Granada itinerary for first-timers

Start at the top of the hill in the Generalife, the summer palace of the Nasrid sultans. Its gardens are terraces of fountains, hedges, roses and cypresses, with the long pool of the Patio de la Acequia and the Water Stairway, where water runs down the handrails, and views back over the Alhambra and the Albaicín.

• Generalife gardens
• Patio de la Acequia
• Patio de la Sultana
• Water Stairway

Alhambra tickets are limited and often sell out weeks ahead, especially for the Nasrid Palaces, so book before you travel.

The Nasrid Palaces are the heart of the Alhambra: rooms of carved stucco, tiled walls and wooden domes around courtyards of water. The Court of the Myrtles reflects its tower in a long pool, and the Court of the Lions is surrounded by slender columns. Right next to them stands the Renaissance Palace of Charles V, a round courtyard inside a square building.

• Mexuar
• Court of the Myrtles
• Hall of the Ambassadors
• Court of the Lions
• Palace of Charles V

Your Nasrid Palaces ticket has a fixed entry time; plan the rest of the visit around it and be at the gate early.

The Alcazaba is the oldest part of the Alhambra, a military fortress at the western tip of the hill. From the top of the Torre de la Vela the whole city spreads out below, with the Albaicín opposite and the Sierra Nevada behind. Leave through the Gate of Justice, a horseshoe arch carved with a hand and a key.

• Alcazaba ramparts
• Torre de la Vela
• Gate of Justice

The tower is the best viewpoint of the day; walk down through the woods of the Cuesta de Gomérez afterwards.

From Plaza Nueva the Carrera del Darro follows the little Darro River upstream, past old stone bridges, churches and houses, right under the walls of the Alhambra. It opens onto the Paseo de los Tristes, a riverside promenade with terraces and one of the best views up to the Alhambra towers.

• Carrera del Darro
• Stone bridges over the Darro
• Paseo de los Tristes

Come back here after dark one evening, when the Alhambra above the river is lit up.

The terrace in front of the San Nicolás church is the classic view of Granada: the whole length of the Alhambra on the opposite hill, glowing red at sunset, with the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada behind it. Musicians often play, and the square fills with people waiting for the light.

• The Alhambra at sunset
• Sierra Nevada
• San Nicolás church square

Arrive a good while before sunset to get a place at the wall; it gets very busy.

The Royal Chapel holds the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs who took Granada in 1492. Next door, the cathedral was built on the site of the city's main mosque, a huge white Renaissance interior with a richly decorated main chapel. Together they mark the Christian city that grew up after the conquest.

• Royal Chapel
• Granada Cathedral
• Plaza de Bib-Rambla

Bib-Rambla, just behind the cathedral, is the classic square for a morning coffee or churros and chocolate.

The Alcaicería was the Moorish silk market, and its narrow lanes beside the cathedral are still a bazaar of lamps, ceramics, spices and souvenirs. The lively square of Bib-Rambla, with its flower stalls and fountain, opens right next to it.

• Plaza de Bib-Rambla
• La Alcaicería lanes

Go before midday, when the lanes are less crowded.

The Realejo, the old Jewish quarter, spreads up the slope below the Alhambra. It is a lived-in neighbourhood of small squares, churches and street art, with the Plaza de Santo Domingo at its heart and quieter lanes climbing towards the Alhambra hill. The walk returns down to Plaza Nueva.

• Calle San Matías
• Plaza de Santo Domingo
• Cristo de los Favores
• Calle Pavaneras

The Realejo is a good area for an evening of tapas away from the busiest streets of the centre.

Just above Calle Elvira, the steep Calle Calderería Nueva is lined with tea houses, pastry shops and stalls of lamps and slippers, a little piece of North Africa at the foot of the Albaicín. It leads up to Plaza San Gregorio and the first lanes of the old quarter.

• Calle Calderería Nueva
• Plaza San Gregorio
• Calle Elvira

A glass of mint tea here is a good break between the centre and the climb into the Albaicín.

Above the Darro valley, Sacromonte is the hillside district of cave houses, whitewashed homes dug into the slope, where Granada's Roma community shaped its own style of flamenco. The lane climbs past cave venues and prickly pears, with the Alhambra across the valley.

• Cuesta del Chapiz
• Cave houses
• Flamenco caves
• Views of the Alhambra

Come back one evening for a flamenco show in one of the caves.

The Verea de Enmedio is a path along the hillside between Sacromonte and the Albaicín. It is far quieter than San Nicolás and has some of the widest views of the Alhambra, the Generalife and the Darro valley.

• Hillside path
• Alhambra and Generalife views
• Darro valley

Wear good shoes: the path is uneven and has no shade.

The top of the Albaicín is a quiet maze of white walls, hidden gardens and small squares. The El Salvador Church stands on the site of the quarter's old main mosque, and from there the lanes lead to San Nicolás and back down through narrow alleys to the Calderería.

• El Salvador Church
• Mirador de San Nicolás
• Narrow Albaicín alleys

Getting lost here is part of the fun; head downhill and you will always reach the centre.

South of the cathedral, the squares around Puerta Real, Plaza del Campillo and Plaza de Mariana Pineda are where the city goes out in the evening. Nearby streets are full of tapas bars, where a drink usually comes with a small free dish.

• Plaza del Campillo
• Plaza de Mariana Pineda
• Puerta Real

Tapas are the way to eat in Granada: order a drink, see what arrives, and move on to the next bar.