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Granada
City Guide
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Granada City Guide
Granada Sights and Museums
What to see: The Alhambra: massive castle constructed over many centuries. It consists of gardens, fortifications and sumptuous palaces. It was the home of many of the Arabic Sultans who ruled the whole province.
The Albaicín: old Arabic quarter located on the hill opposite the Alhambra. It is characterised by cobble stoned streets with white washed houses. Despite several centuries of neglect and architectural barbarities allowed by the town council it still retains a a strong Arabic feeling.
The Cathedral: The Cathedral is located in the centre of the Muslim area and dates back to 1523. It has a nave and four aisles, a crossing and circular apse.
Palace of Charles V: located on the top of the hill of the Assabica, inside the Nasrid fortification of the Alhambra. It was commanded by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in order to establish his residence close to the Alhambra palaces.
Granada Charterhouse: The charterhouse was founded in 1506 and construction started ten years later. It continued for the following 300 years. Its exuberant ornamentation and its complex spaces make of it one of the masterpieces of Churrigueresque style.
Granada Entertainment
Events: International Music and Dance Festival: performances of classical music, flamenco, ballet and dance in the most beautiful corners of the city. During it, widely acclaimed artists perform in historic buildings and concert halls, such as the Patio de los Arrayanes, the Palace of Carlos V, and the Gardens of the Generalife, among others.
Catholic conquest ( The 2nd of January): People from Granada celebrate the occupation of the city by the Catholic Kings. The youngest councilor holds the standard of Castile, greets the people from the balcony of the “Consistorio”. Moreover a civic procession takes place in Granada during which the standard of the Catholic kings is seen as well as the coat of arms of Granada. The celebration has been going on since the death of Fernand the Catholic, Without any doubts one of the most traditional feast
International Jazz Festival: an event that fills the stalls of the Alhambra Theatre, and the Isabel la Católica Theatre with chords; the so-called “Trasnoches”, on the other hand, take place at live music venues.
Carnival in Granada: From the 3rd to the 8th of February. The yearly carnival is celebrated all over Spain with events like parades, mask and costume parties.
Easter Week: The Granadinos take their Holy Week very seriously, and the Granada processions are quite spectacular. If you've never seen a Holy Week procession before, it can be quite breath-taking. Each hermandad (literally "brotherhood") has their own procession and is understandably extremely proud of their figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Everyone is involved and a lot of time and effort is spent making the figures as beautiful as possible
Corpus Christi fair(June): Corpus Christi as a religious festival is celebrated with church services and processions. In Granada, a Summer Fair takes place over the week of Corpus Christi, when popular entertainments tend to eclipse those of the church. "Casetas" or marquees are set up in the historic centre of the city where there is music, food and drink available, especially at night.
Granada Transports
How to Go: By Air:
There are international flights to Granada from London (Stanted, Gatwick), Liverpool among other, but there are many more flights to Malaga so many people fly to Malaga and then get a bus or hire a car.
Granada airport is 12km from the city center. On arrival it is best to get a taxi from the airport so that you can get to your accommodation without walking through the streets with your luggage. The taxi costs about 25 euros. There is also a bus service which takes you to the centre of Granada.
By Train:
The talgo train takes about 5 and a half hours from Madrid. Seville is 4 hours by train. Most people choose the bus rather than the train when coming from Malaga or Almeria. Granada train station is the only place in Granada which has left luggage lockers.
By bus:
There are many buses each day to and from the other large Spanish cities. The main bus company in Andalucía is Alsina Graells. The bus station is slightly out of town and you will need to get a taxi to get to the centre.
From Madrid: The usual thing is just to go to the bus station and get on the next available bus. You would be unlucky if you have to wait longer than 2 hours for a bus. Try the Enatcar window. It takes about 5 hours from Madrid to Granada and costs around 13 euros.
Transports: For an introduction to the sights and history of Granada, and for finding your way around initially , I'd recommend this bus tour. 12 Euros buys you unlimited use for 24 hours, hop on hop off where and when you want.
Granada is not a big city and if only you have enough time you can get everywhere on foot. And the weather is usually very nice so strolling around the city is great too. If you're tired to can take a bus (after you figure out its schedule) or simply take a taxi and hope for green lights and no traffic cuz the meter runs even if the car is not moving.
The buses cost about 1 euro a go though you can buy a bono for 5 euros for 9 journeys or a titulo for 10 euros for 20 journeys. The main buses you'll probably be interested in is the 32 that goes to the Alhambra and the 31 that goes to the Albaicin and Sacromonte. Most other buses all stop on Gran Via and each bus stop is equipped with a very good bus map.
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