In this guide
💡 The Short Version: For a first visit, stay in the historic centre, round Plaza Nueva and the Cathedral. The Albaicín and the Realejo are the quarters for atmosphere and Alhambra views, on hills and cobbles. If you drive, ask the hotel for its authorised route before you arrive and do not follow the satnav. The Parador is inside the Alhambra precinct, and Hotel América says it is; the other hotels are on the hill or below it. There is no classified hotel on the Sacromonte hill. Granada charges no tourist tax (October 2026). Rooms are in demand for Semana Santa (21 to 28 March 2027), the Día de la Cruz (3 May 2027) and Corpus Thursday (27 May 2027). Prices change with the dates, so check yours on Hotels.com. Or book a tour: the Alhambra tour with ticketsad is from €49 and the Albaicín and Sacromonte sunset walkad from €15 (GetYourGuide).
Cars first
The City of Granada says access to the centre is restricted and not to trust the satnav (turismo.granada.org). Tourists in an official accommodation inside a restricted zone count as residents during their stay and may reach it. The hotel must have an agreement with the City’s mobility department and tells you the authorised route, each accommodation has a single access, and the bus lane must not be entered.
The low-emission zone covers almost the whole city, 24 hours a day, and has been fully in force since 1 October 2025. Cars cannot drive to the Alhambra from the centre, and the Parador is the one hotel whose guests may drive into the grounds: how to get to the Alhambra. Three hotels say so on their own pages: Hotel Porcel Alixares offers to manage its guests’ access to the zone, Hotel Granada Center tells guests arriving by car to check the zone’s rules first, and Palacio de Mariana Pineda gives a car route through electronic bollards.
The areas, compared
The City’s tourism site divides the city into seven tourist districts: the Albaicín, the Alhambra and its surroundings, Genil and Ronda, the Historical Centre, the Realejo, the Sacromonte, and Triunfo and the bullring.
| Area | What it suits | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| The historic centre | A first visit, sights on foot, tapas streets | The Cathedral, the Royal Chapel, Plaza Nueva, Bib-Rambla, Gran Vía, Puerta Real and Calle Navas |
| The Albaicín | Atmosphere, Alhambra views | The old Muslim quarter on the hill opposite the Alhambra, with the Carrera del Darro below |
| The Realejo | A quieter base, couples | The old Jewish quarter at the foot of the Alhambra |
| The Alhambra precinct and hill | A night in the monument | The Parador, Hotel América and the hotels along the hill |
| The Sacromonte | Flamenco evenings, caves | The cave quarter over the hill, with no classified hotel |
| The stations and the bullring | Early trains, one-night stays | Avenida de la Constitución, Avenida Andaluces and the bus station |
| Camino de Ronda, Recogidas and the Genil | Drivers, long stays | Streets outside the old centre, with a Metro stop at Recogidas |
Dates that fill rooms
- Semana Santa, 21 to 28 March 2027, with Holy Thursday and Good Friday public holidays in Andalusia: Semana Santa 2027. The Junta de Andalucía’s survey of Easter 2026 found hotels in Granada province 79.1% full across the week and 88.8% full on Good Friday.
- The Día de la Cruz, Monday 3 May 2027, a local holiday voted by the city council.
- Corpus Christi, with Thursday 27 May 2027 a local holiday. The fair runs in the week of Corpus.
- The Festival de Música y Danza. The 2026 edition ran from 11 June to 12 July, and the 2027 dates are not announced.
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when the Alhambra is closed on 25 December and 1 January: Granada at Christmas 2026.
The best time to visit Granada has the weather and the crowds by month.
Granada charges no tourist tax (October 2026).
What the official sources say about safety
The UK Foreign Office warns of street crime and says thieves use distraction techniques and often work in teams. Australia’s Smartraveller advises normal safety precautions in Spain, and the Government of Canada advises a high degree of caution because of the threat of terrorism, and says petty crime is common in larger cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. The pages are the UK Foreign Office, Government of Canada and Smartraveller. None names a district of Granada. Keep bags and phones close in crowds and at stations.
How the hotels are listed
The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com, except where a hotel’s own site is linked. Star grades are from the Junta de Andalucía’s register of tourist accommodation, not the hotels’ own wording. Gran Lujo is the regional qualifier for five-star hotels with exceptional facilities. Hostales have their own grades, and the youth hostel has none. Michelin’s hotel guide gives Seda Club Hotel one Key and lists Hospes Palacio de los Patos, Villa Oniria, the NH Collection Granada Victoria and Hotel Casa Morisca in Granada without a Key. For the view from the room, see hotels with Alhambra views.
The historic centre
The City’s tourism site puts the Cathedral, the Royal Chapel and the Monastery of San Jerónimo in the Historical Centre, “a lively area with streets full of shops and many tapas bars”. Access to the centre is restricted: the hotel gives its authorised route. The airport bus stops at Gran Vía by the Cathedral and at Puerta Real, and the Metro stops at Recogidas and Fuente Nueva: Granada airport to the city and Granada public transport have the rest.
Gran Hotel Claridge Granada
Plaza Villamena 1 · 5 stars, Gran Lujo · Hotels.comad
Faces the Cathedral and rises above the remains of the Alhóndiga of the Genoveses. The rooftop has views of the Cathedral, the Sierra Nevada and the Alhambra, and the spa has a water circuit. One room category has a private terrace facing the Cathedral.
Seda Club Hotel
Calle Buensuceso 2 · 5 stars, Gran Lujo · one Michelin Key · hotel website
On Plaza de la Trinidad, on the site of the former Trinitarian monastery, a few steps from the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel. The hotel describes a private-club style and a rooftop Sky Lounge.
La Casa de la Trinidad
Calle Capuchinas 2, at Plaza de la Trinidad · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Two minutes’ walk from the Cathedral by the hotel’s count. The page says some rooms have a balcony over the square.
Hotel Reina Cristina
Calle Tablas 4 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
The hotel says it is the former home of the Rosales family, where Federico García Lorca took refuge in August 1936 before his arrest. Its restaurant is the Rincón de Lorca.
Khu Hotel
Plaza Bib-Rambla 22 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Rooms with private balconies over Plaza Bib-Rambla. The hotel puts itself 100 m from the Cathedral and five minutes’ walk from Calle Elvira.
Hotel Inglaterra
Calle Cetti Meriem 4 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
The hotel puts itself 20 metres from the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel and 500 metres from Plaza Nueva, the Arab baths and Gran Vía.
Hotel Plaza Nueva
Calleja Imprenta 2 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Twenty-five rooms on Plaza Nueva. The hotel says one room’s balcony looks over the square towards the Torre de la Vela of the Alhambra.
Hotel Macià Plaza
Plaza Nueva 4 · 2 stars · Hotels.comad
On Plaza Nueva. The hotel says it faces the Alhambra from the foot of the Albaicín.
Hotel Posada del Toro
Calle Elvira 25 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Built around a 19th-century corrala, a courtyard of galleries, with wooden ceilings. The top-floor suite has a private terrace with views of the Alhambra and the Cathedral.
Hotel Anacapri
Calle Joaquín Costa 7 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
A restored 18th-century Granada house beside Plaza Nueva. The hotel puts the Alhambra 500 m away and says the airport bus stop is 50 m from the door.
Calle Navas, Puerta Real and the Acera del Darro
The City lists the Town Hall and Calle Navas among its tapas areas: see free tapas in Granada. The airport bus stops at Puerta Real.
Hospes Palacio de los Patos
Calle Solarillo de Gracia 1 · 5 stars, Gran Lujo · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad
A 19th-century façade declared a Site of Cultural Interest fronts a restored palace and the contemporary Alabastro building, with a garden between them and a private art collection.
NH Collection Granada Victoria
Puerta Real de España 1 · 4 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad
An early 20th-century neoclassical building at the Puerta Real crossing, with rounded suites in the corner turret and an Andalusian restaurant, according to Michelin.
Hotel Palacio de los Navas
Calle Navas 1 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Nineteen rooms, all exterior, on four floors round an inner courtyard in a restored palace on Calle Navas.
Sercotel Palacio de los Gamboa
Plaza Gamboa · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
A palace with bright courtyards. The hotel puts the Cathedral 450 m away.
Eurostars Puerta Real
Acera del Darro 24 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Fifty-eight rooms and a rooftop terrace, the Alminar Terrace.
Barceló Carmen Granada
Acera del Darro 62 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
The hotel’s page lists 251 rooms and puts the Cathedral a 10-minute walk away, with the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada as the backdrop.
Hotel Meliá Granada
Calle Ángel Ganivet 7 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Near the Cathedral and the Alcaicería, with a glass-panelled terrace on The Level floor that looks to the Alhambra.
Hostal El Olivo
Calle Navas 14 · 1-star hostal · Hotels.comad
A small hostal run by three friends on Calle Navas, with a top-floor triple room that has a sunny terrace.
Gran Vía de Colón
The airport bus stops on Gran Vía by the Cathedral.
Gran Vía de Colón at dusk. Photo: monicat81, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Hotel Palacio de Santa Paula, Autograph Collection
Gran Vía de Colón 33 · 5 stars · Hotels.comad
On Gran Vía de Colón, in Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
Eurostars Gran Vía
Gran Vía de Colón 20 · 5 stars · Hotels.comad
A rooftop terrace with views of the Alhambra, the Cathedral and the Sierra Nevada, and a hydrothermal circuit. The hotel puts the Cathedral 100 m away.
Palacio Gran Vía, a Royal Hideaway Hotel
Gran Vía 14 · 5 stars, Gran Lujo · Hotels.comad
The hotel’s page describes a rooftop with views of the Alhambra.
Hostal Atenas
Gran Vía de Colón 38 · 2-star hostal · Hotels.comad
Five minutes’ walk from the Cathedral by the hostal’s count, with its own parking.
ECO Hostel Granada
Gran Vía de Colón 53 · youth hostel, no star grade · Hotels.comad
A youth hostel in a modernist building of 1900, with a café and a coworking space. The register lists it as an albergue, which has no star grade.
The Albaicín and the Carrera del Darro
The City’s tourism site says the Albaicín has been a World Heritage Site since 1994 and describes narrow streets, traditional houses, cármenes (houses with walled gardens) and steep hills that lead to viewpoints, among them the Mirador de San Nicolás. The Albaicín has the sights. Cars cannot reach most of it, so expect to arrive on foot over cobbles with your luggage, or by taxi to a street the hotel names. The C31 and C34 minibuses climb the Albaicín and the Sacromonte on a city-bus ticket.
Hotel Casa Morisca
Cuesta de la Victoria 9 · 3 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad
Fourteen rooms in a Moorish house restored by the Granada architect Carlos Sánchez. The hotel says it won the Europa Nostra prize in 2001, the year it opened.
Hotel Santa Isabel la Real
Calle Santa Isabel la Real 17-19 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
A Moorish house on a main street of the Albaicín, with four room types and a lift fitted into the old building. The hotel puts the Mirador de San Nicolás three minutes’ walk away.
Palacio de Santa Inés
Cuesta Santa Inés 9 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Two Mudejar buildings from the first third of the 16th century, with a plateresque façade. The room list includes rooms with Alhambra views.
Palacio de Mariana Pineda
Carrera del Darro 9 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Five rooms in a 17th-century noble house. The hotel says four have Alhambra views, and it gives guests a car route through electronic bollards.
Hotel Casa del Capitel Nazarí
Cuesta de Aceituneros 6 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Eighteen rooms in a Renaissance palace built in 1503 round a courtyard that holds a carved Nasrid alabaster capital. The hotel says it faces the Alhambra.
Hotel Rosa d’Oro
Carrera del Darro 23 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
The page lists doubles, singles and a junior suite with views of the Alhambra and the Darro, and a chill-out terrace.
Shine Albayzín
Carrera del Darro 25 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
A 16th-century palace house on the Carrera del Darro. The page says the rooms and suites have views of the Alhambra.
Hotel Casa 1800 Granada
Calle Benalúa 11 · 3 stars · hotel website
A boutique hotel a few minutes’ walk from the Cathedral. Its room list includes a Deluxe Premium with a terrace and Alhambra views and a suite with partial Alhambra views.
Hotel Casa Palacio Pilar del Toro
Calle Hospital de Santa Ana 12 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
A 17th-century noble palace restored as a hotel. Its page says it has views of the Alhambra.
The Realejo
The City’s tourism site calls the Realejo the old Jewish quarter, Garnata al-Yahud, right at the foot of the Alhambra, and “extremely pleasant and tranquil”, with the terraces of the Campo del Príncipe square. GRN Urban, a local guide site, says the lower Realejo is easier going than the streets above it. The hotels below include two on the slopes beside the Alhambra hill.
The Cuesta del Realejo, a steep lane in the Realejo. Photo: Palickap, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hotel Molinos
Calle Molinos 12 · 1 star · Hotels.comad
The hotel gives its width as 5 metres at the narrowest point and its depth as 16.4 metres, says it is in the Guinness Book of Records for it, and can arrange the Granada Card, in the Pernocta version for stays of two nights or more.
Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol
Calle Aire Alta 12 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Seven rooms in a carmen of Moorish origin among fruit trees, with breakfast on a terrace that looks over the city.
Hotel Arabeluj
Camino Nuevo del Cementerio 46 · 1 star · Hotels.comad
Every room has a view over Granada, and the rooftop terrace looks to the Sierra Nevada. The hotel sits at the top of the Realejo, next to the Alhambra hill.
Gar-Anat Hotel Boutique
Placeta de los Peregrinos 1 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Fifteen rooms, each different, with wood-beamed ceilings and original furniture. The hotel puts the Cathedral two minutes away.
Hotel Macià Real de la Alhambra
Calle Mirador del Genil 2 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Beside the Genil, where the hotel says the climb to the Alhambra, the Sierra Nevada road and the way to the historic centre meet.
The Alhambra precinct and hill
The City’s tourism site lists the Alhambra, the Carmen de los Mártires and the Rodríguez-Acosta Foundation on the hill. The Paradores site says the Parador is within the Alhambra complex, and Hotel América says the same of itself. Hotel Alhambra Palace, Áurea Washington Irving and Hotel Porcel Alixares are on the hill. There is no private car access from the centre, and the Parador alone has permission to drive guests into the grounds. Hotels with Alhambra views separates the rooms that look at the Alhambra from the hotels that merely stand on its hill.
The Parador de Granada, in the former convent of San Francisco inside the Alhambra. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Parador de Granada
Calle Real de la Alhambra · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Occupies the Nasrid Palace of Los Infantes, which the Catholic Monarchs made the first Christian monastery in the Alhambra. The original patio survives as a cloister, the palace’s Arab baths are in the building, and the rooms look to the Generalife gardens. Show proof of your reservation at the barrier to drive in.
Hotel América
Calle Real de la Alhambra 53 · 1 star · Hotels.comad
A small family hotel that says it stands within the grounds of the Alhambra, a few metres from the Nasrid Palaces. It manages the Granada Card for guests and offers an airport shuttle at an extra cost.
Hotel Alhambra Palace
Plaza Arquitecto García de Paredes 1 · 5 stars · Hotels.comad
The hotel dates itself to 1910, stands at the top of the hill and says it is a 10-minute walk from the city centre. It has panoramic terraces with a snack bar.
Áurea Washington Irving
Paseo del Generalife 10 · 5 stars · Hotels.comad
At the foot of the Alhambra on Paseo del Generalife, decorated around the American writer Washington Irving. The hotel’s page puts the historic centre about a 25-minute walk away.
Hotel Porcel Alixares
Avenida Alixares del Generalife · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
A hotel on the Alhambra hill with a pool and a restaurant with a view. Its page offers to manage guests’ access to the low-emission zone.
The Sacromonte
There is no classified hotel on the Sacromonte hill. The Junta’s register lists the cave stays as tourist dwellings, not hotels, and none has a star grade. The Sacromonte covers the caves, the abbey and the museum, and flamenco in Granada compares the shows.
The stations and the bullring
The City’s tourism site calls the Triunfo and bullring district a very vibrant part of the city, where going for tapas is the thing to do, particularly near the bullring. The train station is on Avenida Andaluces, with a Metro stop beside it. The bus station is on Avenida Juan Pablo II, in the north.
Hotel Turia Granada
Avenida de la Constitución 21 · 4 stars · hotel website
Beside the train station, with views of the Sierra Nevada.
Hotel Macià Cóndor
Avenida de la Constitución 6 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
The hotel puts itself 200 m from the train station and says the bus stop that links it to the airport is named after the hotel.
Hotel Boutique Las Almenas
Avenida de los Andaluces 10 · 3 stars · Hotels.comad
Twenty-four rooms in Nasrid style. The hotel puts the Cathedral 10 minutes’ walk away and the Mirador de San Nicolás 1.5 km away.
Hotel Granada Center
Avenida Fuente Nueva · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
On Avenida Fuente Nueva, next to the AVE station by the hotel’s description. Its page tells guests arriving by car to check the low-emission-zone rules first.
B&B Hotel Granada Estación
Avenida Juan Pablo II 35 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Next to the bus station in the north of the city, and 3 km from the centre by the hotel’s own figure.
Camino de Ronda, Recogidas and the Genil
Camino de Ronda and Recogidas lie outside the old centre, with a Metro stop at Recogidas. The car parks on the edge of the low-emission zone, among them Neptuno and Méndez Núñez, need no authorisation. The City’s Genil and Ronda district also holds the Science Park.
Bibo Hotel Recogidas
Calle Recogidas 7 · 4 stars · Hotels.comad
Fifty rooms on Calle Recogidas, each floor with its own decoration theme. The hotel puts Plaza Nueva and the Cathedral under 10 minutes’ walk away.
Villa Oniria
Calle San Antón · 4 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad
A 19th-century mansion on Calle San Antón with its original façade and Andalusian patio kept, and a spa with a water circuit, according to Michelin.
Barceló Granada Congress
Calle Maestro Montero 12 · 5 stars · Hotels.comad
A spa and a congress centre. Rooms on the upper floors face the city, the Vega or the Sierra Nevada.
Plan the rest
Once you have your dates, 3 days in Granada fits the sights round the closed days, and the best time to visit Granada has the weather by month. Where to eat in Granada covers the meals, and what to book before you go to Granada has the hours of every sight. Granada airport to the city and Granada public transport cover the way in and around, and Granada with kids sorts the sights by age.
Common questions
Where should I stay in Granada for a first visit?
In the historic centre, round Plaza Nueva and the Cathedral. The City's tourism site puts the Cathedral, the Royal Chapel and the Monastery of San Jerónimo in the Historical Centre and calls it a lively area with streets full of shops and many tapas bars. The Albaicín and the Realejo suit atmosphere and views, with hills and cobbles.
Is there a tourist tax in Granada?
No. Granada charges no tourist tax (October 2026).
Can I drive to my hotel in Granada?
Ask the hotel for its authorised route first. The City says access to the centre is restricted, not to trust satnavs, and that tourists in an official accommodation inside a restricted zone count as residents during their stay and may reach it. Each accommodation has a single access, and the bus lane must not be entered.
Which hotels are inside the Alhambra?
The Parador de Granada, in the Nasrid Palace of Los Infantes, and Hotel América, which says on its own page that it stands within the grounds of the Alhambra. Hotel Alhambra Palace, Hotel Porcel Alixares and Áurea Washington Irving stand on the Alhambra hill.
Are there hotels on the Sacromonte?
No classified hotel. The cave stays on the Sacromonte hill are registered as tourist dwellings, not hotels, and carry no star grade.
What do the star grades on this page mean?
They come from the Junta de Andalucía's register of tourist accommodation, not from the hotels' own wording. Gran Lujo is the regional qualifier for five-star hotels with exceptional facilities. Hostales have their own grades, and the youth hostel has none.
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