The Coolest Neighbourhoods in Granada

The small historical centre of Granada clusters around Plaza Nueva, Calle Reyes Catolicos and the giant cathedral, in the shadows of which a network of elegant streets and charming squares extends to the south. These include Granada’s smartest shopping area, its best food market (Mercado San Augustín), the Alcaiceria market (on the site of Granada’s former Moorish bazaar) and a profusion of tapas bars, restaurants and cafes. On the other side of Gran Via from the cathedral, Plaza Nueva is a bright, busy square favoured by street performers, from which you can gaze up at the towers of the mighty Alhambra. From here, it’s just a ten-minute walk down Granada’s prettiest street, the Carrera del Darro, to the city’s old Arabic quarter.

Catedral de Granada, 5 Calle Gran Vía de Colón, Granada, Spain +34 958 22 29 59

Plaza Nueva, Granada, Spain

Mercado San Augustín, Plaza de San Agustín, S/N, Granada, Spain +34 958 27 82 79

As well as being the city’s former Arabic barrio, scruffy, beautiful Albaicín is also Granada’s bohemian and artistic centre. This squashed-together network of winding cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and jasmine-scented squares perches on the hillside the other side of the Darro river from the Alhambra. It requires a little exertion to reach the top of Albaicín, especially in spring or summer, but it will be energy well expended: the views of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains from its most popular square, the Mirador San Nicolás, are some of the best in the city. To really acquaint yourself with this iconic barrio, throw away your map and get lost. Navigating by other means, such as the strains of flamenco guitar and singing coming from windows left ajar, is far more enjoyable.

Plaza Larga, Albaicín, Granada, Spain

Plaza Mirador de San Nicolás, Albaicín, Granada, Spain

The other-worldly Gypsy neighbourhood of Sacromonte is so high up on the hillside you can actually look down on Albaicín from its streets. Time has stood still in this rustic barrio: many locals still live in dappled white caves carved out of the rock, in which impromptu flamenco gatherings are held long into the night. There are also dwellings entirely improvised from scrap metal, wood and cloth, in which a rusty bucket protected from view by a ragged old rug passes for a bathroom. This is Granada’s flamenco barrio, where you are always within earshot of the art’s distinctive, haunting sounds. So removed does it feel from the commercial city centre below that locals speak of popping down the hill as ‘going into Granada’, as if it were another place entirely. After a few hours here, you’ll see why.