Jon-Bxl

Hi

My BH and I plan to visit Granada for a long weekend (or 3-4 days) in mid/late October and were wondering if there are any 1st hand tips from forum members.

We enjoy sightseeing - but not hours of it. Seeing some nice things and having a nice meal/drink in nice atmospheric surroundings and watching the people going by, singing with guitars or even spontaneously breaking out into some flamenco is fun too... as well as the obligatory visit to eg the Alhambra. We do enjoy a nice meal, not necessarily posh, but somewhere with good fresh food and atmosphere... We'll surely eat at restos, but are very happy to be in a tapas/racion bar as well to eat.

So if there are any tips I would be glad to receive them, please.

A couple of thoughts/questions to kick it off....

• Is late October a good time please? If there is a better time to visit - than October, we can delay too. I don't really want to go in high (and hot = crazy) season.
• Weekends or weekdays please? I'm guessing weekends for fun.
• Any recommended hotels reasonable/middle price with access to the good bits please? We like to be in walking distance re hotel but if there's something really special with a reasonable taxi price (and guaranteed taxi availability) - that's fine too.
• Is it true that in Granada each drink comes with a free tapa?
• Any breakfast recommendations please? Or hotels with a great breakfast maybe?
• Things we shouldn't miss, perhaps... or even festivals etc that may happen then please?

Any other hints like places to visit outside as we will be driving from Seville - Granada and can stop off on the way there or back... and we have no real time limits, though I am guessing 3nights or so.

Thanks in advance for any pearls of wisdom

Jon

rachelk

My first visits to granada were in October (half term holiday, 2nd week of october), While it's warm in the sun, it's very cold at night and also during the day if it's cloudy or you're out of the sun.

You have been warned!

Jon-Bxl

Thats interesting - we'll be driving so have space to bring layers

Thanks for the heads up

Jon

Cats-R-Us

Tapas are not available with all drinks - usually only beer or wine. Although spirits are more expensive that those you don't usually get a tapa with it. If I am allowed to post a web site - try lovegranada.com It gives a lot of info about the items you are asking about any may help you (I have no connection with the site so cannot guarantee anything).

tasgb

1. Hotel Navas on Calle Navas, central and close to municipal bus up to the Alhambra.
2. Ristorante Nuevo opposite the above hotel, great menu del Dia, at the weekend packed with locals.
3. Calle Navas is "tapas street" a couple af great wine bars there with good quality wine and a free tapa with every glass.
4. Book ahead for the Alhambra as they only allow a set number of visitors each day. Book directly with the official website as local tours will charge double. If it says sold out for the day you want (btw take the earliest time as it quickly gets full of people despite the limit) try your hotel as they usually have an allocation of places at face value, no service fee.

angiescarr

October *can* be very rainy. Not maybe so bad in Granada and Seville. on the way to seville stop off at the Almadovar castle. It's a rebuild but fascinating and the views over the Guadalquivir are stunning. Also it's not a huge tiourist destination so there aren't so many crowds. We found it around 10 yrs ago by accident on our way from Seville to Cordoba in January. It was absolutely lovely weather. A few days later that year there was snow in Cordoba!!!!.

rachelk

yes, 2005/6 was my first winter in Córdoba and we woke to snow one morning, the first snow for 36 years if I remember rightly. It snowed again the next year aswell, during the day and in the city centre.

Jon-Bxl

Thanks for the feedback, very interesting. Its great to get relevant websites and also personal recommendations...

Thanks
Jon

rachelk

For several years I went back to granada and always went back to the alhambra.

At that time (and I imagine it's still the case) you could do a night visit to the palace. It doesn't replace a day visit because you get to see far less BUT there were far fewer people around and to see the courtyards by starlight, in relative peace and tranqulity, was really something special. I'd strongly recommend it but also strongly recommend doing the day visit first with an audioguide so you know what you're seeing. There are/were no guides available for the nighttime visit but if you've already done it you'll remember all the stories.

chrisjolly

Hi Jon, Difficult to predict the weather but it can be lovely and sunny during the day but fresh at night. Never noticed a difference between week days and weekends as its always such a beautiful city but check whats on the days you want to go as there are many festivals and concerts to see. Book a visit to the Al Hambra online as its cheaper and you do not have to queue.
Hotels near the city centre are more expensive but easy to just walk into the thick of it. Taxis are expensive so it is worth paying extra.
Not often you get free tapas and continental breakfast is what is most commonly served. However you can get eggs and bacon.
Good luck and have a great time.

Jon-Bxl

Thanks chrisjolly and the other answers, very useful answers... We are considering another month now as we like to sit outside in the evening and watch the world go by. But not high season. We are in Spain several months a year and its a relatively easy trip. But I've saved all this info in a file.

Thanks again
Jon

Hornets_Nest

We have just booked 2 weeks 3 days from 18th April - 1st 3 days in Malaga then a bus (hopefully) to Granada for 7 days then a bus (hopefully) back to Malaga for the remaining week. Any tips or advice would be welcome ... everything is booked bar the final 7 days Accom in Malaga.

chrisjolly

I think you can book the bus. Book your visit to the Alhambra online as it's cheaper. Day trips from Malaga if you want to see more of the coast both east and west. Just depends what you like to do. A few days in malaga is enough really. Have a great time when you come...

pwwm

There are trains running between the two cities

Jon-Bxl

Hi in the end we went late November... This week.

...And so glad we did, the weather was excellent, and there werent the crowds, hotels were cheaper. The Alhambra wasnt the nightmare of high season and the heat that comes with it. We would not go in high season now (personally).

We walked for hours and tried several bars, all but 1 gave a free tapa. We found 2 nice bars in calle Navas, one very local. But a tad touristy for us with the servers on the street trying to get us in to the resto's.

As sods law would have it - we found our fave bar right at the end. I can recommend La Riviera easily found on google. A beer 2€ and menu of around 18 choices for free tapa from bacadillos - tapas and veggie dishes. The meatballs were bigger than golf balls! You would not find that price for a beer and tapa where we live, much cheaper normally than Granada. Nice crowd of customers and bar staff.

A few drinks and you will be stuffed!!

Thanks for the recommendations - very helpful

Jon
PS hotel prices can drop dramatically in December, so if the weather is sunny - its worth considering