Granada Cathedral & Sacromonte

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Granada Cathedral

October 16

Another morning to sleep in as our first stop today would be the Granada Cathedral, for which we planned to purchase entry tickets whenever we got there. After the 5-minute walk from our Airbnb, we found a very short line when we got there, around 11:30 AM. We paid 6 Euro each for entry. The cathedral, in all its Spanish Renaissance glory is really quite impressive. It’s construction began in the early 16th century.

We’ve seen many cathedrals but I think this one has the largest interior pillars we’ve ever seen, just gargantuan. How they built these things…omg!

There is no bell tower or second level to tour so we were in the cathedral for just about 40 minutes.

Royal Chapel

After the visit, Em and I opted to pay the extra 6 Euros to enter the adjacent Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) where the tomb and coffins of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are kept. Unfortunately picture taking is not allowed in here. Inside the chapel, we were surprised to see how close we could get to their actual coffins, though behind glass. It was a bit creepy, but fascinating. Also in the chapel were some of the king and queen’s artifacts, like her scepter and his sword. It was worth the quick visit, but in hindsight we are glad there was only a 5-minute wait to get in.

Chris and Deb opted out of the chapel, so once we were outside we texted them and waited for them to meet back up with us in the square. While waiting, we were entertained by a talented street musician.

Chris and Deb met up with us in the square outside the cathedral, and at around 1:30 p.m. we got lunch nearby at Braseria Pizzeria in a nearby square. We chose this place out of convenience as there was an open table on the patio and restaurants were busy. It turned out to be pretty good…no complaints.

Sacromonte

Then we made our way toward the hilly Sacromonte neighborhood about 1/2-mile away. This area of the city, also called the Gypsy Quarter or the neighborhood of caves is notable for the homes and cafes located within carved out, whitewashed, hillside caves. It was a serpentine and beautiful ascent with our target being the Sacromonte Caves Museum (Cuevas de Sacromonte).

Heading toward the Sacromonte neighborhood from Centro neighborhood. Still in Centro here…actually very close to our Airbnb.

We arrived at the caves museum at 3:15 pm. One woman was working at the entrance to this rustic, outdoor, village of caves. For 5 Euros each we entered. There were a series of very small caves to explore, each with a different purpose, and each an authentic cave used for the noted purpose not long ago. It was doubly fascinating because the whole neighborhood is dotted with caves just like these that are currently occupied as homes and cafes, and other businesses.

Sacromonte Caves Museum — Chris contemplating a retirement second home.

There were also some spectacular views of Granada from here.

The museum had a very small outdoor cafe, serviced by the same woman we bought the tickets from, so we had a drink before heading back down the road. We spent about 1 hour here. All in all, this was a fun, and very interesting visit to the Sacromonte neighborhood. We took our time strolling back toward the Airbnb and eventually got there around 6:00 p.m.

Just a pretty doorway we saw on the walk back to the Airbnb.

A little chill time was had at the Airbnb before heading out to dinner around 7:30.

Relaxing on the rooftop terrace before dinner.

We scored a table at Restaurante Palacio Andaluz Almona for authentic Moroccan food, before the inevitable 8:00 p.m. dinner rush in Spain . The food, service, and atmosphere were all excellent here. A good find.