Granada

Reasons to study Spanish in Granada

THE CITY:

  • Population: 236.000
  • Location: South East of Spain (in the Andalusia region)
  • Granada is Spain's third-largest university city (over 60.000 students).
  • Granada has a lot of lovely parks and gardens and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL:

  • The beautiful beaches of the Costa del Sol are less than an hour away.
  • The city of Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are great for year-round sports: hiking in the summer or skiing in the winter.
  • Granada is close to other southern cities such as Seville, Cordoba or Almeria.
  • Do not miss visiting the Moorish Alhambra (a semi fortress-palace) and the old Moorish quarter of El Albaicín, as both are World Heritage Sites.
  • As the last Moorish capital in the Iberian Peninsula, you will find a lot of Moorish palaces, details and Christian Renaissance treasures.
  • Throughout the year, there are a lot of picturesque religious celebrations.

More information about Granada

Granada's CathedralGranada is the capital of the Southern Spanish province of the same name, situated in the eastern part of the region of Andalusia. Geographical and scenic diversity characterises this land. There is the coastal area with its warm climate; the extensive, fertile Genil plain; and the mountainous regions with a colder climate, where the 3,481m Mulhacén, the biggest peak on the Spanish peninsula, is found. The city of Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where the Darro and Genil rivers meet. Its unique history has bestowed it with an artistic grandeur as the last Moorish capital on the Iberian Peninsula, embracing its Moorish palaces and Christian Renaissance treasures that hold great symbolic value.

The city of Granada has been shaped by hills brimming with narrow and steep streets, beautiful crannies and nooks, and marvellous landscapes – hills where the old districts of the Albaicín and the Alhambra Palace were founded. The new part of the city is situated on the plain, crisscrossed by the large streets of Gran Vía de Colón and Calle de los Reyes Católicos, and where one can find the busy streets surrounding the Granada Cathedral.

The Alhambra Gardens
The Alhambra Gardens 		Paseo de los Tristes
Paseo de los Tristes

The Moors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 711 and settled in what was then a small Visigoth town perched atop the Alhambra hill. They erected walls and laid the foundation for the prosperous civilisation that would follow. It was in the 9th century when Granada rose to importance after the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba. Granada reached its splendour in 1238, when Mohammed Ben Nasr founded the Nasrid dynasty, and the kingdom of Granada stretched from Gibraltar to Murcia. This dynasty bore twenty kings; for three centuries, a magnificent and rich Islamic culture flourished, leaving Granada with architectural marvels of the calibre of the Alhambra. It all came to an end when King Boabdil was forced to surrender Granada in 1492 to the Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Today, Granada has been declared a World Heritage Site, along with the Generalife and the Albaicín.

Fiestas and celebrations in Granada

  • Dia de la Toma (Day of Surrender or recapture) – It is hold on January 2nd; that is the day when Granada celebrates the city's defeat against the Spanish Catholic Monarchs.
  • San Cecilio, the patron saint of the city is honoured on February 1st. On this day Granada´s inhabitants walk in a great parade up to Mount Sacromonte; they do it often in carnival clothing.
  • The Semana Santa or Holy Week is extensively celebrated in the spring. There are traditional festivities and processions during the Semana Santa, which is among the most well known throughout of Spain.
  • Spring is traditionally heralded during the Día de La Cruz (Cross´Day) on May 3rd. The streets of Granada are transformed into one colourful big mass of people on this day.
  • In June there is Corpus Christi, an annual market which marks the beginning of celebrations in the various districts of Granada and the villages surrounding it. It lasts a whole week.