Information of Granada
A Dream City
The city of Granada is located in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, and it is the capital of the province with the same name. According to aficionados, this province can be considered as a micro-continent, given its geographical situation and its varied climate, which at the same time represent a wealth of not very common flora and fauna.
Among other parks and natural spots, the province has the Sierra Nevada National Park, which contains the highest summit on the Iberian peninsula, the Mulhacén, 3,482 metres high and almost permanently covered with snow. The Sierra Nevada ski resort is in this park and on the other side of the mountain range is the Alpujarra, one of the most picturesque natural regions in Spain.
The Mediterranean sea is only a few kilometres away from the mountains, offering this area an enviable climate, with more than three hundred days of sunshine per year and a mild average temperature. The Granadine coast is known as the Tropical coast, since, thanks to the mildness of the climate, all kinds of tropical fruit are grown here, such as mangoes, avocados, etc.
The north area, with the Castril Nature Reserve, the Poniente Granadino region, Guadix and Marquesado, the Baza Nature Reserve and the Altiplano area, as well as the Vega (fertile plain) of Granada, also have a great deal to offer tourists.
With these characteristics, it is not surprising that Granada has always been a city disputed by all those that have passed through its lands. And although there have been many from time immemorial, it was the Arabs who, in the eight centuries they stayed, shaped Granada and gave it the majority of its culture.
In the last two and half centuries of this Muslim period, Granada was left alone in the face of the Christian advance. The agreements of peace and vassalage maintained the border and the capital, the financial, artistic and cultural splendour of the fourteenth century, which is reflected in the palaces of the Alhambra, the residence of the Nasrid sultans, in a dramatic contrast to the political decadence of the fifteenth century.
The Muslim territory gradually weakened and in 1492 the Catholic Monarchs took the capital of the already collapsed kingdom. From then on, the city suffered a spectacular change. Numerous civil and religious buildings were built, streets and squares were widened, foundations of all kinds were made: the mausoleum of the Monarchs, the University, the Cathedral, the Charles V Palace at the Alhambra and the Royal Chancery are the most significant. Granada was once again the centre of attention.
Little by little the city began to extend towards the Vega, maintaining its urban centre, ramparts and the majority of the buildings of the Muslim age.
Time and the progressive widenings have done away with the majority of the ramparts and the gates that surrounded the quarters and many old buildings have also disappeared. Even so, Granada has that architectural variety, the mirror of its historical greatness and of the mixture of its peoples, which gives it its well-deserved fame.
In addition, the city nowadays has almost everything to offer: culture, sports, tourism, gastronomy, nightlife, trade, tapas, folklore, and a long etcetera
Webs of the Alhambra: Alhambra Information, Alhambra of Granada, Granada Guides, Official Guides in Spain.