Glorious Granada will leave you wanting Moor
II have two stand-out memories of the first time I visited Granada towards the end of the 1990s. One is of just how gobsmacked I was by the extraordinary beauty of the Alhambra, the city’s utterly stunning Moorish palace complex. While I was expecting it to be beautiful, this was on a whole other level altogether. And the other? Eating the best fried chicken dish I have ever had in a little huckster of a restaurant near the cathedral.
Memory tells me that chicken, in various guises, was the chef’s speciality, and I may be wrong about this, but I think that the only dishes actually available in the restaurant were ones that featured chicken. What I remember is the garlic overload (in a good way), the dripping butter, that the chicken itself was perfectly crispy on the outside and softly succulent within, and that my son, aged about nine at the time, was delighted because we abandoned cutlery altogether and simply tucked in. (The only place that has come close to that particular chicken experience was when I ate in Trattoria Sostanza in Florence a couple of summers ago, a spot that is famed for its fried buttered chicken.)
My thoughts have turned to Granada this week because a friend who has never been there was asking me about the city a couple of weeks ago and then, just last weekend, I received an email from a reader who is planning to visit in April and was looking for a few pointers for when she is there.
Well, bearing in mind that I’m a bit biased when it comes to Spanish cities – as in, I find it difficult to find any negatives and would certainly number at least two in my European top ten (Madrid and Seville) – I would have to say, hand on heart, that Granada is a great place to spend a few days.
I have generally visited when I have been staying somewhere else in that part of Andalucia – down on the coast at Salobrena that first time, for example, or near Lanjaron on the edge of the Sierra Nevada (a part of Spain made famous years ago by Chris Stewart’s book, Driving Over Lemons).
The thing about Granada is that you essentially have a number of different ‘villages’ in the same city. I love the Albaicin, for example, the neighbourhood (and a UNESCO heritage site in its own right) that gives great views of the Alhambra palace and a part of the city that retains its Moorish influences and architecture – narrow, cobblestoned streets, white-washed houses, tiled Arab baths, and the like. And it’s also a part of the city full of interesting churches – not to mention tapas bars!
The historic centre is probably the best place to stay if it’s your first visit and you are only there for two or three days. That would have you staying somewhere in the region of the cathedral or Plaza Nueva which, although ‘New Square’, is actually the oldest square in Granada. You can stroll from here to the Albaicin, and on to the Alhambra itself, the Alhambra, of course, being the reason why most people visit Granada.
It’s extraordinarily beautiful, and, in the high heat of summer, a pleasant place to visit (apart from the crowds) because of the presence of so much trickling water. You could always go the whole hog and book into the Parador hotel that is located in the Alhambra complex. This five-star former monastery is a real gem – but it gets booked out ages in advance so plan ahead.
A hotel that I have always found to be comfortable, well-located and with its own distinctive atmosphere, is the three-star Hotel Inglaterra in the historic city. Dating from the 1920s, it’s close to the cathedral and to the Royal Chapel (final resting place of the legendary royals, Ferdinand and Isabella). It’s not huge – less than 40 rooms – but with its distinctive tiling, lovely internal balconies and comfortable rooms, it’s a good choice for a few days in the city. Somewhere like Hotel Casa 1800 is also worth considering – a lovely small hotel (25 rooms) in a sixteenth century building.
Don’t leave Granada without exploring the old Jewish quarter, the Realejo, situated between the city centre and the Alhambra. Famous for its walled mansions, its graffiti-style street art and its fantastic tapas bars, the Realejo is a great part of the city to visit.
The last time I visited this lovely Spanish city I couldn’t find the fried chicken restaurant. I wandered round and round the area that I knew it had been in, but, sadly, to no avail. The good news, though, is that the overall atmosphere of Granada hadn’t changed at all, and it was every bit as fascinating and lively and engaging as it had been when I first landed into this Moorish gem a couple of decades ago.
I feel another visit to the Alhambra coming on...