Albaicin

The Albaicin occupies the hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro ravine and keeps the street plan of the Moorish city: narrow stepped lanes running at odd angles, high whitewashed walls, and behind them the carmenes, walled houses with terraced gardens of cypress, jasmine and fruit trees hidden from the street. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 1994 as an extension of the Alhambra listing. The Mirador de San Nicolas gives the classic view of the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada behind, best in late afternoon and consequently crowded. Remains of the eleventh-century walls, Moorish cisterns, the El Banuelo bath house and the Dar al-Horra palace survive within the quarter.

History

People have lived around Granada since at least 5500 BC, the Iberian Bastetani founded the oppidum of Ilturir around 650 BC, and digs on the Albaicín hill have found a significant Roman town, though how it relates to Roman Iliberis is still debated. Under the emirate and caliphate of Córdoba the hill held a small fortified settlement called Gharnata, mainly Jewish, and after the caliphate fell apart in 1009 the Zirid leader Zawi ben Ziri made it the seat of his Taifa of Granada, building the Old Citadel and his palace here and walling a city of about 75 hectares, whose northern stretch and the gate now called Puerta Monaita survive. The quarter kept much of its medieval street plan of the Nasrid period, the 13th to 15th centuries, through the many changes that followed the end of the Reconquista in 1492, and in 1994 it was added to the World Heritage Site of the Alhambra (Wikipedia, Albaicín).

What's there

• Mirador de San Nicolas - the classic Alhambra view with the sierra behind.
• The carmen gardens - walled terraced gardens hidden behind high walls.
• El Banuelo - an eleventh-century Moorish bath house.
• The stepped lanes - a Moorish street plan largely intact.

When to go

Spring and autumn; late afternoon and sunset draw crowds to San Nicolas, so slightly earlier or a different mirador is quieter. Summer heat makes the climb hard, and the lanes are steep in any season.

Before you go

The lanes are steep, cobbled and confusing, and getting lost is normal. San Nicolas is heavily crowded at sunset with buskers and vendors, and pickpocketing is reported there. Cars are impractical; the minibuses are the sensible option.

Nearby

Sacromonte adjoins the quarter to the east; the Alhambra is across the ravine and the cathedral below.

Key facts