Fifteen Hours in Granada: The Official Tour

As you may imagine (although I suppose that it’s a bit much of me to think that you should spend your time imagining about the quality and/or content of my life), I’ve gotten to know Granada fairly well. I am now self-certified to lead the official fifteen hour nocturnal tour of the city. I pity the fool who came and visited months and months ago, before I had done in-depth research as to quality and size of tapas.

Danielle and Adrian drove into town at about eight-thirty the other day, and had to head out of the city before noon the next day, which gave me just enough time to give them the tour. Here’s a play-by-play:

Evening:
Round one: Páprika. It’s not the closest bar to my house (there are two closer), but it’s got a nice outdoor setup, friendly service, and sometimes-innovative tapas. We were given dilly tomato salad with cheese and onions.
Stop one: Mirador de San Nicolás. We missed sunset by about ten minutes, but the views of the Alhambra were stunning nonetheless.
Round two: The bar near Plaza Larga that is labeled “Comedor” outside, and that probably has a name, but that I don’t actually know. The gazpacho there is perfect: it is cold, and it is salty, and it is exactly what you didn’t realize that you needed on a hot Granada day, until you are there, and everything is right with the world. The tapa there was little cubes of fish in adobo (not the Mexican kind) and cabbage salad. Perfect.
Stop two: The Camino del Sacromonte, for another view of the Alhambra and a look at the caves on the main street.
Rounds three-five/Dinner: Bodegas Castañeda. Between the three of us, we split a small cold platter (cold cuts, patés, jams, salmon) and an empanada.
Stop three: The Capilla Real and cathedral.
Stop four: Plaza Bibarrambla, just because it’s the closest that Granada has to a Plaza Mayor.
Stop five: We then took a walk and ended up by the Rio Genil
Stop six: Then we walked through the Realejo and went to see Santo Domingo, my favorite church in Granada. The lighting was a bit harsh, though (a really strong streetlight), so it wasn’t absolutely magical.

Morning:
Breakfast: Churros and chocolate at Café Futbol. They are my favorite in Granada. The chocolate is thick, and the churros are perfectly crisp on the outside.
Stop one: The Alhambra. We didn’t have tickets, and D and A didn’t have much time, but we did go up and walk around. We went through the museum in the Palace of Charles V, looked out over to the Mirador de San Nicolas and waved , and saw the baths in the Alhambra.
Stop two: We walked down from the Alhambra and over to the Albayzín (my neighborhood). We stopped in at the Palacio de los Córdova, and then at the Bañuelo. And then we raced back to my house (taking a slight detour along the Calderería, so that D and A could see the touristy street with all of the Moroccan tea houses, and the imported Moroccan souvenirs.)

And then it was time for them to go!

You, too, can take this tour (or a more refined variant of it) if you have exactly fifteen hours to spend in this fair city. Come visit!