Granada travel guide

The site of Granada was originally settled in the first millennium BC, when it was an Iberian hilltop town known as Elybirge. Taken over by the Romans, who named it Illiberis, it grew in importance during the Visigothic period; at this time a Jewish district known as Garnatha Alheyud was established on the southern slopes of the Alhambra hill.

After the Moors took control, the town’s name became Elvira, based on nearby hills, and the Jewish part Garnata; the latter name has persisted. It was under the control of the caliphate of Córdoba, and then became the capital of an important taifa state. As the Christians advanced into Andalucía, taking cities such as Córdoba and Sevilla, there was a huge influx of Muslim refugees to Granada, where the nobleman Mohammed Ibn-Yusuf Ibn-Nasr had set himself up as ruler here in 1237, giving his name to the Nasrid dynasty. With the Christians in such bullish mood, it was decided to construct a bigger and better fortification on the hill opposite the Albayzín; its reddish hue led to its name, Al-Qalat Al-Hamra, or the red fort. Most of what we see in the Alhambra today was built during the reigns of Yusuf I (1334-1354) and Mohammed V (1354-1391), at which time the city was very prosperous. The Granada emirate was effectively a vassal state of the Christian kingdoms. Despite its sound defences, it survived basically by paying tribute. Once Fernando and Isabel set their sights on it, the city was doomed to fall. After dynastic strife and vacillations that rendered the Moors’ last days more of a comedy than a tragedy, the last emir of Granada, Boabdil, surrendered the keys of the city to the Catholic Monarchs on New Year’s Day in 1492 after a siege. The immediate expulsion of the nation’s Jews hit Granada hard, and once the Moors and Moriscos had followed, the city had lost vital segments of its urban population.

The city prospered somewhat with the new American trade routes, and a number of Renaissance and Baroque monuments were erected, but Granada was gradually becoming a provincial backwater. The Peninsular War hit the city especially hard, with French troops heavily damaging the Alhambra while using it as a barracks. It was in this decaying atmosphere that Washington Irving and others visited, raising awareness of the Moorish majesty of the city that has made it enduringly popular with visitors ever since. The 19th century also saw a number of questionable urban projects, such as the covering of the river and the bulldozing of the Gran Vía through part of the old town. In the early part of the 20th century, Granada had a full-scale cultural revival, with the poet Federico García Lorca and the composer Manuel de Falla prominent and active in promoting Andalucían heritage. This came to an abrupt end. Although Granada had been an actively liberal city early in the 19th century, it was steadfastly nationalist by the time the Civil War came along, and the local fascists slaughtered thousands of moderates and left-wingers, including Lorca. The city still can seem somewhat unrepentant for these atrocities, and is remembered for them in the rest of the country.

Like most of inland Andalucía, Granada gets powerfully hot in summer. Winters are cold; great if you’re going skiing in the nearby sierra, but for a general visit to the city, spring and autumn are the best periods.

Internet and telephone

There are several cheap internet and telephone places strung along C de Elvira. Cyber Locutorio Puerta Elvira, C Tinajilla 5, €1.50/hr. Internet Elvira, C de Elvira 64, €1/hr, daily 1200-0100. Puntocom, Plaza Trinidad 2. In a shopping arcade on the east side of the square, €1.40/hr. Uninet, Plaza de la Encarnación s/n, €1.20/hr. Popular with students and friendly. Free coffee.

Language schools

There are dozens of Spanish schools in Granada. All offer accommodation arrangements in host families and a range of cultural activities. Some to try are: Carmen de las Cuevas, C Cueste de los Chinos 15, T958-221062, www.carmen cuevas.com; DeLengua, C Calderería Vieja 20, T958-204535, http://www.delengua.es; Escuela Montalbán, C Conde Cifuentes 11, T958-256875, http://www.escuela-montalban.com; Galilea, C Manuel de Falla 3, T958-250925, http://www.granadaspanishprograms.com. Instituto Europeo, C Marqués de Mondéjar 40, T958- 535760, http://www.e-institutoeuropeo.com; Sociedad Hispano Mundial, C San Antón 72, T958-010172, http://www.shm.edu.

Laundry

Lavomatique, C Paz 19, T615-282352, launderette and service washes.

Medical services

For medical emergencies and outpatient appointments: General Hospital, Av Coronel Muñez, T958-276400; Hospital Clinico San Cecilio, Av Dr Olóriz 16, T958-270200; Hospital San Juan de Dios, C San Juan de Dios 15, T958-204200; Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Av de la Constitución 100, T958-241000. For non-emergencies: Centro de Salud Gran Capitán, C Gran Capitán 2.

Post office

Plaza Puerta

Real 2, T902-197197.

Walking is the best option for getting about, but Granada is a hilly place so you may well want to make use of the public transport network. Tired feet will love buses No 30 and 32, which ascend from Plaza Nueva every five minutes or so to the Alhambra. The No 32 also does a loop around the opposite hill, the Albayzín, as does No 31. Bus 34 does a long circuit around the Alhambra car parks, through Plaza Nueva, around Sacromonte, and then around the Albayzín. These buses are small red vehicles that look different to the rest of the local buses. A ticket on a local bus costs €1.10, allowing change of bus, and you can buy a bonobus voucher from estancos (tobacconists) or kioscos (news stands) which gives seven journeys for €5. Taxis are also readily available and cheap.

Granada’s airport, named after Lorca, is 17 km west of town and is served by Ryanair from various cities including London. There are domestic flights daily to and from Madrid and Barcelona, among other places. The airport is linked by bus to the centre of town . Otherwise, the best way to get to Granada is by road. A network of motorways has put the city within two or three hours of most Andalucían centres and an hour from the coast. The bus station outside of town offers regular departures to all Andalucían cities as well as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Trains aren’t such good news, but there are a few services.

If arriving by car, the best option is to park it as soon as possible. Large tracts of the centre are only accessible to residents or those who are going to stay in the area. These zones are camera-controlled; you can enter, but make sure your hotel registers your license plate number to the police, otherwise you’ll get fined. Many hotels offer pricey parking; under- ground car parks will cost around €12-25 per day; the more expensive ones are those nearest the old centre. Hotels without private parking usually have a discount arrangement with a car park; make sure you check this beforehand, as once you take the ticket from the machine, it’s too late. If you’ve booked a hotel within the area blocked off by automated pillars, press the buzzer for your hotel on the console (if there is one), or give the operator the name of the hotel and your reservation number, and you’ll be let through.

Granada

Air

There are daily flights from Granada’s airport to Madrid and Barcelona, and regular flights to other domestic destinations. Ryanair operates flights from London Stansted, Liverpool, East Midlands, Frankfurt Hahn, and Milan/Bergamo, Bologna, and Girona. Buses run to the airport from the centre to coincide with flights, stopping on Acera del Darro, opposite the train station, and at the bus station door, 40 mins, €3, T958-490164. For airport information, call T958-245200.

Bus

For bus information, T900-710900.

Granada is well connected by road with the rest of Andalucía. The bus station is a long way from the centre of town, on Ctra de Jaén; it’s a walk of about 30 mins, which you can save yourself by jumping in a cab or on to local bus No 3.

Within Granada province, buses run from here to the coast at Motril (9 daily, 1 hr 20 mins, €5.20) and Salobreña/ Almuñécar(6 daily, 1 hr 15 mins/ 1 hr 30 mins, €5.70/€7.11).

There are 5 daily buses to Orgiva, the gateway to the Alpujarras (45 mins, €4.35); 2 of these continue further to Ugijar and outlying villages. Güejar-Sierra has 10 buses on weekdays, but less at weekends (25 mins, €1.28), while Guadix (1 hr 30 mins, €4.78) and Montefrío are served almost hourly on weekdays but only a couple of times on Sun.

There are 3 daily buses to the Sierra Nevada, (50 mins, €4.50). During the ski season, there are extra services leaving from a stand on Paseo del Violón.

Other Andalucían destinations include: Sevilla (8 daily, 3 hrs, €19.17), Jaén (more than hourly, 1 hr, €7.53) and Málaga (hourly, 2 hrs, €9.67), Córdoba (8 daily, 2 hrs 30 mins, €12.43), Almería (7 daily, 2 hrs 15 mins, €13.34), and Cazorla (2 daily, 4 hrs, €14.97).

Long distance

Major destinations outside Andalucía include Valencia (6 daily; 7 hrs 30 mins to 9 hrs, €41.55), Madrid (10 daily, 5 hrs, €16.17), and Barcelona (5 daily, 13 hrs, €68.11).

Car hire

At the airport: Avis, T958-446455, http://www.avis.com and Europcar, T958-245275, http://www.europcar.com, among others. These 2 also have offices at the train station. Also in town, try Atasa, Plaza Cuchilleros 1, T958- 224004 or Atesa, Av Andaluces, T958- 288755, http://www.atesa.es.

Train

The train station is a 15-min walk west of the centre, connected by bus Nos 4, 6, 9 and 11 from Av Constitución. In practice, there aren’t many destinations for which this is a handier mode of transport than the bus, but Ronda (3 daily, 2 hrs 40 mins, €12.25) is certainly one, and there are 4 daily trains to Guadix (1 hr, €6.85) which are speedier than going by road. Antequera (8 daily, 1 hr 30 mins, €8) is served regularly, as are Sevilla (4 daily, 3 hrs, €21.65), Algeciras (3 daily, €18.35, 4 hrs 30 mins) and Almería (4 daily, €14.45, 2 hrs 15 mins) There are 2 direct fast trains to Madrid (4 hrs 45 mins, €61.80) via Córdoba (2 hrs 30 mins, €31.70) and a night train to Barcelona (12 hrs, from €52). Use the Algeciras lines if you want to reach Córdoba (by normal train) or Málaga, and change at Bobadilla.