Everyone has their favourite Granada destinations, but here's a round-up of Fred's and my current Reasons to Go to Granada. Yes, most of them have to do with food, because, well, it's us.
1. Wander through the romantically dishevelled gardens of the Carmen de los Martires (Paseo de los Martires) in the Realejo (below the Alhambra, to the south). Go before the tourist season gets intense - unlike the Alhambra, admission is free and you won't be shuffling along behind 800 happy-snapping tourists.
2. Take a stately tour of 16th-century Monasterio de San Jerónimo (Calle Rector Lopez Argueta, 9) about 500m west of the Cathedral. At this time of year you often get whole rooms to yourself where you can go all mediaeval, and the formal gardens will restore the sense of inner order that Granada's busy streeets can often take away.
3. Visit the home of composer Manuel de Falla, near the Centro Cultural of the same name in the Paseo de los Martires. An earnest young guide takes you through the beautifully preserved 19th century country house, dwelling on the most startling objects with a dreamlike intensity.
4. Eat probably the world's most calorific breakfast of churros (doughnuts) dunked in hot chocolate and see Granada go by from upstairs at handsome Art Nouveau Café Futbol (Plaza Mariana Pineda 6, opposite Tourist Office).
5. Standing room only most lunchtimes and evenings at cosy, buzzy Bar Pacurri (Calle Gracia, 21), with regulars from the nearby art college and local galleries, and ever-changing art and photography on display. Seriously good wines and substantial tapas can mean a substantial bill, but the atmosphere is special.
6. Whether your nightcap tastes run to ice-cream or Cointreau, end your weekend tapas evening at Cafe Bohémia (Calle Santa Teresa, 3) where a handsome young blond plays wistful tunes on the piano and the walls are covered with film posters and memorabilia.
7. Brave the ciggie smoke and sweat it out with the finest flamenco fans in town; you can catch real flamenco at the tiny dance hideaway I posted about last year, El Eshavira. Hunt it down most Thursdays and Sundays around midnight at Postigo de la Cuna 2.
8. Get deep-down clean and serene at the best of Granada's two hammams or Arab baths (Calle San Miguel Alta, 41). Have a bath, have an aromatherapy massage, then go...
9. ...and have tea and syrup-drenched baklava pastries at traditional teteria Kasbah (Calle Caldereria Nueva 4) in Granada's old Arab quarter, the Albayzin. You'll feel like a proper sultana.
10. Walk off the pastries along the rose-lined avenues of the Parque Federico Garcia Lorca (Calle Virgen Blanca, near Neptuno Parking). Here too is the eponymous poet's summer home, beautifully preserved as an early 20th century villa.
Enjoy! And let me hear from you in the comments box below: what's your favourite reason to go to Granada? Did you try any of our Top 10 destinations and what's your verdict?
Ooh. I'm on Twitter. As usual it starts out simple enough, but after an hour on the website, I am dizzy and cross-eyed trying to figure out all the options. I think I should re-christen it Fritter as I watch my life minutes trickle by. Anyway, why not join Twitter too? Then we can send 140-character inanities to each other at any time of day or night!
You big softie. When can we lure you back then? x
Posted by: Arpi Shively | April 16, 2009 at 07:20 PM
my favourite reason to go to granada is you guys....ah x
Posted by: helen bell | April 16, 2009 at 05:35 PM