City break and skiing weekend in one

Laura Bolt on 13 December 2019
If you’re a food, culture and ski lover like me then I can highly recommend a weekend break to Granada, Spain. I took a trip there at the beginning of December and managed to see the famous Alhambra, browse the shops, enjoy tapas, and squeeze in a day skiing all in one weekend! We flew from Manchester directly into Granada Airport, then took a bus from outside the airport into the centre for just €3, which took 30 minutes, it couldn’t have been easier.

Granada has kept its Moorish routes, Spanish charm and is famous for its tapas culture. Each bar serves a complimentary tapa with every drink – my idea of heaven! From traditional rice dishes and stews, to croquets, cured meats and fried fish, you never know what you will be served, but the more drinks you have in the same bar, the better the offering of tapas becomes. With a wine or beer costing us €2 - €3, it’s great value for money. Puerta del Carmen, in Plaza del Carmen was one of my favourite bars, (not because it was a champagne and oyster bar) but because they offered fabulous tapas and the old décor was beautiful.

After a rather late night on Friday, we had a lazy Saturday morning then took a stroll up the cobbled streets of the Albayzín district (declared a world heritage site in 1984) to Mirador San Nicolás, which has fabulous views of the famous Alhambra. Whilst we didn’t take a tour of the Alhambra, I know the best time to go is in the morning before it gets very busy and you need to book ahead. The sun was shining, you could see the snow-capped mountains on the horizon and the entertainment was from local busker musicians playing guitars and singing. After that, we headed down to Paseo de Los Tristes which is at the foot of the Alhambra to browse the small market stalls in the plaza selling handmade crafts and jewellery.

We stayed at Hotel Monjas Del Carmen which is in the centre right beside Plaza Nueva and had a great bar and restaurant, but if you were looking for a larger apartment, I would recommend the Oro del Darro Suites which is also in the centre and has a picturesque location however it was fully booked when we were there. Whilst many of the hotels offer parking, getting yourself into the car parks is rather a skill, you need to be a good driver and have a small car to get around Granada centre due to its very narrow streets, so I’d recommend sticking to public transport and staying on foot. However, watching others attempt the narrow streets is quite entertaining!

Sunday was an early start, we jumped in a taxi to the bus station and got on the 8am bus up to Sierra Nevada for a full day of skiing. We hired our ski gear from one of the many local suppliers, bought our ski passes from the kiosk and we were on the slopes for 10am. Whilst we did get very lucky with the snow conditions, Sierra Nevada has snow cannons well distributed and we enjoyed a full day skiing, navigating around a little ice at times but it was great. There are limited places to eat on the mountain, so we chose to eat in a lovely restaurant at the bottom in Pradollano. It was warm sat on the terrace in the sun, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with a cerveza (maybe two) before heading back up the mountain on the gondola. The last bus back to Granada left at 6pm, so plenty of time to enjoy a full day out.

On our last day, we enjoyed breakfast sat outside one of the many street cafes, watched the world go by and meandered around the many shops, not forgetting a stop for at Sabor a España, which does amazing sweet treats like traditional turron, chocolates, marzipans and garrapiñadas which are the most delicious sugar coated nuts.

Overall, a fabulous and inexpensive city break that can be enjoyed all year round. There’s so much that we didn’t get chance to do, like visit the Cathedral, or watch traditional flamenco dancing, so there’s definitely an excuse to go back.