Trip to Granada in Andalusia, Spain

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO SEE IN GRANADA?

Granada is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southern Spain, and it's very interesting for landscape, history and architecture. In addition to numerous monuments and places of interest, ranging from ancient monasteries to picturesque quarters, Granada is known for the Alhambra, a complex of buildings and gardens of Arab origin dating back to the thirteenth century and included in the UNESCO heritage sites for its cultural and historical value. In the immediate vicinity of Granada, it is certainly worth visiting the traditional villages along the mountain chain of Las Alpujarras, where the beautiful scenery is the perfect backdrop to towns where the time seems to be frozen from long time. Instead, a tour along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, also known as Tropical Coast or Costa del Sol, can be an interesting opportunity to discover the caves of Nerja or the picturesque towns of Almunecar and Salobrena, attractive locations for both historical and architectural heritage, as well as for the beautiful and wide sandy beaches.

HOW TO GET TO GRANADA?

How to reach Granada? In Granada there is an international airport served mainly by (few) domestic flights, therefore, to reach Granada from your country, you may need a stopover in either Madrid or Barcelona. Occasionally, especially in high season, there are a few weekly flights from major European cities. Alternatively, you can fly to either Malaga or Almeria, cities located about 130 km from Granada, from where you can get to Granada by bus, train, car rental or by booking a private airport transfer (for example from here).

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO GO TO GRANADA?

When planning a trip to Granada you must consider that the city lies at an altitude of about 700 meters above sea level, in one of the southernmost point of Europe. As a natural consequence, the climate can be relatively harsh in winter because of the altitude, with some frost and occasional snowfall, while in summer the weather may be quite hot, given the proximity to the African continent and the Sahara desert. Therefore, the best season to go to Granada corresponds to the spring and autumn, when temperatures are comfortable and without extremes, while the beautiful gardens of the Alhambra are lush with lot of flowers (this happens especially in early spring). Obviously, you may still visit Granada also in full summer or during Christmas, just keep in mind that it can be respectively very hot or quite chilly. Speaking about the rain season in Granada, it's important to know that weather is very dry year-round: the wettest months are in the winter, but even during that time, the precipitations are usually moderate and they will not have any important impact on the holiday.