A palace moved stone by stone
Dismantled in the 1930s, moved from its original site and rebuilt here.
SaraGuerri — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rumomo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rumomo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rumomo — CC BY-SA 4.0
A Renaissance palace below the Alhambra hill in Granada, surrounded by gardens open to the public free of charge. The building has an unusual history: it was built in the sixteenth century elsewhere in the city, then taken apart stone by stone in the 1930s, moved to its present site and rebuilt. Today it houses Granada's municipal archive, so it is an administrative building rather than a museum. What matters to a visitor is the garden: terraces planted with cypress and citrus, pools and paths, and it is entirely quiet because most visitors pass above it on their way to the Alhambra without knowing it is open. From the garden there is a view up at the Alhambra's walls from below and across to the Albaicín — a different angle from the usual photographs. This is among the best free things in Granada: a city where every visit costs a ticket and an advance booking, and here is a palace garden with no fee and no queue. The building itself is not normally visited inside, as it is a working archive. The garden keeps hours.
Dismantled in the 1930s, moved from its original site and rebuilt here.
A view of the walls from an angle the usual photographs never show.
Most visitors pass above it without knowing it is open.
Cuesta del Chapiz, below the Alhambra
Casa del ChapizTwo adjoining sixteenth-century Morisco houses on the Albaicín slope, today a si2 min walk
GeneralifeThe Generalife was the summer garden of Granada's rulers, on the hill facing the4 min walk
Palace of Charles VThe Palace of Charles V is a Renaissance building standing inside the Alhambra, 5 min walk
AlhambraThe Alhambra is the most famous thing Muslims built in Spain, standing on a hill5 min walk
Archaeological Museum of GranadaGranada's provincial archaeology museum, in the Casa de Castril, a Renaissance h5 min walkNot at all. The gardens lie entirely outside the Alhambra walls, free and independent of it. That is particularly useful for anyone who did not book an Alhambra ticket — they sell out weeks ahead in season — since you can see the walls and the quarter from here without one.
Walking the Albaicín and the famous San Nicolás view of the Alhambra are free, as is the Sacromonte quarter with its caves seen from outside. The cathedral and Royal Chapel are ticketed, but walking the centre and the Alcaicería market costs nothing. Granada is also among the few Spanish cities that still serve a free tapa with every drink.
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