Welcome to Granada hotels.com - the easiest and most cost effective way of booking hotels in Granada. Granada is the capital of the province with the same name. It is situated in the eastern part of the region of Andalusia in southern Spain and offers some fairly diverse scenery and variable climate. The coastal area has a warm temperate climate all year round while the large fertile Genil plain and the mountainous regions are all a good deal cooler. The 3,481 metre Mulhacén is the highest peak on the Spanish Peninsula.
Granada is last Moorish capital in Spain and holds great symbolic value. The city of Granada has been shaped by the hills where the old districts in Albaicín and Alhambra developed. It is an area full of steep, narrow streets and marvellous landscapes. The new part of the city is situated on the plain crossed by the Gran Vía de Colón and Calle de los Reyes Católicos where the busy streets around the Cathedral are found.
One of the most brilliant architectural jewels in Europe is the Alhambra which is a series of palaces and gardens built under the Nazari Dynasty in the fourteenth century. The Alhambra is a mixture of buildings, including the Generalife summer palace with its spectacular fountains and gardens, standing at the foot of the Sierra Nevada overlooking the city and fertile plain of Granada.
At the centre of the Alhambra is the huge Palace of Charles V which is an outstanding example of Spanish Renaissance architecture. Other major Christian monuments found in Granada are the Cathedral (with its Royal Chapel where Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand are buried), the Monastery of La Cartuja and many other churches built by Moorish craftsmen in Granada's unique "mudéjar" style.
The hill facing the Alhambra is the old Moorish casbah called the Albaicin, which is a fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed houses with secluded inner patios and gardens. The Plaza de San Nicolas is at the highest point of the Albaicin and is famous for its magnificent view of the Moorish palace.
The Sacromonte Hill overlooks the city from the North and is famous for its cave dwellings which were once the home of Granada's large gypsy community.
