The thing about Granada is that the people are probably the friendliest on the planet. The tapas is great wherever you go, though it pays to keep a weather eye on where the locals are hanging out (but that is the case wherever you go). As I was travelling on a budget the restaurants in that budget were not the Mae West (I once ordered a lemon sorbet and actually got a lemon milkshake, the fresh lemon juice curdling the milk beautifully) but you can live well on the tapas.

A great cheap breakfast is to have tostada e queso (basically cheese on toast) standing at the bar with your coffee. It is always cheaper to stand at the bar.

The sights are things you will remember all your life. The Alhambra set under skies of impossibly deep Andalucian blue are something that have to be witnessed and make your soul sing when you do. Even flying into the airport with the sun sinking behind the Sierra Nevada was a stunning way to start the holiday.

I don't remember one surly, rude or just plain moody person. And I can meet five on a trip to the shops here. I could enthuse about Granada for hours so I will now stop....

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This is a comfortable hostel with great facilities. The rooms are kept in immaculate condition and the hostel is in a great setting with shops and restaurants barely a minute away. The park named after the famous playwright Garcia Lorca is right opposite the building.

The kind and jolly owner will help you with anything - in fact, he helped me to settle into the Spanish way of life and to find a flat to share while I was studying in Granada. Without a doubt, the best and most memorable hostel I've ever stayed in.

C/Infanta Beatriz, 3
18412 Granada
The hostel is on the western side of Granada on the ring road.
Take a taxi or take bus no 10 from Granada's bus station. Count 10 stops (including the first one) and get off at the 5th one (Glorieta Arabial). Walk 50m from the stop and on your right you'll see the Caja Granada bank. Cross over the Camino de Ronda (Granada's ring road) and make a right turn down the first street on your right. This is C/Infanta Beatriz. Look out for a palm tree and this hostel is in the corner of building no3.

The Granada RENFE train station is a 15-20 min walk away.

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Ocana is a bar/restaurant/ bocadilleria/pizzeria. It's an interesting place with friendly staff, and away from the main tourist areas.

The thing that made it special when we visited (about 5 years ago) was that it was still serving tapas in the traditional way - with every beer, you get a free snack, each one different. The chef was a bit perplexed when we got up to our ninth beer one night!

Parts of the building are pretty old, and the staff were proud to show us around the areas that weren't in use at the time when they saw we were interested.

The patron is a great supporter of local musicians, and eagerly told us (despite very limited English) about a recital of flamenco guitar and singing that was taking place nearby.

If you don't speak Spanish, take a phrase book and be prepared to use it!

Plaza del Realejo, 1

Tel: 958 25 64 70

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The last stronghold of the Moors in Iberia, the Alpujarras is an unspoiled region of hilltop villages spilling down from the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Granada. Up here the mule is still an essential form of transport and tapas are still free when you buy a glass of wine in a village bar. Fabulous area for walking and birdwatching.

We stayed in a lovely, newly reformed holiday let with stunning views in Juvíles, one of the highest and prettiest of the villages, about an hour and a half from Granada city.

casasierra.blogspot.com

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