☰Albaicín

The Albaicin is Granada's ancient Moorish quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage hillside of whitewashed houses, narrow cobblestone alleys, and carmenes, the walled gardens hidden behind plain facades that are one of the city's best-kept pleasures. The neighbourhood predates the Alhambra and retains an unmistakably North African character in its layout, its cisterns, and its remaining mosque. The Mirador de San Nicolas is the essential viewpoint, offering a head-on panorama of the Alhambra backed by the Sierra Nevada that is particularly spectacular at sunset, though you will share it with every other visitor who has seen the same postcard. The steep streets reward aimless wandering, with tea houses, small plazas, and Arabic-influenced architecture around every corner.