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From the A*List Deals Weekly Newsletter
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Granada Walking Tour
Excerpt from National Geographic Traveler: Spain guidebook
Text by Fiona Dunlop Photo by Krista Rossow
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A tourist at the Alhambra looks out over the Albaicín district below.
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The Albaicín district flanks the hill opposite the Alhambra and was the site of the first Arab fortress. This walk leads you through its steep, picturesque lanes, with stupendous views at every turn.
*Bolded names and numbers in the text below correspond with our map of this walking tour.
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Start from the Plaza Nueva and walk north past the pretty church of Santa Ana, following the Darro riverbed. On your left you soon come to El Bañuelo (1) (Carrera del Darro 31, tel +1 34 958 02 78 00, closed p.m. & Sunday), 11th-century Arab baths with colonnaded rooms, some with star-shaped ceiling openings. A little farther on stands the Casa de Castril, a Renaissance mansion housing the Museo Arqueológico (2) (Carrera del Darro 43, tel +1 34 958 22 56 40, closed Sunday p.m., Monday, & Tuesday a.m.), with impressive Moorish exhibits in Room 7. Continue past the Convento de Santa Catalina with the walls and towers of the Alhambra looming high above to the right. You come to a large esplanade, Paseo del Padre Manjón, packed with bars and cafés. Turn left up Cuesta de la Victoria, left again into Calle San Juan de los Reyes, and then right up steps that plunge you into the Albaicín. Here, many cármenes (large walled villas) stand in lush, gardens. Climb to the top, turn left then right up Calle Carrillo, and then take a sharp left into Carril de San Agustín.
Follow it to the top, passing the 17th-century Convento de las Tomasas, and circle around the church, Colegiata del Salvador (3) (Plaza del Salvador, tel +1 34 958 27 86 44, closed Sunday), to reach its entrance. El Salvador was built in 1501 on the foundations of the Albaicín's largest mosque, and has a magnificent Almohad patio of horseshoe arches. The small museum has beautiful religious paintings and sculptures, and the church itself a reconstructed Moorish ceiling. Outside, you could stop for a drink on Plaza del Aliatar, then continue by turning right into Calle Panaderos, which leads to shady Plaza Larga. Cross the square diagonally to admire the restored Arab house on the corner, now an ice-cream parlor, and the beginning of the Arab walls, which are being renovated.
Retrace your steps along Calle Panaderos, then go right on a dogleg turn to reach charming Plaza Charca, encircled by typical, geranium-laden houses. Walk up steps opposite, then down an alley to emerge at Plaza San Nicolás (4) with its whitewashed brick 16th-century church (open only for Mass). In front is the quintessential view of the hilltop Alhambra with the peaks of the Sierra Nevada behind. This spot is a favorite with guitar-strumming students and castanet-clicking Gypsies. Behind San Nicolás is Granada's brand new mosque.
Walk down the steps beside the viewing terrace to Camino Nuevo de San Nicolás, turn right, and stop to see the Carmen-Museo Max Moreau (5) (Camino Nuevo de San Nicolás 12, tel +1 34 958 29 33 10, closed Sunday-Monday). This house belonged to the Belgian painter Max Moreau (1902-1992) and his wife Felice. His studio and their home are full of items from their extensive travels. After leaving, turn left down Calle Gumiel to Placeta del Nevot and keep walking down Cuesta San Gregorio to finally take a sharp left into Placeta de Porras. The Casa de Porras (6) (Placeta de Porras, tel +1 34 958 22 44 25, closed Sunday) is a magnificent example of Renaissance-Mudejar wooden architecture and now belongs to Granada University. Return to San Gregorio, turn left, and walk down Calderería Nueva, the most Arab part of the Albaicín, full of Moroccan pastry shops. At the bottom, turn left to return to Plaza Nueva.
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