After three years with no direct links from the UK, Andalucia's ancient Moorish outpost is back on the flight map. Laura Holt jets off to southern Spain. This ancient Moorish stronghold is today one of Andalucia's most scenic cities, with a dramatic setting in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, crowned by the graceful Alhambra Palace 1. This week, the city becomes easier to reach when British Airways starts a new route from London City airport from Thursday β reinstating a direct air link from the UK which has been absent for the past three years.
British Airways ; ba. The main alternative is a flight to Malaga followed by a two-hour bus journey. Granada was the last bastion of Al-Andalus β the southern section of Iberia that was conquered by North Africans in AD and ruled by them for four centuries. The Nasrids had taken up residence in a lavish royal palace high up on a hill in the heart of the city. They reigned for more than years from the Alhambra 1 β which still dominates the city today β before finally succumbing to the besieging Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile in It was the last city to fall and endures today as the place where the old Moorish Spain feels most present.
Rising on a hill north of the Alhambra 1 with sugar-white houses and steep, slender streets, it was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in , along with the ancient citadel. To the south is the atmospheric Realejo quarter, where the Jewish community settled during the Moorish period, and the modern Centro district, with its bountiful boutiques and tapas bars. The main tourist office 3 00 34 24 71 46; turgranada.
For sheer grandeur, spend a night on the site of the Alhambra at the Parador de Granada 4 00 34 54 79 79; parador. For a budget option, aim for the colourful tiled exterior of the Hostal La Ninfa 6 on Plaza Campo del Principe 00 34 22 79 85; hostallaninfa.
Wander amid the whitewashed houses and winding streets of the Realejo. When the Moors still held sway, this old quarter on the southern flank of the Alhambra was known as al-Yahud Garnata Granada of the Jews , so strong was the Jewish population here at the time.
