Set at the foot of the Sierra Nevada - with the peninsula's highest mountain and best ski resorts at a short distance- Granada is also just 45 minutes from the warmest coast in Europe, the Costa Tropical. A small city with warm, friendly inhabitants, Granada is home to a university of 60,000 students and renowned throughout Spain for a nightlife second only to Madrid or Barcelona. The streets around the Plaza Nueva, in the historical center of town, are packed with tapas bars, pubs and discotecas. Granada is also famous for having the best tapas culture in Spain... when you order a drink, you will get a delicious, free portion of food, which makes going out affordable and fun.
Granada has long been a city characterized by its confluence of cultures. The Alhambra, one of the most visited destinations in Europe, is the greatest reminder of 700 years of Arab presence on the peninsula. The Albaicin, with its curvy, narrow streets winding up a hill with incredible views of the Alhambra, has long been the Gypsy quarter, where flamenco music and dance flow through the air and outdoor cafés are perfect for gathering with new friends.
Granada's Cathedral is one of the most impressive in Spain, and the royals that sent Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the new world and unified Spain as we know it today - King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel - are buried there with their legendary daughter, Juana "la Loca." Home to 19th century Romantics like Washinton Irving, and long before to the Phoenicians and Romans, Granada probably possesses the richest history of any Spanish city, and that's saying a lot.
Granada is a scenic, mystical city that has captured the imagination of poets and artists for thousands of years. It was the last Arab stronghold to fall to the Catholic "reconquista" in 1492, and legend has it that the Moorish King Boabdil retreated from his majestic palace, the Alhambra, weeping like a little girl. When you study Spanish in Granada, you can still visit the Alhambra and understand how such a powerful, fierce leader was brought to his knees; this is one of the most impressive cities in the world, both past and present, and is an ideal setting for learning Spanish.
