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Tourist Information

Granada

One of the most brilliant jewels of universal architecture is the Alhambra, a series of palaces and gardens built in the 14th C. This mighty complex of buildings – including the summer palace called the Generalife, with its fountains and gardens - stands at the foot of Spain's southern mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, and overlooks the city below and the fertile plain of Granada.

At the centre of the Alhambra stands the massive Palace of Carlos V, an outstanding example of Spanish Renaissance architecture. Other major Christian monuments found in the city are the Cathedral, including the Royal Chapel where Isabel and Ferdinand lie buried, the Monastery of La Cartuja and many churches built by Moorish craftsmen after the Reconquesta, in Granada's unique "mudéjar" style.

The hill facing the Alhambra is the old Moorish casbah or medina, called the Albaicin, a fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed houses with secluded inner gardens, known as "cármenes". The Plaza de San Nicolas, at the highest point of the Albaicin, is famous for its magnificent view of the Moorish palace.