Top Rated Attractions in Granada

Come here for the green and shady landscaped gardens in the middle of the city. Head into town on Calle Ancha de Capuchinos, on your left you can visit Hospital Real and on your right is Fuente del Triunfo. When you reach the square, you'll find an 18th-century statue of the Virgin Mary. Turn left and walk through Plaza de la Merced, past the 16th-century Mudéjar-style San Ildefonso Church and up Cuesta de la Alhacaba to San Cristóbal viewpoint for views over the Moorish walls, fortified gates and the Albayzín itself.

You can see a great display of paintings by Max Moreau in this lovely setting. An old Moorish-style house in the Albayz where he lived and worked, has been converted into a gallery and museum. Along with the work he left to his favourite city, you can see his studio and find out about his private life and his love for Granada through an exhibition of personal photographs.

El Generalife gardens are the image of a paradise: cool and tranquil with abundant running water. That's what the architects wanted for the Nasrid Sultan in the 13th century, to complement his summer residence, since Granada is ferociously hot and dry in summer. Trees, hedges, bushes, plants and flowers were planted on the Alhambra hill and the river Darro was diverted upstream to provide a constant source of water to the complex. It's still the sort of place where you can spend a relaxing day, appreciating the patios, enclosed gardens, walkways, fountains and pools as well as the views over the Albayzín.

The aim of Andalusia's first interactive museum is to make learning fun, especially for children. In fact, there are 200 different educational activities to try. Instead of Do Not Touch signs you'll find that touching, playing and experimenting are encouraged. The four permanent exhibitions focus on the biosphere, eureka, perception and exploration. There's a planetarium and an observatory and temporary exhibitions too. The complex also has a conference room, cafe and shop.

This is a must-visit museum for all art-lovers. The Centro José Guerrero, named after the renowned Spanish artist, José Guerrero — known for his abstract paintings of expressionistic form — mainly aims at preserving his works of art. It is also a cultural hub in Granada for spreading awareness and values of contemporary art forms among students and other aspiring artists. The center regularly hosts art exhibitions and other cultural events such as dance and music shows, conferences and workshops. The center holds programs for toddlers to encourage them from an early age.

This masterpiece of Moorish architecture is one of the most inspiring set of buildings in Spain and is consequently the country's most visited historic site. A visual feast of intricate details, splendid courtyards and opulent ornaments, Alhambra is a place where artistic flourishes abound amid stately facades. The complex is made up of three parts: a fortress (Alcazaba), royal palaces (Alhambra) and a summer palace with luxuriant gardens (Generalife). The buildings date mainly from the 13th and 14th Centuries, after the Arabic Nasrid prince, Ibn al-Ahmar, made Granada an independent Moorish state. Each succeeding Nasrid ruler continued to beautify the royal palaces, combining wood, plaster, marble, brick and ceramic tiles with Arabic calligraphy, the scene enriched by tranquil waterways and babbling fountains amid landscaped gardens alive with birdsong.