Difficult to believe I know, but there were people in Spain who did not want to watch the final of the European Championship tournament that saw a superb Spanish footballing team sweep aside Italy.
“What am i going to do for 90 minutes?” said a friend who had no interest in joining the throng in a Granada bar. That set me thinking.
We must presume there is no extra time in the football, let alone a penalty shoot out and also take it as read that the person can walk at a decent pace and not dawdle.
Ignoring the more obvious tourist destinations, such as the most visited tourist attraction in all of Spain, the Alhambra Palace, as we only have an hour a half and that is not nearly long enough to soak up the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens, and armed with a map, we will begin our walk in the city centre.
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Head for Reyes Católicos.
Go around the back of the big white building, the Ayuntamiento (town hall). Walk down the cobbled street that leads you to Corral de Carbón. The doors are often open these days. This building has been a storehouse, a merchants inn, a theatre and a coal exchange.
If you had more time, you could stop off for a tapa and a drink next door at the excellent 'Corrala del Carbón'.
So come out of Coral de Carbon and turn right. Staying on the back streets, behind the main thoroughfare, walk to your right and upwards and you should soon see in front of you the free to enter museum Casa de los Tiros. If open, go in and up the staircase.
Learn about up the history of Granada through documents and photographs laid out in the many atmospheric rooms but remember this is a speed date, so don’t dwell too long over one artefact in the city archives.
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| Casa de los Tiros |
Leave the museum and turn left along the street Calle Pavaneras. You are now walking into the heart of the barrio called Realejo, historically the jewish quarter of Granada. There is a nice shop on your left called Hecho a Mano, do go in and peruse the goodies on sale.
Come out of the shop and turn left again. Soon you will be in the lovely square, Plaza El Campo del Principe. One of my favourites. Loiter a while, sit down for five minutes.
Take a seat in the square and watch real life going on. The families amusing their children on swings and slides. Perhaps the odd bit of guitar strumming.
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| Campo del Principe |
Now ahead of you look out for the pretty church, San Cecilo, one of the nicest in the city. Climb up the steep cobbled street so that the church is behind you on the left.
This is the first serious ascent of your speed walk. So get those feet moving.
Above you will be the brightly coloured Alhambra Palace hotel. Reaching the top of the steep cobbled road, turn left in the direction of that hotel.
Walk past it and to your right will be the road to one of the best public gardens in Andalusia, Carmen de los Martires and beyond that, the Alhambra Palace.
But you are not diverting. With the hotel on your left, you are going straight ahead down a cobbled road that takes you past the rarely open garden and art deco in appearance building of the Foundation Rodriguez Acosta.
Walk to the end of this road where there is a restaurant to your left, but no time for dinner and anyway, it is too early for that.
To your right is an often missed view of the Alhambra Palace.
You will now be on a steep, downhill, cobbled street that leads you through some parkland and under some very mature trees. This road winds down to the end of the River Darro furthest away from the city centre. Cross the old bridge ahead of you.
The Alhambra Palace, in all its glory, is now behind you and over your left shoulder. Take another look.
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| Down by the Darro |
Walk away from the city and climb up again. Now you should be on the much wider road of Cuesta del Chapiz and soon, on your right, will be Palacio de los Córdova. The grounds and building are often open.
But the more interesting buildings and gardens are a little further up this road. First, and again on your right, is the School of Arab studies. Press the button alongside the gate and you will be allowed in if there between Monday and Friday. Wander the gardens that are full of traditional box hedging. A mini maze, if you like but don't get lost in here, there isn't time for that!
The houses of Chapiz themselves are home to a reference library housing historic manuscripts and documents that cover the al-Andalus era. The general public are allowed access to some parts of this fascinating library.
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| View from Carmen de la Victoria |
Leaving the Arab School, turn right and cross the road to Carmen de la Victoria, an often overlooked treasure in Granada.
The building and grounds are owned by the University of Granada and they have rooms here for visitors who are doing business with the University.
Again access is via a buzzer. Anyone can walk the charming gardens and sit in the shade to admire the views of the Alhambra Palace.
Here you can enjoy a very similar view of the historic monument with its magnificent backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains, to the one from the more well known Mirador de San Nicolas, but that will be full of people.
The chances are that in the gardens of Carmen de la Victoria, you will be alone and better able to enjoy the view amid more tranquil surroundings.
These gardens were designed by a prominent expert in Islamic gardens, José Tito.
Come out of Carmen de la Victoria and turn left.
At the next junction, with the gypsy quarter of Sacromonte to to your right, you should turn left and wind your way through the narrow cobbled streets of the Albaicin, a protected UNESCO world heritage site.
Head steadily downwards. You haven’t time for dinner at the well known Mirador la Morayma, once the captive home of the last Nasrid Queen of Granada.
The clock is ticking but, ideally, you should walk straight ahead and through streets such as Calle Aljibe de Trillo at one end of which, behind a grate, is the original well that gave its name to this charming, narrow street.
From here ,begin your slow descent, discovering all sorts as you wind your way back to the city centre of Granada that is beneath you.
You will either come out of the Albaicin along the River Darro, in Plaza Nueva or, at one end of a lovely narrow street full of shops offering colourful clothes and tasty tea.
If you walk down to the end of this street you will be on Calle Elvira.
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| Souk shopping in Granada |
Copied and edited from a post by Vernon.
Vernon is a London born, former Fleet Street journalist and, for 25 years, a television producer for ITV, BBC, SKY & C4. In 2002 he began travelling the length and breadth of Spain. In 2005 he settled south of Granada, and is co-author of a guidebook to the 100 best tapas bars in the city and province of Granada.
