Plan your next city trip to Granada, a unique city in Andalusia. Granada is located in Spain and ranks in the top ten most visited destinations for city trip travelers.
Granada is about an hour and a half drive from Malaga, making Malaga a nice excursion during your city trip in Granada.
Granada and Alhambra
Granada is an urban city, surrounded by nature. You are surrounded by hilly mountain landscapes while strolling through the most charming streets and villages. Granada is also known for its medieval atmosphere.
This is mainly due to the real eye-catcher of the city: The medieval fortress of Alhambra. The old town also feels very enchanting.
It feels like you’ve stepped back in time and landed somewhere in the Middle Ages. The stone buildings, large squares, and picturesque villages make your city trip a very pleasant experience.
Why visit Granada?
If you love culture, nature, and history, then this city is a destination where you will thoroughly enjoy yourself.
Wandering through narrow and colorful streets, visiting churches and basilicas, and climbing a real fortress? And we haven’t even mentioned the view over the city when you’re at the top of the Alhambra fortress.
Granada has a lot to offer, are you ready to enjoy it?
Surroundings of Granada, Spain
The surroundings of Granada are idyllic. Southern Spain is known for its combination of beautiful nature and unique history. This is reflected in all the cities in the province of Andalusia, including the city of Granada. Large green parks and forests combined with old churches and cathedrals.
It is a city with many sights that you won’t easily find in the Netherlands. Centuries-old fortresses on high hills and towering church towers. Granada is also a destination where you can enjoy cycling. This way you can explore the surroundings well by bike. It is recommended to first book a guided bike tour. This way you get to know the area well under the guidance of a real expert. Once you are more familiar with the surroundings in Granada, you can explore on your own.
Flights to Granada
There are no direct flights to Granada available from any airport in the Netherlands. Currently, there are also no direct flights to Granada available from Düsseldorf and Brussels. However, there are airlines from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport that fly to Granada. However, you will have a stopover in another Spanish city. Usually, your stopover is in Madrid or Barcelona. If you don’t feel like a stopover, book a flight to Malaga.
Flights to Malaga can be taken directly from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. And Malaga is reasonably close to Granada, certainly at a comfortable driving distance. Malaga is only about an hour and a half drive from Granada.
You can easily rent a car at the airport or choose to arrange this in advance before you start your city trip. If you have the opportunity to rent a car during your city trip, it is certainly advisable. This way you can undertake more activities once on site and possibly make a small road trip. And there is much to see and do in Granada and the surrounding area, so a car will certainly come in handy.
Advantage of a direct flight
An obvious advantage of a direct flight to Malaga is that it is significantly cheaper. If you fly to Granada and have a stopover, you pay at least 250 euros more than when you book a ticket to Malaga.
You also often have to deal with very long waiting times with a stopover. Don’t be surprised if you have to wait between 8 and 10 hours for your connecting flight. This is a waste, because if you fly via Malaga and take a car there, you will be in Granada within an hour and a half.
It is therefore absolutely advisable that when you visit Granada from the Netherlands, you fly via Malaga. You will save time and money. Win-win.
Flight prices to Granada
On average, a ticket for your city trip to Granada costs €400. If you choose to fly via Malaga, the average will be around €150. These are starting prices, but you can assume that prices via Malaga will always be much cheaper. You fly directly, you get there faster, and it’s cheaper.
So don’t hesitate too long and book a return flight to Malaga. Rent a car there and drive to Granada.
Best time to visit Granada
It is always a treat to visit this city in southern Spain. With the unique sights and cool activities you can undertake, there is really no ‘wrong time of year’ to visit Granada. However, if you have the choice, it is recommended to undertake your trip in the spring. This is because spring is considered the period when the weather is best. It is considerably warm, but not too warm. A pleasant 24 degrees Celsius can be expected daily. In the summer months, this rises to temperatures above 32 degrees. Not exactly the desired temperature for hours of wandering and cycling in a city. The Granada sights are open all year round. So if you do go to Granada in the summer or winter months, you don’t have to worry about this.
Visit the most beautiful fortress of the city: Fort Alhambra
Fort Alhambra is the attraction of Granada. You can hardly miss it. Wherever you are in the city, you just have to look up and you see this mighty old palace towering over the entire city. It makes a very impressive and imposing impression. It is a medieval palace and fortress in the southeast of Granada. It is a very large complex and covers an area of about 140,000 m².
The fortress is not only very powerful to behold from the outside, but inside you can also discover many gems. The walls are beautifully decorated with Islamic artworks. You can discover many mosaics. The Alhambra Fortress is a big favorite among true art lovers.
Book your ticket for Fort Alhambra in advance
Did you know that Fort Alhambra is on the UNESCO World Heritage List?
Due to the rich history and uniqueness of the fortress, it has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is good for the preservation of the fortress, but it also brings some disadvantages for visitors.
Because Fort Alhambra is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, only a limited number of visitors per day can visit the fortress.
Therefore, book your ticket online in advance so that you don’t face any disappointments. A city trip is usually not very long and who knows, you might not have the chance to visit the fortress on another day. Book your ticket in advance and enjoy all the splendor you will see.
Explore Granada by bike
You can undertake various activities in Granada during your city trip. If you want to complement your city trip to Granada with a cool and active activity, book a bike tour through the city!
In Granada, you have three options when choosing a bike tour. You can choose a Granada Highlights Tour, a Granada Tapas Tour, and renting just a bike without a guide.
The Granada Highlights Tour and the Granada Highlights and Tapas Tour are almost the same, but the tapas tour lasts about an hour longer. This is because you combine the bike tour with enjoying delicious local delicacies. These tapas include a drink and are included in the bike tour.
During your city trip, you will visit various attractions including the Sacromonte, the Cave Houses, the Cathedral, and the historical museum.
Safety of cycling in Granada
Granada is a very safe city to cycle in. In the center, there are bike paths and also outside the center, there are plenty of roads where you can cycle. The experienced guide only takes you along a route where you can cycle without any problems. You don’t just cycle on flat roads because you also go uphill. Among other things, for the visit to Alhambra. But don’t worry, with the e-bike you can complete the route without any problems.