Off Alhambra

There are two other attractions unknown to most visitors: Carmen de Los martires, and Rodriguez - Acosta foundation.

Alhambra, Spain

The Alhambra: Part fortress (the Alcazaba), part palace (Palacios Nazaries), part garden (the Generalife) and part government city (the Medina), this medieval complex overlooking Granada is one of the top attractions in Spain, with many visitors coming to Granada expressly to see the Alhambra. The last Moorish stronghold in Europe, the Alhambra reflects the splendor of Moorish civilization in Andalusia and offers the visitor splendid ornamental architecture, spectacular and lush gardens, cascading and dripping water features, and breathtaking views of the city.

The Alhambra was a palace, citadel, fortress, and the home of the Nasrid sultans, high government officials, servants of the court and elite soldiers from the 13th to the 14th century. Other notable buildings belonging to a different time period are also located within the Alhambra complex, most notably the Renaissance style Palace of Charles V, which houses the Alhambra Museum (with historical artifacts from the site) and the Fine Art Museum.

The walking tour took me to fully appreciate the unique architecture of the Alhambra set within the surrounding landscape, from Albaizín (most notably the San Nicolás Viewpoint) and Sacromonte. 

The Alhambra is a vast complex, composed of many structures and gardens on its lush grounds, and there are four primary attractions: the Alcazaba, the Palace of Charles V, the Palacios Nazaries and the Generalife.

• Alcazaba. The ruins of a massive fortress perched atop the crest of the hill overlooking the city, this is the oldest part of the Alhambra and offers some of the finest views of anywhere in the complex, with an expansive panorama from the top of the prominent tower that gives a spectacular view of nearly the entire city and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Within the fort's walls are the ruins of a town which once held soldier's homes and baths, though today only the outline of these rooms remain.

• Palace of Charles V (Palacio de Carlos V). A more recent addition to the Alhambra, this sixteenth century building was commissioned following the Reconquista by Charles V as a royal residence close to the Alhambra palace. The square two-level structure is done in Renaissance style with an impressive circular courtyard ringed by a colonnade within. The building is also home to two museums, the Museo de la Alhambra on the lower floor with a collection of artifacts and art from the Alhambra, and the Museo de Bellas Artes, a small fine art museum on the upper floor, as well as a couple of changing museum exhibits which regularly feature art with some connection to the Alhambra.
• Palacios Nazaries. The Nasrid royal palace and the primary (and thus most crowded) attraction of the Alhambra complex, the palace is an impressive, at times breathtakingly beautiful work of architecture. Visitors get to see spectacular archways and windows, carved wooden ceilings, intricate molded-plaster work and colorful ceramic tiles at nearly every turn as they meander between lovely rooms and lush courtyards. Mexuar is a set of administrative rooms with a beautiful prayer room and a small square courtyard with the golden Façade of Comares, before emerging in the Court of the Myrtles, a rectangular courtyard with a long pool of water flanked on each side by a myrtle hedge (hence the name). At the end of the courtyard you can enter a room to view the twelveLion Statues from the fountain in the Court of the Lions, which is currently undergoing renovation. Cross to the other end of the Court of the Myrtles to enter the Ship Room, with its spectacular carved wooden ceiling in the shape of an upside-down hull, and the Chamber of the Ambassadors, the palace's largest and perhaps most spectacular room, which once functioned as the throne room and features a star-studded wooden ceiling, intricately carved stucco walls and beautiful arched windows. From here you'll pass through a series of small rooms, including the Washington Irving Room, where Washington Irving wrote Tales of the Alhambra, as well as down an open-air hallway with an excellent view of an adjacent courtyard (the Court of Linda-Raja) and the Albayzín. Passing by the old bath house is the Hall of the Two Sisters, a spectacular domed room with an intricate stucco ceiling and lovely views of the Court of Linda-Raja. From here i navigated around the edge of the Court of the Lions to the Hall of the Abencerrages, structurally similar to the Hall of the Two Sisters. 
• Generalife. The lush and gorgeous gardens of the Nasrid kings, the expansive Generalife is the finest set of Moorish style gardens in Andalusia, positioned on a hill situated at the rear of the complex overlooking the Alhambra palace. There are beds of colorful flowers, more exquisite architecture, leaping fountains and cool shade. There are two entrances to the Generalife, one at the ticket booth on the east side of the complex and another next to the Palacios Nazaries which leads to the Partal Gardens, a collection of palace gardens with flowing water streams and a large pool of water which reflects a nearby portico. From the Partal following the Promenade of The Towers, the remains of the main wall and its adjoining towers that separate the Alhambra palace grounds from the Generalife. 

Tapa restaurant hopping in Granada

Granada is notable as most of its bars will serve free tapas with each drink, which makes eating out in Granada very inexpensive - a blessing for the local student population. Lunch is generally from 13:00 to 16:00 and dinner from around 20:00 to the late hours of the night (though even at 20:00 most tapas bars will be deserted, as locals eat dinner very late).

There are many popular restaurant areas where you are sure to find something good. Just about every plaza in town holds at least one outdoor restaurant. Calle Elvira and the adjacent streets north of Plaza Nueva have perhaps the largest concentration of tapas bars in town. 

I tried one near Plaza San Miguel Bajo after the walking tour, which is an area of outdoor fairly low priced restaurants in the Albayzín district and some on Calle Naves running south from the city hall in the center of the city is a pedestrian street lined with a wide variety of restaurants.

Cave walking tour in Granada

Like in Turkey, people in Granada live in caves since hundreds years ago. Likewise, both places have licensed (with utilities and taxes) and unregulated ( no utility or tax) caves. These caves stay cool in summer and warm in winter.

The licensed caves are reinforced with concrete and have doors and rooms. The unregulated ones are subject to land sliding and weathering, so that they do not last long. The occupants of the unregulated ones need to be accepted by the community do they will not be outcast. They also need to be there all the time to avoid others taking over their caves.

Out tour guide used to live in a unregulated cave but gave it up for the modern convenience. His friend is still living in one in hope of becoming regulated in 10 years.  A bare-bone regulated cave costs 3000-5000 euros, while a licensed one starts with 200,000 euros. I asked the guide why a incensed one cost  more than a river side apartment unit on Seville. His guess is that the cost of living is lower in Granada than Seville so the housing units cost more. A student in Granada pays 150 euro instead of 500 euro for a room, and the tapas cost half in Granada than Seville.

The unlicensed ones are higher than the licensed one and have a better view of the city as well as the mountains.  I enjoyed the views from the top of hill above the caves at sunset.  

The guide also told us there is a well respected old man who gives free tapas if one comes with 5 gallons of water, since his unregulated cave is far away from water sources. 

Tip based walking tour in Granada, Spain

Granada is a mid-sized city located inGranada Province in the Andalucia region ofSpain. Rich in history and culture, Granada has the Alhambra and other monuments, a student-driven nightlife, skiing and trekking in the nearby Sierra Nevada.