The Albaicín

Occupying a hill opposite the Alhambra, this ancient Moorish neighborhood is a mix of dilapidated white houses and immaculate carmenes (private villas in their own grounds, enclosed by high walls). It was founded in 1228 by Moors who fled Baeza after Ferdinand III captured the city. A stretch of the Moors’ original city wall runs beside the Cuesta de la Alhacaba. Paved with intricately cobblestoned and mosaicked alleyways and full of secret corners concealing restaurants and art galleries, the Albaicín has become the fashionable and most desirable place to live in Granada in recent years, to the extent that property prices in the neighbourhood have skyrocketed, and are now on a par with those of the most exclusive areas of London and Dublin. Only residents are allowed to access the area by car, so the best way to get to the Albaicin is by bus (from the Plaza Nueva; if you come to Granada by car, leave it in the Generalife car park) or you can walk or cycle there via the Carrera del Darro – if you feel fit enough to take on the steep hill. One of the highest points in the quarter, the Mirador de San Nicolás, provides one of the finest views in all of Granada.