Granada Travel Guide

Granada Airport is situated about 17 Km outside of Granada city. There is a bus connection to the city centre from outside Arrivals, operated by Autocares J.Gonzales; the journey time is 30/40 minutes and tickets cost €3.00. Taxis are also available; the journey time is approximately 20 minutes and the journey to the city centre costs €20.00-30.00.

THE ALHAMBRA AND THE ARAB LEGACY

Granada is one of the few provinces in the world with such a jam-packed and varied history so well reflected in its towns and monuments. One cannot enjoy the City of Granada in a one-day trip; the most visited monument of the Alhambra and the Generalife on its own demands a visit of several hours to take in its captivating beauty. One cannot leave Granada without strolling round the jasmine-scented streets of the Moorish Quarter of the Albaicin, and wandering in the Catholic Monarch's mausoleum in the Royal Chapel, the Cathedral, and the Science Park.

THE TROPICAL COAST: SUNSHINE FOR 320 DAYS EVERY YEAR

Granada has around 100 Km of coastline with the best weather conditions in Andalusia. The unique subtropical climate in Europe due to the light winds from North Africa, the warm seas of the Mediterranean Sea and the shelter provided by the nearby peaks of the Sierra Nevada provide this region with more than 320 sunny days every year and an average annual temperature of 20º Celsius. It makes Granada's Tropical Coast a heavenly enclave. There are 3 main tourist destinations: Almuñécar, Motril and Salobreña, each boasting long beaches, with thick sand and the cleanest of waters.

THE TROPICAL COAST

SIERRA NEVADA: SKIING IN THE SUN

Many visitors coming to Andalusia, attracted by its famous beaches, will be surprised to discover that skiing is also a popular pastime in Granada. Sierra Nevada is actually one of the best winter resorts in Europe. The 1 million people visiting the skiing resort every year can vouch for its high standards, recognised when it hosted the World Ski Championships in 1996. The resort has 79 courts with different levels of difficulty, with a total length of 84 Km. One of the main attractions is skiing on a dark evening on a specially fitted out, floodlit court.

PEACEFUL VILLAGES AND LUXURY HOTELS IN CAVE DWELLINGS

The peace and quiet of its villages, the province's five natural parks and the Sierra Nevada National Park all make Granada a paradise for those who are looking for relaxation and contact with nature. Peace and quiet can be soaked up in the Alpujarras and the Lecrin Valley; these unspoiled regions entice visitors to stay there forever. Inland regions, such as the Poniente (west), Marquesado and the Altiplano (east), show an incredible contrast between almost moonlike desert landscapes and the leafy vegetation of the surrounding hills. Here, one can stay at picturesque luxury hotels in carved into cave dwellings underground.

PEACEFUL VILLAGES AND LUXURY HOTELS...

ALPUJARRA AND VALLE DE LECRÍN

Located between Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean Sea, Alpujarra is an almost virgin region, ideal for the rural tourism and the practice of adventure sports. Its landscape is rough yet colourful, its orography is scattered with ravines, canyons and valleys, where the villages of this district lie and sometimes climb. Eight centuries of Arab domination gave them its peculiar architecture, its water irrigation system and its cuisine. Isolated and with difficult access along centuries, this steep land has kept itself nearly untouched, as if the Alpujarra had been stopped in time. The Poqueira Ravine, with its white towns, has received a great prestige as tourist destination. Next to Alpujarra we find the fertile Lecrín valley where the fields of orange and lemon trees perfume the air in spring with a very heady blossom smell. Old flour mills, Muslim castles and charming cortijos, sprinkle this quiet and bright district.

• Granada Tourism