Walk the streets of the old...
by SANDYGR
Walk the streets of the old town in the evening. As the shadows get longer and the night colder you can just feel the history coming alive. Walking along the stream which runs to the centre of the city just as the sun was going down.
Piononos
by Aitana
Piononos are small pastries traditional in Santa Fe, a small town adjacent to Granada.
A pionono consists of a thin layer of pastry rolled into a cylinder, fermented with different kinds of syrup, crowned with toasted cream.
The creator of this pastry was Ceferino Isla. He was a patissier and a devout follower of the Virgin. He wanted to pay tribute to the Pope Pious IX (Pio nono in Spanish) when he proclaimed the dogma or the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1858. Then, he decided to create a pastry with such a shape that remind the figure of a Pope: cylindrical and slightly dumpy appearance (soaked cake rolled on itself), dressed in white as the Pope (paper basket containing the soaked cake), and crown of sweetened and toasted cream on top of the cylinder (the zucchetto the Pope covers his crown with). The pastry should have also the name of the Pope.
The Pionono is just delicious. Don't leave Granada without trying.
Explore and party in the Albaicin
by profuselycool
The Albaicin is located before El Sacromante and the Alhambra, right off of Plaza Nuevo. Its a series of cobbled and narrow streets, and is an old Moorish neighborhood in the city. This was a really fun place to go, you need to be a little careful as there are some seedy characters around, and all of the hash-ish in Granada is sold in this area by mostly Moroccan immigrants.
There are some great Schwarma stands, which are delicious sort of pita wrapped burgers, various hookah (narguile) bars which are a lot of fun , and Granada 10 and Dolce Vita (bars/nightclubs.) Definitely hit up the Albaicin atleast once while in Granada just to get a feel of the area, but I'm sure you'll head back for seconds and thirds if you go in with an open mind!
THE ALCAICERIA
by BerniShand
between the Calle del Zacatin and the Cathedral is the Alcaiceria. This was once the city`s Moorish silk market and originally was much larger - almost a village within the city - even having its own mosque, and was gated and locked at night
the original Alcaicera was destryed by a fire and then rebuilt in the 19th century, notice the wonderful shop fronts and carvings
now it is an interesting group of narrow streets lined with shops selling souveniers, quirky designer shops and tiny jewellery shops, its a lovely place to browse, and the wonderful thing is that there is no hassle or pestering from the traders
great things to buy here are light fittings which come in all shapes sizes and colours, sparkling slippers, ethnic clothing and marquetry work, of course there are also all the ubiquitous tourist things - fridge magnets, key rings, I [heart] GRANADA stickers etc, but its a lovely place to shop for gifts or keepsakes and prices were quite reasonable
to/from Cordoba
by leplaya
The Alsina Graells bus leaves/arrives from the bus station a few km away from the city (take buses 3 or 33 from the Gran Via). It leaves 10 times a day and costs 11.40 euros. Direct routes are 2 ½ hours, but some are indirect (Ruta) and take longer.