The star openings
Star-shaped holes in the vaults that let sunlight in and steam out.
SaraGuerri — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0
El Bañuelo in Granada is among the oldest surviving Arab baths in Spain, dating to the eleventh century. It escaped demolition for a simple, odd reason: a house was built over it, hiding it inside, and it was forgotten until it was rediscovered in the twentieth century. Inside are three rooms in sequence — cold, warm and hot — the usual arrangement of an Islamic bath. Its finest feature is the star-shaped openings in the vaulted ceilings, which let sunlight in and steam out. The columns carrying the arches were reused from older Roman and Visigothic buildings. It is small and the visit is short, but it is among the clearest surviving traces of everyday life in Muslim Granada.
Star-shaped holes in the vaults that let sunlight in and steam out.
Cold, warm, hot — the standard Islamic bath sequence, perfectly legible here.
Columns taken from older Roman and Visigothic buildings and built in here.
Carrera del Darro 31, 18010 Granada
Monasterio de la ConcepciónAn early sixteenth-century Franciscan convent in central Granada, holding a smal1 minute walk4.6
Archaeological Museum of GranadaGranada's provincial archaeology museum, in the Casa de Castril, a Renaissance h2 minutes walk4.4
Alcazaba of the AlhambraThe Alcazaba is the military part of the Alhambra and its oldest section. Built 3 minutes walk4.8
Museo de San Juan de DiosA museum in a sixteenth-century house in central Granada, in the place where Joh3 minutes walk4.8
Sacromonte Caves MuseumSacromonte is the legendary gitano mountain: here the Roma dug their cave homes 3 minutes walk4.6Because a house was built over it, concealing it, and its existence was forgotten for centuries. Most of Granada's other baths were demolished after the city fell. This one was only rediscovered in the twentieth century, largely intact.
No — it is an archaeological site to visit only. For an actual Arab bath experience, Granada has modern hammams working in the Andalusi style that are booked in advance, which is an entirely different thing from visiting this site.
You are on the Darro, the loveliest way up into the Albaicín. Climb from here into the quarter and on to the San Nicolás viewpoint for the Alhambra at sunset — a complete half-day walk.