It's really great because not only are you transported back in time, but you get to be in the moments. I'm in the moments that I'm constantly reading about. I'm putting my phone away. There is no laptop. There aren't any ambient sounds. It's just the sound of the running water and me relaxing. This is Granada in a day. I'm traveling with sexy. From the stunning Alhambra Palace to the romantic winding streets of the Albithian neighborhood, Granada offers a sensory experience that is unmatched in Spain. Join me as I explore the city's rich multicultural traditions from its world-renowned flamenco dancing to a traditional Morris T-house. On this trip, I'm joined by my good buddies, Brandon and Sean, and we drove to Granada to discover one of the most underrated historic cities in Europe. Today, I'll give you the formula of how to have an epic day and be swept away by the beauty and charm of Granada Spain.

Granada is in southern Spain, located in the region of Andalithia at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The city was a former royal seat of power and once the most powerful city in Spain. Getting to Granada is pretty straightforward because there are many transportation connections. In the unlikely event that you want to fly into Granada, it does have an airport with connections to major cities in Spain and the limited amount of flights to and from Italy, the United Kingdom, and France. If you're already in Spain, you can easily reach Granada by train. From Madrid, it's only a 3.5 hour high-speed train ride. From Sevilla, it's two hours and twenty minutes, and one hour and seventeen minutes from Cordoba. Driving in Spain is relatively easy and the best way to explore this region. Highways are smooth, well marked, and there are no tools in this part of the city.

From Madrid, it's a 4 hour and 20 minutes drive to Granada. It's two hours and fifty minutes from Sevilla and two hours and twenty from Cordoba. So once you're in Granada, getting around is pretty easy. Even though Granada is a sprawling city, all of the main sites and everything we're doing today are within a 20 minute walk from Plathanova. Taxis and mini-buses are also available if you need them. We created the perfect route and plan to get you from A to Z. Check out the blog for more great information on how to maximize your time and increase your time. Before we get started with our date, hook me up with a subscribe so we can keep bringing you great content. I'm starting the day by having a quintessential Spanish breakfast in a well-known cafe. And then I'm checking out the 16th century cathedral before heading to the Alhambra Palace complex.

I'm Angel Costeanos for the tour guide and we are getting our day started properly here in Granada by having Churros and Chucolate at one of the most local cafes in town. Cafe football, they've been doing this since 1922 and basically you order a portion of Churros just like this and then you dip it into your chocolates. Look at how luxurious and silky that chocolate is. So basically the Churro is the vessel for the chocolate. So good. Another good option for breakfast is a place we discovered right in front of the cathedral. I take a lot of joy in planning these trips and it takes weeks of hard work but we sometimes have to deviate from our restaurant recommendations that are our Ariana blog to recommend new restaurants and that's what we're doing this morning. In 1711 the Moors, North African burbers who had converted to Islam cross the straight of deraulter to invade Spain.

By 1714 they had conquered Toledo and by 1718 most of the Spain that we know today was annexed by the Damascus space caliphate as a dependent emorant known as Al-Andalus. For almost 800 years Spain was a predominantly Muslim society and an Islamic state. It's that era that shapes most of our sightseeing today. The gradual push south by the Christians to reclaim Spain is known as a reconquista and lasted for several centuries in 1248 Saviyah felt. Setting the stage for the last Islamic city state, the fortified city of Grenada to eventually be reclaimed by the dynamic duo of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, uniting Spain under one kingdom. Our first stop, the Grenada Cathedral is their final resting place. We are walking the mean streets of Grenada and we're headed to the Cathedral which is historically important because it has one of the main relics here in Grenada, the tomb, the stars of the show, Ferdinand and Isabella, uniders of the modern Spain, the conquerors of the New World.

The Cathedral opens at 10 a.m. so we got here a little bit early to take the opportunity to just walk around and see the exterior of the Cathedral with our eyes first, discuss that right in front of me is the Kapiarriale which is definitely something you should consider visiting because it houses the most important relic in Grenada, the tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella. The front facade of the Cathedral reminds me of a Roman triumphant arch. The size and grandeur of the structure symbolizes the Christian triumphant over the mosque that stood right here. This is the second largest church in Spain and it's hard not to be impressed by the breathtaking interior as soon as you walk in. Walking down the vast nave of the Cathedral, the arches and columns that make up the spacious Renaissance interior give this church enormous space.

Since it took 200 years to build, over time, baroque elements were added in. The impressive main altar is covered in gold. The main Christian site in Grenada is the Royal Chapel which has deep historic significance. It's the final resting place of the Catholic monarchs. Queen Isabella I of Castile and a King Ferdinand II of Eragon whose marriage in 1469 laid the foundation for the unification of Spain as a single kingdom. In 1492, they ended a 700-year-old struggle to recapture Muslim Spain and also finance Christopher Columbus. A generation later, their grandson became the most powerful man in the whole world. The Alhambra is the biggest attraction in Grenada and with good reason, events that happen here shape the course of European history. It's a 20-30 minute walk uphill from the Cathedral or a 10 minute taxi ride.

Grenada's dominant site is the Alhambra, the last and greatest Morish palace and one of the top things to see in all of Europe. The mighty palace complex actually sits on a hill overlooking Grenada and there are four sites to see within the hilltop. Now you would expect sun on a spring day but when we filmed we had rain so we only had time to see two out of the four. The Palacio Nassadeed is an exquisite 14th century palace from the Morish dynasty Nazarid. There's also the Renaissance era palace of Charles V. We also recommend seeing the Hennedalee Fipales and Gardens and the mighty Alcathaba Fortress. Be sure to purchase your tickets well in advance since this is one of the top things to see in all of Spain. Each palace requires a separate ticket. The combo tickets are available. The Palacio Nassadeed actually has timed entries.

To make things easy you can jump on one of our tours which includes tickets to all the main sites and a passionate guide which will make the whole experience memorable and fun. Check the link in the description below. For lunch I wanted to check out a traditional tapas bar but thanks to a local we also ended up at Medigado San Agustín and from there we headed to the Albaithi neighborhood to stop at a traditional Morish tea house. Located in an alley near Puffin Wave Up Bodega Castaneda is everything you want in a tapas place. Small dark tables, Spanish tiles, paintings of matadors, a bull's head on the wall and it's full of locals. We came here for lunch because it can get crowded at night. You know tapas which is very traditional here at Granada you actually do get free tapas whenever you order a drink and this one here are called tios which are just different parts of the animal so you might have any hair, you might have a nose, bit of the cheek so definitely making the best out of the

animal and using a full thing so we're being more happy right? It's the animal. The very rich and salty and chewy and jiggly, chewy dog jiggles. A very nice local named Pepe came over to chat us up and he said if we really love food we should definitely check out the local market nearby. He even drew us a map of how to get to Mercado San Agustín. Visiting local markets is something we often recommend so off we went based on his recommendation. I'm here inside of the Mercado San Agustín which is a great place to sort of not only rub elbows or locals but also purchase local foods so what I'm going to do is I'm going to go to the fishmonger pick up my fish there and then take it over to the next stall where they're going to cook it so time for lunch let's do this. Normally they would carry it over for you but I want the full experience so I'm going to carry it myself.

I'm going to show you exactly what I ordered here. It's funny I'm going to see it. So I got my four-threat beer, four-langustín and these four little local fish there. Alright, do this. Oh! I almost... He got a nettle! A nettle! A nettle! A nettle! So he recommends just straight up on the grill, a little bit of lemon, a little bit of garlic, just super simple. We're not going to complicate this whatsoever so I'm going to take a suggestion. We'll look at the drip-inch to... Two, following locals. Exactly. So the long hill here is showing me his family so that's his mom up there, his picture when he was younger and his grandfather. So this has been around for 80 years and the long hill here is kind enough to welcome us with Obedars. So Sandra, the fishmonger, is his daughter and his grandfather started his business so daughter is the fishmonger, dad runs this side of the business and you got a pretty cooperation going.

He's the captain of the ship so I'm telling you man, when you open yourself up to local people that's when the magic happens. At the foot of the Alhambra, about a 20 minute walk downhill, is the old Morish quarter called the Al-Bai-Thene. We've come to this neighborhood to check out a traditional Morish tea house. This neighborhood and experiences like time in this tea house transport us back in time. One of the top things to do in Granada is to visit a traditional Tete dea which is a Morish tea house. Here in the historic Al-Bai-Thene neighborhood we have some sweet treats they're going to bring traditional teas over and then we're going to snope some Hoka down. This is what I'm talking about dude. There's a whole vibe in this place. It's the decoration, it's being in the historic neighborhood.

It's a traditional tea and the sweet treats. It's a whole package. Okay back there. Yeah man, so it's all about. From the Al-Bai-Thene quarter we headed to another one of Granada's stunning areas called Sakramonte. The Sakramonte neighborhood in Granada is known for its cave houses, flamenco shows and stunning views of the Alhambra. In the shadows of the Alhambra is this compact neighborhood called Sakramonte. This deeply cultural and artistic neighborhood is the traditional home of Roma people. The passion, music and dance of the Spanish Roma people called Titanos is the basis of the now iconic flamenco which originated in caves like this all over Amelutia. There is no way we were going to come to this part of Spain without seeing this iconic art form. I asked them what the typical thing to order before they were shall I piss and they both unanimously said Sangriassal.

The Sianthano spirit of on the loose showing should we do a toast to Josh? Josh? I'm going to cap off the day here in the Sakramonte Hills in the shadow of the Alhambra by checking out a traditional Hictano flamenco show that includes dinner. I already have my welcome drink and I'm excited because this is put on by one of the most established and well regarded families. Seating for dinner is typically at 8 p.m. and the show follows at 9 p.m. During the haunting melodies and witnessing in-person the dramatic movements is a glimpse into the soul of the people of this region. Flamenco is a passionate and rhythmic style of music, song and dance that originated in southern Spain. The dramatic elements such as hand clapping, foot stomping and intricate guitar playing really reflect the emotional intensity of the music which is now part of the rich cultural heritage of Spain.

Our day in Granada is coming to an end. We just finished a fantastic Hictano flamenco show now headed to the Hamaam. After a lively night out it's time to relax and end our night in true Granada style. We're headed back to the Alvithi neighborhood to experience a traditional spa. Bazzar part of Muslim society. So it's no surprise that the Alvithi neighborhood is still dotted with some arabaz called Hamams. These ancient arabaz provide a serene and tranquil atmosphere where you can unwind, de-stress and rejuvenate your mind and body. I'm inside of Hamam all on the loose and which is housed in a 13th century building. The reason I'm wearing my clothes is because we can't film in here while we're taking a bath. I don't know what my robe on here in just a second but I wanted to give you a quick peek before we get started.

You can enjoy one of the many treatments on offer or simply enjoy the beautiful architecture, three temperature pools, a steam room and a room of therapy that will make for an unforgettable experience in Granada. One of the things I'm noticing as I'm walking around is that this isn't just a traditional Islamic experience. What they've done is they've mixed in other bathing cultures like Roman baths which you see behind me. So there's a couple of different pools of different temperatures that you can dip inside of and for a history geek like me, it's really great because not only are you transported back in time but you get to be in the moment. I'm in the moment that I'm constantly reading about. I'm putting my phone away. There is no laptop. There aren't any ambient sounds. It's just the sound of the running water and me relaxing.

If you're a spa person, then visiting a Hamam will be right up your alley. If heading to a spa isn't usually your jam, visiting a Hamam is a unique and relaxing experience that offers a glimpse into the city's rich cultural heritage. I think for me they need to come and see Granada because it really dives deep into the soul of Spanish culture. And I often wonder where does that passion and that soul comes from and it's definitely Granada because it sort of typifies not only the long, diverse history but also the different cultures that have come together over the centuries and you can still experience them today. The day in Granada is coming to an end, I'm Angel Castellanos for the tour guide. Don't forget to comment, like and subscribe so you can find our next video.