The Ultimate Guide to Granada’s Hidden Gems

This hidden gem is a spectacular spot located on a hill that overlooks Granada and offers insane views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and a bit of Alhambra. This mid-19th-century hidden gem has a palace and marvelous gardens decorated with beautiful fountains, ponds, and even a “lake”.

Not only is this place simply magical with its architecture and nature, but it has the cutest inhabitants! Here live a few ducks and two gorgeous peacocks.

What you see pictured is the GORGEOUS Moor courtyard.

This beautiful viewpoint sits on the same hill as Alhambra but higher up! My favorite part of this mirador is not the viewpoint, but the location. When you reach this spot, you will be surrounded by endless olive trees, blue skies, and the majestic Sierra Nevada (the best views of it).

I’m always weary about using the word “hike” because I don’t know what’s considered a hike or not ahaha. But this walk is going to be quite a workout (due to how uphill it is), but so worth it!!

This is easily my favorite spot in Granada, with Carmen de los Martires coming in as a close second!

This spectacular monastery is a jewel of Spanish Baroque and is one of Spain’s most beautiful monasteries.

The full construction of this monastery took 3 centuries – starting in the early 1500s and ending in the 1800s. Due to it taking 3 centuries to complete (rightfully so), you get to see beautiful Spanish Baroque but also Renaissance, and other architectural styles.

This monastery is located 30-40 minutes outside the city center but is so worth the walk – or the commute (probably 10 min. car ride).

This is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic Hieronymite monastery, and is known as the jewel of the Spanish Renaissance. This work of art dates back to the early 1500s and is another of Spain’s most beautiful monasteries.

It’s construction began in 1504 on land that is said to have belonged to the last Nasrid King, Boabdil.

As a fun fact: This is the first church in the world to have been consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and was Granada’s first Christian monastery.

Both the Monasterio de la Cartuja and San Jeronimo are incredible work of arts that should be visited!

This… is a MAJOR hidden gem – also known as “Granada’s best-kept secret“. This basilica was built in the 18th century, with construction starting in 1737 and ending in 1759 – essentially, at the peak of the Spanish Baroque period. Due to this, the basilica is a baroque spectacle and is so ornate you won’t know what to do except for staring at every detail in absolute AWE.

This basilica is dedicated to San Juan de Dios (Saint John of God). During his lifetime, San Juan didn’t understand why poor people couldn’t access medical care – so he used all his richness to help cure them and offer medical care. This hidden gem is not one that he would be proud of, due to how gold and money went into building this basilica.

This restaurant… oh my goodness!!

This hidden gem of a restaurant is in the Albaicin neighborhood, and as you can see, it offers beautiful views of La Alhambra (the food may be even prettier). This is a fancy restaurant, therefore prices are similar to a regular American restaurant’s prices; where most dishes are at least 15 euros.

This is the perfect spot to treat yourself and your travel buddy. As you will see in my Instagram post, my boyfriend and I had a lovely date here and ate the CARPACCIO DE PULPO, VENTRESCA DE ATÚN ROJO, and the PRESA DE CERDO IBÉRICO AHUMADA.

Want to make a reservation? Reserve here.