Beyond its people, culture and centuries-old diverse history, I want you to know the best 3 architectural masterpieces Granada has. When you finish this post, you would like to check and book Hoteles en Granada Centro to spend some quality time in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
La Alhambra
The origin of this fantastic Nasrid palace, one of the greatest masterpieces of Arab art in the world, dates back to a simple fortress built in the ninth century and called Alhambra, meaning ‘The Red’, the colour of the material used in its construction. With an amazing history between its walls, arabs and finally christians have occupied this palace during centuries.
Nowadays The Alhambra is the jewel in the crown, the best-preserved and oldest Moorish palace, the most visited monument of Granada. Alhambra is not just a Palace, but a medieval city with several palaces like The Alcazaba o Comares Palace among others.
Since 5 years ago the Alhambra is the most visited monument in Spain. The Granada masterpiece broke its own record in 2007 with 3,128,456 visitors a year.
Generalife
Situated inside the medieval city, Generalife means “the architect gardens” is the best (and unfortunately the only) example of Arab art which gives us an approximate idea of how these gardens used to be, where the Arab spirit, in all its sensually instinctive and improvised construction. I wanted to rank Generalife like the second highlight you can’t miss from your visit to Granada because of his peaceful gardens and silent corridors surrounded with lovely plants and fountains which can easily erase from you mind any bad memory.
The core of this Granada touristic highlight is El Patio, which we can see in the picture. The intense sun of Granada mixed with the sweet sound of the fountains water makes this walking unforgettable.
We can also find some buildings within the Generalife that are ‘parasitic’ structures, the work of later Christian hands, such as the Galería Este in the eastern part of the gardens, and two levels that rise at the northern headwall.
Enjoying the various gardens inside Generalife won’t take you more than 2 hours, so you have plenty of time for visit my third recommend place in Granada.
Catedral de Granada
Last but not less important, the Cathedral of Granada. With this picture you can have an idea about how impressive this religious monument is.
Cathedral of Granada has impressive facades and a stunning interior with a grand altar and several chapels inside. In the burial chamber are the tombs of the Catholic kings. The king Carlos V, forever respectful to the memory of his ancestors, made sure that the Cathedral was built in accordance with desires of the Catholic kings.
This construction was based on the Gothic model of the Toledo Cathedral, and was designed by Enrique Egas. In 1529, it was entrusted to the architect Diego de Siloé who designed a new design for the temple based on the Spanish Renaissance style and joining the circular floor with the basilical one which supposed the recognition of the architects of that time.
I promise I will write more about Granada, because I love this city and from Spain is the one you can’t miss at all. Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughs about this magnificient city with medieval spirit and countless legends.