Granada remains my favorite city on Earth (behind my hometown of New Orleans). This is a town that has everything yet remains relaxed and uncrowded. The Alhambra fortress on the hill should be a world wonder. The Sierra Nevada mountains to the east and south are home to hiking trails, tiny Iberian villages, and even skiing when it’s not 100 degrees outside. The high town, the Realejo, and the gypsy cave village on the city’s edge provide ample ambling opportunities. The markets, the churches, and the history all bring this vivid place into relief. And on top of it all, the food! For me, Granada is the epicentre of tapas culture in Spain. The food is a beautiful result of centuries of cultures intertwining across the region. Luckily, the options are plentiful and served small but free (85% of the time), so you can sample to your heart’s content.
Tapas In Granada
Everyone knows about Spain and tapas. Everyone knows that Spanish tapas restaurants in other countries are usually expensive and rarely big enough to fill you up. Even in Spain, you have to buy several plates in order to make a meal out of it. In Granada, this is not a problem. With very few tourist restaurant exceptions, every tapa plate in Granada is 100% free. Order a drink, and get a plate of food for free! In some places around the country, that could mean some olives, peanuts, or chips. In Granada, your free tapa to accompany your €2 beer, wine, or cava might be a plate of paella, stewed oxtail with potatoes, fried calamari, a steak sandwich, croquettes or a hundred other different options. Needless to say, it is hard to eat without drinking in this city. And even harder to drink without eating.
Bodegas Castañeda
Bodegas Castaneda is probably the best tapas bar in the country to get started with this tradition of free food with your drink. They have beer, wine, and cava, but they specialize in vermouth. Barrels of different varieties sit behind the bar and a pour with a dish of food costs €1.50-3 depending on the vintage. Here, you do not pick your tapas. The chef churns out a large batch of something delicious and everyone ordering a drink for the next 20 minutes gets a healthy portion of that served alongside their beverage. Order another drink a half hour later, a new plate will show up. They try not to repeat with the same customers. You can’t pick your dish, but let them know if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies and they will work around it. A few tasty dishes that I got to try were fried fish, ensalada rusa (potato salad), stewed oxtail (a favorite of the house), ceviche, and paella.
Bar La Riviera
Bar La Riviera is one of the most popular tapas places in the old section of Granada for two reasons. It is one of the cheapest bars and you get to pick your tapa plate. They have a few beers on tap, house red and white wine, and a craft beer cooler. Whatever the price is for your beverage, it includes any one plate off the menu. Several fried pub options, many meat and cheese sandwich combinations, and a couple of cold dishes.
Bar Los Diamantes
Bar Los Diamantes is another hugely popular tapas spot on the Plaza Santa Ana. Sometimes, you may have to wait for a table. But, if you are tapas hopping and aren’t staying long, you can usually find room at the bar with or without seats. As usual, a drink here includes a plate. In the old tapas style, you don’t get a menu or a choice. Plates come around shortly after drinks. The focus here is on seafood and they do it well. Steamed mussels, calamari, fried bites of white fish, octopus salad, and ceviche. If you stay here for a while, try counting how many different animals show up.
Grifos Y Tapas
Grifos y Tapas (grifos meaning taps or faucets) is a staple in the college scene of tapas in Granada selling beer on tap. Here, the drinks are a bit more costly. €3.50 gets you an oversized draft beer but with TWO tapas of your choice. Basically, a small meal and a large drink will set you back €3.50 in total. Choices might include pasta, hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, fries, stewed beef, croquettes, meat or cheese.
Bar El Peruano
Known in Granada as the home of the largest tapas in town, El Peruano serves family-recipe Peruvian food. Plus, they stick to the usual script with Granada tapas. Drinks cost €2.50-4 and include a plate of delicious Peruvian food. The only downside is they have little seating and are very popular. If you get there anytime after about 8 pm (keep in mind this is Spain and dinner before 9 pm is just weird) you will probably have to wait outside for a while. Options here include roasted chicken on rice (amazing), papas huancaina, ceviche, grilled meat skewers, sandwiches and salads.
Calle Pedro Antonio De Alarcón
I can’t end my recommendations of Granada’s tapas without pointing out that Calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcon is home to so many wonderful bars. The reason is that the local university can be found close to this section of town. Aside from a few places that are full of 18-20-year-old students, most of the establishments on the street have developed a wide range of themes, styles, and clientele. Take a walk down Calle Pedro Antonio and see what looks good. You’ll find a cute cafe that catches your eye, a retro pub that can’t be missed, and of course, six more tapas bars you will recommend to the next visitor.
Other things to do in Grenada
Alhambra
A glaring omission from the usual seven world wonder lists, the Alhambra is a wonderfully unique Moorish castle, palace, and work of art sitting on the hilltop overlooking Granada’s old town. You can reach the Alhambra from the main road from the southern side or via a walking path through some of the gardens that wind through a canyon cut into the northern side of the mountain. There are several sections to visit, some that are free to the public, others require prearranged tickets and timeslots. If you are heading there on a weekend, or at any point during the high season, you need to book your tickets ahead in order not to miss the number one site in the region.
Carmen De Los Mártires
After the Alhambra and the Generalife, if you are not gardened out, make a stop by Carmen de Los Martires before heading back down into Granada’s main town. This is a beautiful green space off the southern side of Alhambra Hill. It’s free and open to the public. Check the times before you go as we tried twice and failed, getting there right at a lunch break and then again on an off day. If you get the times right though, this garden has wonderful, cool spaces to escape the summer sun, beautiful views of the Sierra Nevadas to the south, several fountains, and even a small fortress tower in the middle of a pond to climb.
Albaicín
The Albaicin is the high town of Granada. The development of this area of the city started with Moorish refugees in the 13th century. Today, it remains a maze of crisscrossing streets, courtyards, dead ends that make no sense, stairs that seem to go nowhere, and wonderful finds around every corner. Get lost here for a while and see what you might find. A few landmarks pull people into the area, but the best part of the neighborhood is the surprise plazas with little cafes and walls covered in blue ceramics. There are also numerous viewpoints overlooking the Realejo neighborhood that sits between the two elevations of the Albaicin and the Alhambra. Head here for some of the best photo spots of the Alhambra fortress.
Caves Of Sacromonte
The Sacromonte is a neighborhood of Granada that has only recently been considered part of the city’s territory. This area is known for its cave homes. Developed by a gypsy population not accepted in the city at the time, families inhabited caves that were already scattered across the face of the hillside. Over generations, they have continued burrowing further into the rock. Now, visiting the area means walking between, over, and around underground homes. Many have been in the same family forever whilst others have turned into museums, B&Bs, bars and flamenco clubs. Be careful exploring! There are a couple of roads that make their way through the neighborhood, but gravel paths and dirt tracks are used to reach the more remote constructions. Footing can be tricky.
Sierra Nevada Hikes
There are several options for hiking in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. The best plan would be to find a route either through the villages east of Granada, or out of the river valleys and gorges to the south. Then hit the market to pick up freshly baked bread, some local manchego cheese, and a bit of jamon iberico for the journey. Figure out how far you want to go and then get a bus to your starting point. A hike back into town coming through the Alhambra grounds, the Generalife gardens, the cave villages of the Sacremonte, the white town of the Albayzin, or any of the river roads is a wonderful welcome back to civilization.
Parque De Las Ciencias
Granada’s science museum is not a hugely cultural experience but it is a great way to spend a hot afternoon doing something productive in air conditioning. They have a wealth of interactive exhibits for kids and adults. Every time I’ve been, I have walked away with another fun bit of trivia about the world. If you want to go, make sure to book your tickets online as entry is time-based and they sell out hours or days in advance to the major exhibits. You might get lucky at the door, but chances are you will have to buy tickets for later in the day and change your plans in order to do everything.
“Complete Tapas Guide for Granada, Spain” was originally published on Wanderdash (follow Creed @creedevans)