Food Travel and Culture in Spain - Piccavey Blog

Here are a few tips about the different areas of the city of Granada for you to see on your visit, once you have seen the Alhambra palace of course. The second part of the post are typical dishes to taste on you day in Granada.

Five must-see neighbourhoods of Granada

1. Albaicin, the medieval Moorish quarter overlooking the Alhambra palace. Moorish settlers from Jaen populated the area in the 13^th century when fleeing from the Catholics.  In 1984 the area was declared a world heritage site and attracts visitors due to its quaint charm, narrow cobbled streets and whitewashed houses with beautifully decorated balconies with local pottery and colorful flowers.
2. Realejo as well as the Albaicin district has many Carmen homes. These buildings are houses with fragrant gardens with fruit trees, grapevines and fountains.  They often have views of the majestic Alhambra palace. Many of them are now hotels or restaurants so that you can enjoy the views too. There are many historic buildings and churches in this neighbourhood. The Church of San Cecilio and Carmen de los Martires are perfect examples.
3. Sacromonte a picturesque and magical area of the city. This district runs up from the Albaicin quarter into the hills facing the Alhambra and is situated above the city itself. There are cave houses in this area, dwellings set into the hillside. It is the most typical place to see Flamenco concerts, the area is populated by gypsies and the Tablaos are all along this road. The Chumbera is particularly recommended.
4. Centro the main part of the city. The buildings and streets all have a long history behind them. The Alcaiceria feels like a Moroccan souk dating back to the 15^th century, the original walls were damaged in a fire in the early 19^th century. Bib Rambla square has always been important to the city, now a place to have churros with hot chocolate and watch the world go by. Historically there have been jousting tournaments and bull fights held here.
5. Genil this neighbourhood runs along the banks of the Genil River heading towards the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The Paseo de la Bomba is a pleasant place to walk along with the view of the mountains ahead and the river offers a cooler place to have a drink outside. The snow is visible almost all year round. When the hot summer sun is beating down it´s hard to understand how the snow doesn’t melt away.

Five local dishes Granadinos can’t get enough of:

1. Pionono cakes are a combination of sugar and cinnamon mixed to perfection. These little golden delicacies are bursting with flavor. Called Piononos de Santa Fe. They are from a village close to Granada´s airport, Santa Fé. Named Pionono after the Pope Pius IX which is Pio Nono in Italian. Sold in cake shops throughout Granada, the most well known one is Casa La Isla close to El Corte Ingles store. They also serve cakes, coffee and ice cream too.
2. Cassata ice cream from Los italianos on Gran Via. From the month of March there are queues and crowds around the entrance, they close mid September. The house speciality is Cassata and also Coffee cake ice cream. Pistachio or Orange ice creams are also very popular. Trading since 1936 and they have fine tuned their recipes for the most demanding customer. Even Michelle Obama has tasted their ice creams on her private visit to Granada.
3. Plato alpujarreño this hearty dish consists of potatoes cut into slices and fried in olive with juicy green peppers served with fried egg, black pudding, pork chops and longaniza sausage. Like a Granada style fry up! It is typical of the Alpujarra mountain villages but can be found in Granada city too.
4. Habas con jamón Broad Beans with ham. Locally produced baby broad beans are picked when tender, fried in local olive oil and topped with bite sized pieces of Spanish ham from the Alpujarra, often with a fried egg too. In a tiny side street called San Sebastian, the Bar Aliatar trading since 1957, also prides itself in serving a baguette stuffed with broad beans, ask for Bocadillo de Habas.
5. Spanish Ham from Trevelez. Generally any Iberian Ham is a delicacy in Spain, but the ham from this area is special due to the conditions in which it is cured. Trevelez is the highest village in mainland Spain at 1476 metres above sea level (4842ft) has fresh mountain air and a perfect climate curing the ham. You can taste this ham in Granada city and most places throughout the province.