Granada With Kids
A red palace on a hill with snow mountains behind it, a white village of a neighborhood facing it across the valley, and a bar culture where every drink comes with a free plate of food. Granada is the city I bend every southern Spain trip toward, and the Alhambra is the reason.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Granada good for kids?
Yes. The Alhambra has towers to climb and gardens full of water, the Albaicín is a maze to explore, the science museum is one of the best in Spain and every drink comes with a free plate of food. The hills are the only hard part, and the minibuses solve them.
How many days do you need in Granada?
Two nights for the Alhambra, the Albaicín and the tapas. Three if you add the science museum or the Sierra Nevada.
How far ahead do you need to book the Alhambra?
Tickets go on sale about three months out and the Nasrid Palaces slots sell out weeks ahead in spring, summer and school holidays. Book the day you fix your dates. Children under 12 are free but need a ticket.
Can you ski near Granada?
Yes. The Sierra Nevada resort is 45 minutes from the city and usually open from late November to early May, with beginner slopes and rentals at Pradollano.
When is the best time to visit Granada?
March to June and September to November for mild days. Winter is cold but clear, with snow on the mountains behind the Alhambra. July and August afternoons are very hot, so plan early palace slots.
The Last Moorish Kingdom
Granada was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain, and it held out until 1492, the same year Columbus sailed. The Alhambra is the palace city its sultans built on the hill, and Ferdinand and Isabella liked it so much they are buried in the town below. The Albaicín, the white hill across the valley, is the old Moorish town, and the streets still run the way they did then.
Two nights covers the Alhambra, the Albaicín and the tapas. A third adds the science museum or a day in the mountains. It is the one city in Spain I tell families not to rush.
Getting Around
On foot in the flat center. The Albaicín and the Alhambra are on hills, and the little red minibuses C30, C31 and C32 climb them from Plaza Nueva for a euro or two. Taxis are cheap. Leave the car at the hotel or do not bring one, the old quarters are closed to traffic.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
The center, Plaza Nueva and the cathedral
Flat, walkable and where the minibuses to both hills leave from. The cathedral, the Royal Chapel, the Alcaicería lanes and the tapas bars of Calle Navas are all within 10 minutes. The base with a stroller or small kids.
The Albaicín
The old Moorish quarter on the hill facing the Alhambra, with white houses, cobbled lanes, hidden gardens and the Mirador de San Nicolás at the top. Beautiful and steep, so better for families with kids who walk. Taxis cannot reach most doors.
The Realejo
The old Jewish quarter on the slope below the Alhambra, quieter than the center, with squares, street art and the Campo del Príncipe playground. Ten minutes on foot to Plaza Nueva and 20 uphill to the palace gate.
Parador de Granada
A 15th century convent inside the Alhambra walls, so you walk out of breakfast into the gardens before the gates open. Rooms book out months ahead. The splurge that only exists here.
Hotel Palacio de Santa Paula
A 16th century convent on the Gran Vía with a cloister courtyard, big rooms and the cathedral and Plaza Nueva five minutes on foot. Central, calm and easy with kids.
Hotel Casa 1800 Granada
A restored 16th century house at the foot of the Albaicín by the Paseo de los Tristes, with a courtyard, afternoon tea for guests and the Alhambra above the roof. Good value for the location.
The Three I Build Every Granada Trip Around
The Alhambra and the Generalife
The palace city of the Nasrid sultans, with courtyards of carved plaster and tile, pools that reflect the arches, and fountains everywhere. The Nasrid Palaces have a timed slot on your ticket, so build the day around it. The Alcazaba fortress has towers to climb, and the Generalife gardens have hedges, water stairs and a long pool kids follow to the end. Three hours with children, with a stop for a snack in the gardens.
The Albaicín and the view from San Nicolás
Take minibus C31 up to the Mirador de San Nicolás, the terrace with the postcard view of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada behind it, then walk down through the white lanes of the Albaicín past tiny squares, convents selling cookies through a hatch and the tea shops of Calle Calderería Nueva. Late afternoon, when the palace turns red, is the time. Look for the cats.
The center, the Alcaicería and free tapas
The cathedral, the Royal Chapel where Ferdinand and Isabella lie in lead coffins, and the Alcaicería, the old silk market, a maze of lanes full of lanterns and scarves the kids will want to buy. Then the thing Granada does better than anywhere in Spain. Order a drink in a bar and a free plate of food arrives, a different one with each round. Three bars and the family has eaten dinner for the price of the drinks.
Family Time, Built In: Granada With Kids
Granada with kids is a palace with pools, a hill with a view, a plate of food with every drink, a science museum and snow 45 minutes away. These are the pieces that work.
The view from the Mirador de San Nicolás
Free tapas on Calle Navas
The Parque de las Ciencias and its butterfly house
A morning in the snow at the Sierra Nevada
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
The Parque de las Ciencias is a huge interactive science museum with a planetarium, a butterfly house, an observation tower and outdoor exhibits, and it fills a whole afternoon when the kids have had enough of palaces. The Paseo de los Tristes, the riverside walk below the Alhambra, has cafes and space to run. The Campo del Príncipe in the Realejo is the playground square.
Five Things To Eat In Granada
Free tapas with every drink
Churros with chocolate
Ice cream at Los Italianos
Piononos and pastries
Coffee and tea in the AlbaicínNicole’s Perspective
The city I tell families not to rush
When I taught world history, the Alhambra was the slide I used to show kids what Muslim Spain looked like, and the one that made them ask how they had never heard of it. A 10 year old in the Court of the Lions asking where the water comes from is the whole reason I do this job.
I give it two nights minimum and I book the Alhambra tickets the day they go on sale, because the Nasrid Palaces sell out weeks ahead and nothing else about the trip matters if you miss them. Kids under 12 go in free but still need a ticket. Then the Albaicín at sunset and tapas that cost nothing with the drinks. It is one of the cheapest great cities in Spain.
The Day Trip: The Sierra Nevada
Forty five minutes up the road from the Alhambra is the highest ski resort in Spain, open from late November to early May, with snow you can see from the city. Beginners and kids do fine on the nursery slopes at Pradollano, rentals are at the base, and the chairlift runs for sightseers in summer too. In the warm months the same road leads to the Alpujarras, white villages like Pampaneira hung on the mountainside an hour and a quarter from town. Sea in the morning at Motril and snow in the afternoon is a real day here.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Two nights covers the Alhambra, the Albaicín and the tapas. Three adds the science museum or the mountains.
The Alhambra and the Generalife on day one, the center and the Albaicín at sunset on day two, with free tapas both nights.
Add the Parque de las Ciencias for a slow day, or the Sierra Nevada for a morning in the snow or the Alpujarras villages in summer.
Malaga for the beach, Granada for two or three nights, Córdoba for one and Seville for three. Ten days by train and one short drive.
Granada With Kids, Answered
Is Granada good for kids?
Yes. The Alhambra has towers to climb and gardens full of water, the Albaicín is a maze to explore, the science museum is one of the best in Spain and every drink comes with a free plate of food. The hills are the only hard part, and the minibuses solve them.
How many days do you need in Granada?
Two nights for the Alhambra, the Albaicín and the tapas. Three if you add the science museum or the Sierra Nevada.
How far ahead do you need to book the Alhambra?
Tickets go on sale about three months out and the Nasrid Palaces slots sell out weeks ahead in spring, summer and school holidays. Book the day you fix your dates. Children under 12 are free but need a ticket.
Can you ski near Granada?
Yes. The Sierra Nevada resort is 45 minutes from the city and usually open from late November to early May, with beginner slopes and rentals at Pradollano.
When is the best time to visit Granada?
March to June and September to November for mild days. Winter is cold but clear, with snow on the mountains behind the Alhambra. July and August afternoons are very hot, so plan early palace slots.
Ready To Put Granada On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will get the Alhambra tickets the morning they open, pick the hotel and set Granada into your Spain route.
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