What’s the difference? Surely just two different variations in spelling of the same place? Not a good assumption to make if you happen to be booking flights there on the Internet as one is a small island located in the Grenadines, located just off the north coast of Venezuela whereas the other was once a ‘Royal’ city and capital of the Moorish part of Spain and home to the ‘Alhambra’, a masterful example of Islamic architecture from the 11th century and one of the most visited historic sites on earth! I had the pleasure of attending a conference there less than two weeks ago and it had been more than 20 years since I had last walked around the extensive gardens which are one of the highlights of the Alhambra and it was just as exquisite an experience as before. Now visited by some 8,000 people per day throughout the year, my advice is to turn up early before the queues get too long — particularly if you’re visiting anytime between May and October.
Grenada is a beautiful city that straddles a number of hills and is dominated by the Alhambra that sits atop a hill that enjoys commanding views of the surrounding countryside to the front of it and the majestic Sierra Nevada (snow-capped in winter) behind it. Not only is Granada blessed with a wonderful climate that delivers idyllic weather from April until late October (the barometer was touching 27 degrees C. when I was there in Mid October), but it also enjoys excellent shopping, great nightlife and young, vibrant and hospitable inhabitants that treat you as if you were a long lost friend. Granada also happens to be one of the very few places in Spain where you can find yourself skiing in the morning and topping up your tan on a beach in the afternoon!
Located just 90 minutes drive north of Malaga, you would think that most Irish people would have visited by now but you’d be wrong! Let’s hope some of them are reading this Blog. For good quality accommodation in a nice 4-star hotel with a perfect city centre location, I would recommend Hotel Carmen which sits directly across the road from El Cortes Ingles in downtown Granada.
Surely, no one could confuse the two? Check out what happened to this lady!
