Granada: the Alhambra and the hills of the Albaicín

In the Royal Chapel, in the heart of the city, the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella rest since the sixteenth century, the sovereigns who financed Columbus's voyage and completed the Reconquest by conquering Granada.

Climbing the hill, one enters the Alhambra, a Nasrid fortress-palace from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: carved stucco, Quranic calligraphy and the gardens of the Generalife make it the most visited monument in all of Spain.

Crossing the Darro river, one climbs into the Albaicín, the ancient Moorish quarter and UNESCO World Heritage site along with the Alhambra, a maze of narrow streets and white houses with hidden interior gardens.

Toward evening, the Mirador de San Nicolás, at the top of the Albaicín, offers the most photographed view of the city: the Alhambra lit by the sunset with the Sierra Nevada in the background.

Alhambra tickets have a daily visitor limit set by law: arriving without a reservation risks finding the entire day fully booked, even outside peak season.

At the Mirador de San Nicolás, it happens almost every evening that someone plays flamenco guitar before the view, turning the viewpoint into a small spontaneous concert.