Granada Details

Granada, perhaps most famous for its fortress, theAlhambra palace, is located at the foothills of theSierra Nevada range of mountains. Although only one hour’s drive away from the coast,Granada is elevated well over seven-hundred meters above sea level.

With a population of the city proper of only 240,000 and a greater area of 470,000, it is a manageable and modestly sized place and about the 13^th largest town inSpain. Granada is also quite a cosmopolitan city with over 3.3% of its citizens being from abroad, a third of them being from South American countries.

Without doubt, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area is theAlhambra fortress and palace grounds. The name comes from Arabic, its original name meaning the Red Fortress and it was the seat of the Moorish rulers of southernSpain from when it was built in the middle of the fourteenth century. The extensive complex is built into a hilly terrace on the edge of the city ofGranada to the southeast

The palace boasts some of the finest of medieval Islamic architecture blended with the influences of the Christian sixteenth centre and a number of other additions and modifications added in later years. Within theAlhambra complex, Charles V of theHoly Roman Empire built a palace in 1527.

By the people ofSpain themselves,Granada is also highly significant because of its extremely famous and prestigious university and the lively nightlife and student life which surrounds it. College students inSpain believe thatGranada is up there withSantiago andSalamanca in terms of offering a great student life.