When we talk about Granada, the image of the marvellous Alhambra inevitably comes to mind. Its history, known all over the world, means that the Nazari fortress heads the image of our city.
However, Granada is much more than the Alhambra. Its narrow streets hide anecdotes that make Granada make sense as a key city in the history of a country, where every name, custom or place is not trivial.
If you are preparing your trip to Granada, in addition to your visit to the Alhambra, Hotel Alhambra Palace we tell you five things you should know before your trip!
What would you think if a Carmen, as well as a name, is the typical house of the Albaicin? They are the hallmark of this district of Granada, and form an inherent part of the landscape of Granada. The Albaicin together with the Alhambra is already a tandem impossible to separate.
This word has its origin, like many others, from the Arabic karm, which means garden or vineyard. It is typical of Granada, and is present to a greater extent in other neighbourhoods such as the Realejo. Today they are residential dwellings, family homes, restaurants and tourist accommodation.
If you dare to wander around and pay special attention, you can even hear the movement of the water inside them. It will be easy to identify some of them, where you can see hanging Jasmines, Lilies, Galanes de Noche or you can see some Cypresses, Lemon trees or Orange trees. Their aroma will be another of the characteristics of this house where more than one would like to live.
Undoubtedly, during your stay at Hotel Alhambra Palace, it is worth visiting some of them. These are our suggestions:
Situated next to the Alhambra, this beautiful Carmen includes a small palace and a pool in the form of a lake. Its peacocks add the finishing touch to this beautiful place, which also offers beautiful views of the Vega de Granada and the Sierra Nevada. With its more than seven hectares, it is the largest of the city's carmenes.
It was formerly known as the Corral de los Cautivos, as Christian prisoners were kept here in Arab dungeons. Another interesting fact about this Carmen is that, during the capture of Granada in 1492, it is said that Boabdil left Granada to hand over the city to Isabella the Catholic.
Your visit is free of charge!
This Carmen is also very close to the Alhambra and its interior will surprise you with its modernist image. This picturesque place was commissioned by the painter José María Rodríguez Acosta and later donated to the city.
Inside there is a museum, library and research rooms and the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation was created in honour of its owner to encourage culture and scientific research.
You also have the option of visiting this Carmen for free.
Max Moreau was a Belgian painter and died in Granada in 1992. His house in the Albaicin is now a museum near the Mirador de San Nicolas. He left his inheritance and all his possessions to the city of Granada.
This Carmen has beautiful views of the Alhambra and can be visited free of charge.
As usual, the Arabic imprint is also present in the origin of the name of this mythical quarter of Granada. The name of this place comes from al-bayyazin which means ‘neighbourhood on a slope or hill’.
On 17 December 1994, UNESCO declared the district a World Heritage Site. This was the starting point for the creation, in 1998, of a municipal board of trustees for the neighbourhood, which in 2002 began to operate as an autonomous body of the Granada City Council under the name of ‘Fundación Albaicín-Granada’.
The oldest neighbourhood in Granada, the residents have changed over the years. Palaces and residences of Granada's nobility once dominated this unique setting. However, after the conquest by the Catholic Monarchs, the Albaicin was assigned to the Muslims as a place of residence.
The Albaicin's glory days were during the Nasrid dynasty, when it was home to more than forty thousand inhabitants and thirty mosques.
Today, it is still an unmissable place to lose oneself in, and to dream. Undoubtedly, one of the most inspiring places you can find in the city.
The symbol of triumph made palace. The palace of Charles V is a firm demonstration of Christianity over Islam.
Charles V, King of Spain, decided to build his Royal Palace in the Alhambra after his visit to Granada following his wedding in Seville to Isabella of Portugal in 1526. The Romanesque style of this palace was influenced by the Governor of the Alhambra and Captain General Luis Hurtado de Mendoza himself.
Today, the Palace of Charles V is the seat of the Museum of the Alhambra (on Hispano-Muslim culture and part of it) and the Museum of Fine Arts.
As well as being one of the most visited monuments in the world, the Alhambra is one of the largest sundials on the planet. A feature that surely goes unnoticed even by the locals.
Few visitors know that during the evening hours of Granada's winters, the rooms of the Alhambra are split in half by the last rays of the day's sun. This fact confirms the legend that the Alhambra itself is a sundial. In fact, at midday half of the rooms are in the shade and the other half are sunny.
The sundial is the piece of the month of May in the Museum of the Alhambra. Every Saturday, from 12:00 noon, the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife organises this activity. It is free of charge!
There are many theories about the true origin of the name of this city, although the most widely accepted is that the word Granada comes from Gar-anat, the name of the medina (Madinat Gar-Anat) which was the capital of the Muslim kingdom in the 11th century.
Another theory is that it could come from Latin, referring to the pomegranate fruit granatum, or from the Arabic gar-anat, ‘city of pilgrims’.
As a curious fact about it, it is said that whoever has counted the grains of a pomegranate says that it has 613, the same number as the precepts of the Jewish Torah.
As they say around here, you'll never sleep without learning something new.
Now all that's left for you to do is to enjoy Granada.
Have a good trip and enjoy our wonderful city!
