and it is free. Walking it without a plan is the correct way to use it; you will get lost and that is fine, because downhill always leads back to the river.
⚠️ Wear something on your feet that copes with worn cobbles on a slope. This is not a flat-shoe neighbourhood.
Our tip
Go up in the late afternoon and come down after dark. The lanes are lit and the walk down is better than the walk up.
Albaicín, photographed
