Two days in Granada, Spain

Read this blog entry | Travel Index | Granada Photos | Spain

October, 2008

I left my hotel in Cordoba in time to catch the morning bus to Granada. The trip was a couple hours, and upon arrival I was a bit surprised at the size of Granada compared to Cordoba. Even though I had a list of possible hotels from my Lonely Planet guide, I still went to the information desk in the bus station to see if they could suggest something better. Unfortunately, I was told that even though it was a Monday it was a holiday so all places were booked. The girl was nice enough to call a youth hostel in town though and give them my name, saying that they'd hold it for me for about an hour. Getting into town from the station is easy, if I recall it was one euro, and just ask at information for the bus that goes there.

Anyway, when I got into the center of town, I decided not to trust the information I was given, and though I did go to the hostel to check it out, I also went and checked out some of the hotels on my list. As it turned out I found the nice little Hostal Landazuri in a much better location right down the hill from La Alhambra on Cuesta de Gomerez for only a few euros more. I don't know whether it was a scam, trying to send people to specific places, but I certainly learned that while you can accept help if it's given to you, it also helps to do your own research. Regardless, I ended up in a nice little hotel for less than 30 euros a night, with a view of la Alhambra from my window.

Granada is a great city, and there is plenty to see and do there. Of course visiting la Alhambra is necessary, but there is quite a bit of other sightseeing to do as well. I was able to see pretty much la Alhambra in its entirety in one day, but it involved a lot of walking. If you are willing to walk it is even accessible by foot from the city. From the main plaza in town you can just walk up the hill for probably 20 minutes or so and you are there. I did learn that it is easiest to buy tickets for entry online, otherwise you have to wait in line and you risk the possibility of not even getting in, since they limit the number of tickets per day. I arrived mid morning, waiting in line for probably 45 minutes, but still had plenty of time.

Once you are done with la Alhambra, you can get to eating, drinking, and people watching. There are great kebab and showarma shops, and most bars serve free tapas with each drink that you order. If you're into people watching, it appears that Granada is quite a bohemian city, at least by my western standards. I saw a lot of hippie-ish looking people, which was quite interesting against the Moorish and Moroccan backdrop which seemed prevalent in the city. All in all, it was quite a fun time, and I would certainly like to go back at some point.