Things to do in Granada

Two nights is the minimum so you can do the Alhambra in the morning, the Albaicín old quarter in the late afternoon and a flamenco cave show in Sacromonte that evening. Add a third day for Sierra Nevada in winter or a hike in Los Cahorros gorge in summer.

The Alhambra, with timed entry to the Nasrid Palaces booked weeks in advance. Skipping the Nasrid Palaces means missing the whole point — the Court of the Lions and the Hall of the Ambassadors are the best preserved Moorish interiors in Europe. Generalife gardens are the breather afterwards.

The Albaicín — a UNESCO-listed maze of whitewashed houses climbing the hill opposite the Alhambra. Walk up Cuesta del Chapiz to the Mirador de San Nicolás for a postcard view of the Alhambra against the Sierra Nevada peaks. Sacromonte, just behind, has the cave dwellings.

Order any drink in most non-touristy bars and a free tapa arrives with it — and they get more generous each round. Bodegas Castañeda near Plaza Nueva is a classic stop. Three drinks usually equals dinner. Try jamón de Trevélez (cured in Alpujarra villages) when offered.

Walk everywhere in the centre and the Albaicín. The Alhambra is uphill — either hike the Cuesta de Gomérez through forest or take the C30 or C32 minibus from Plaza Nueva. The metro line connects the train station to the centre. Don't drive in the Albaicín; the streets are narrower than your wing mirrors.

The Carthusian Monastery (La Cartuja) on the northern edge of town. Its baroque sacristy is one of the most riotously over-the-top spaces in Spain — twisted marble columns, stucco saints — and it sees a fraction of the Alhambra's crowds. Combine with a walk through the Realejo district on the way back.