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Stories, history, and planning essays from Granada

Long-form editorial pieces written by resident correspondents — cultural deep-dives, food traditions, and practical planning essays for visiting the city.

Stargazing near Granada: the Milky Way arching over Sierra Nevada's dark mountain ridgeline at night, stars sharp in a long-exposure shot with no visible light pollution

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Stargazing Near Granada: Sierra Nevada Night Skies

James Walker

Real stargazing near Granada means driving into Sierra Nevada after dark, not touring the OSN observatory by day. Where to go, when, and what's certified.

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Corral del Veleta cirque in Sierra Nevada at dawn, north-facing rock walls over 300 metres high surrounding the glacial remnant below, snow patches clinging to shadowed scree at 3,100 metres

Corral del Veleta Glacier: Europe's Southernmost Ice

James Walker Updated

Corral del Veleta held Europe's southernmost glacier — active until 1913 at 37°N. Relict ice and permafrost still cling on in Sierra Nevada, shrinking fast.

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The marble tomb of Isabella I and Ferdinand II by Domenico Fancelli in the Royal Chapel of Granada, with Isabelline Gothic vaulting and the gilded reja mayor grille in the background

Isabella of Castile in Granada: The Queen Who Chose Her Tomb Here

James Walker Updated

Isabella I of Castile chose Granada over Toledo for her burial. Her Royal Chapel tomb, the 1504 will, and the 17-year journey from Medina del Campo to Granada.

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View of the olive groves and hills near Fuente Grande, between Víznar and Alfacar, where Federico García Lorca was executed in August 1936, with the Sierra de Huétor in the distance

Lorca's Last Day: The 48 Hours That Killed Spain's Greatest Poet

James Walker

Arrested on 16 Aug 1936 and killed before midnight on 18 Aug 1936. The 48 hours that killed Federico García Lorca, reconstructed from witness testimony.

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Writers seated at outdoor cafe tables in Granada during a travel writing workshop, notebooks open, the Alhambra glowing red on the hillside behind them at golden hour

Travel Writing Workshops in Granada: What to Expect

James Walker

Granada in Story is a five-day travel writing workshop that uses the Alhambra, Albaicín and Sacromonte as material, plus who leads it and what it costs.

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Photorealistic view inside the mosque courtyard of the Iglesia del Salvador in Granada's Albaicín neighbourhood, showing stone horseshoe-arch arcades from the original 13th-century Great Mosque, worn stone columns, and a central ablution cistern in warm afternoon light, Mudéjar art Granada architecture history

Mudéjar Granada: Islamic Art After the Reconquista

James Walker Updated

Mudéjar art in Granada: after 1492, Muslim craftsmen built Albaicín churches with horseshoe arches, sebka lattice and artesonado ceilings for Christian patrons.

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Convent sweets Granada torno — whitewashed convent wall with wooden revolving hatch, small parcels of dulces conventuales including almendrados and tocinillos wrapped in brown paper, morning light through arched doorway

Convent Sweets in Granada: Buying Dulces Through the Torno

Sarah Mills Updated

Nine convents in Granada sell sweets through the torno, a revolving shelf in the convent wall. Cash only, mornings only, and the greeting ritual is mandatory.

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Exterior of the Huerta de San Vicente house-museum in Granada where Federico García Lorca wrote his major plays, white-painted Andalusian farmhouse surrounded by gardens in the Parque Federico García Lorca

Federico García Lorca and Granada: the city that made him

James Walker Updated

Lorca wrote his major plays in Granada, was shot nearby in 1936, and his grave has never been found. His house-museum, the grave site, and how to visit.

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Rows of Trevélez ham legs hanging from beams inside a traditional Alpujarras secadero, shafts of light through ventilation slats, jamon de trevelez alpujarras IGP curing at altitude

Jamón de Trevélez and Alpujarras: altitude curing

Sarah Mills Updated

Jamón de Trevélez IGP: cured at 1,476m in the Alpujarras by cold mountain air, not salt. How the blue/red/black seals work and where to buy in Granada.

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Pionono pastry Granada: cylindrical rolled sponge on a white paper wafer with caramelized golden cream dome on top, sitting on a wooden counter inside Casa Ysla bakery in Santa Fe

Pionono pastry: Granada's papal sweet and its 1897 origin

Sarah Mills Updated

A single pastry chef in Santa Fe, 1897, rolled sponge around egg-yolk cream and named it after a pope. Why Granada's iconic sweet has outlasted everything else.

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Washington Irving Alhambra scene at dusk: a moonlit view of the Patio de los Leones with marble lion fountain, 124 columns casting long shadows, evoking the Romantic atmosphere of 1829 when Irving wrote Tales of the Alhambra

Washington Irving and the Tales of the Alhambra

James Walker Updated

Washington Irving lived in the Alhambra in 1829 and wrote the book that turned it into the most-visited monument in Spain. Here is what actually happened.

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Why Granada tapas are free — a bar counter in Granada showing jamón legs hanging from ceiling, free tapa plates and wine glasses lined up, traditional bodega interior in warm evening light

Why Granada Tapas Are Free: The History Behind the Tradition

Sarah Mills Updated

Granada is one of the last cities in Spain where every drink comes with a free tapa. The real history, the unwritten rules, and the best bars to find it.

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Archaeological remains of the Maristan of Granada in the lower Albaicín at golden hour, showing the surviving southern gallery brick arches from the 14th-century Nasrid hospital, with the Alhambra hill visible in the background across the Darro valley

The Maristan of Granada: Islamic Hospital That Vanished

James Walker

Granada's 14th-century Maristan was Islamic Spain's first hospital, built by Nasrid sultan Muhammad V in 1367. Its remains quietly reopened to visitors in 2023.

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