2 Days in Granada: what to do and see?
Do you want to go to Granada for a weekend and see as many things as possible?
You are in the right place!
To help you prepare your stay easily, I have organized an itinerary for you to visit Granada for 2 days.
I will first give you my tips for not queuing in front of the tourist sites and I will continue with my detailed program for two days.
Finally, I have also selected the best hotels in Granada according to your budget.
With my tips, you are sure to make the most of your weekend in Granada!
So where to go and what to do in Granada?
My tips for not queuing in Granada
Granada is one of the most touristic cities in Spain, along with Seville, Madrid, Barcelona.
And if there is one monument in Granada that is taken by storm as soon as it opens and where the queue can get endlessly long, it is the Alhambra.
Because it is very likely that if you have planned a visit to Granada in 2 days during your itinerary in Andalusia, it is especially to visit this fabulous palace! And you can imagine that you will not be the only one to have had this idea…
Fortunately, by buying one of the city passes or skip-the-line tickets, you will benefit from priority access and will thus be able to optimize your weekend in Granada.
I explain how to do it below:
1. Le city pass de Grenade: Granada Card
First solution to save as much time as possible on this 2-day trip to Granada and enjoy entry to the Alhambra: buy the Granada pass or Granada Card.
If I suggest it to you, it’s because it’s simply the best pass to visit Granada in 2 days since it includes access to all the most famous sites in the city without waiting!
With your Granada Card you can visit:
- The entire Alhambra complex: the Nasrid Palaces, the Alcazaba and the Generalife
- Cathedral
- The royal chapel
- Sacromonte Abbey
- Cartuja Monastery and San Jeronimo Monastery
- The museums: the science park museum, the archaeological museum, the museum of fine arts.
And that’s not all, this Granada city pass also includes:
- A guided tour of the 2 main areas of the city: the Albaicin and the Sacromonte
- Tickets for local buses.
On the practical side, once you have reserved your Granada pass, you will receive a confirmation email serving as a voucher. You will need to present this email to collect your Granada Card (the address will be communicated to you in the email).
Buy your Granada pass now for your 2-day stay in Granada by clicking on the link below:
Book my Granada pass now!
2. Andalusia pass
If you are planning to take a trip to Andalusia and before or after this 2-day tour of Granada, you want to see Seville and Cordoba, the Andalusia pass may also be of interest to you.
It integrates:
- A skip-the-line entrance ticket to the Alhambra in Granada and the Nasrid Palaces
- A priority access ticket for the Alcazar of Seville
- Guided tour of the Cathedral Mosque of Cordoba
- An audio guide of Granada and Seville.
This pass is 100% digital, which means that once you have reserved it by clicking on the link below, you will receive all your tickets directly by email.
All you have to do is present them on your smartphone at the entrance to the 3 sites.
Book your Andalusia pass by clicking here:
Buy my Andalusia Pass now!
Tips
If you are interested in this pass, I also recommend that you read my ideas for itineraries to visit Andalusia according to the duration right here:
3. Skip-the-line tickets to Granada tourist attractions
You do not want to take a pass to visit Granada in 48 hours?
No problem, you always have the option of reserving skip-the-line tickets on a case-by-case basis, only for the sites that correspond to your centers of interest.
You will also have the choice between guided tours and several typical activities to do in 2 days in Granada, such as attending a flamenco show or participating in a tasting of Spanish products.
To book the right tickets for your Granada in 2 days tour program and access all the details, you just have to click on the links in orange below:
- Alhambra Skip-the-Line Ticket Including Nasrid Palaces + Generalife + Alcazaba
- Guided tour in French of the Alhambra complex
- Albaicin and Sacromonte Guided Tour
- Ticket to the Cuevas del Sacromonte Museum
- Guided tour of the cathedral and the royal chapel
- Flamenco show at Zoraya Garden
- Flamenco show in La Alborea
- Flamenco show at Casa del Arte
- Session at Hammam Al Andalus
- Granada Guided Food Tour
2 days in Granada: the best itinerary
Following these useful tips for organizing your trip, I suggest you continue with my 2-day itinerary in Granada.
The schedule I have established is based on 2 full days and requires at least that you have taken skip-the-line tickets / a pass to visit the Alhambra so as not to waste time.
If you need, I remain available to answer your questions or help you plan your stay. Just ask me in the comments section.
So what to visit in Granada?
Day 1: The essentials
The visits of day 1:
A. L’Alhambra de Grenade
B. Le Sacromonte
C. L’Albaicin
D. Le Mirador de San Nicolas
E. Flamenco Spectacle
A. L’Alhambra de Grenade
Nothing better to start your 2-day Granada tour than visiting the Alhambra, one of Spain’s most famous tourist sites.
I would like to point out that this visit will only be possible if you have reserved your tickets in advance. There is a quota of authorized visitors each day and the places are often all sold out weeks before.
Even if you go there at the opening, you have a 99.9% chance of not getting tickets without prior reservation.
To be able to visit the Alhambra during your weekend in Granada, you must therefore have booked one of the following tickets:
- The Granada Pass / Granada Card I told you about
- The Andalusia pass that I have also already mentioned
- An Alhambra skip-the-line ticket with visit to the Nasrid Palaces included
- A guided tour of the Alhambra in French (click here!). This visit is so good that it is guaranteed satisfaction or your money back!
You will thus have the chance to discover this sumptuous palatial complex, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The visit includes:
- The famous Nasrid palaces consisting of the Mexuar, the palace of Comares and the palaces of the lions where you can visit several rooms and courtyards.
- The Alcazaba: this military fortress is the oldest part of the Alhambra
- The Generalife and its magnificent gardens with fountains.
B. The Sacromonte
I then advise you to continue with a walk in the Sacromonte district to see the troglodyte houses of this former gypsy district.
Some of these “cuevas” as they are called in Spanish, are now used as flamenco performance halls (activity planned for the end of the day!).
If you want to learn more about the history of the neighborhood and learn about its traditions, I recommend you visit:
- The Cuevas del Sacromonte museum. The ticket can be purchased here!
- The Abbey of Sacromonte and its catacombs, entry to which is included in the Granada Card.
Tips
For those who have taken the Granada pass, you also have the right to a guided tour of the Sacromonte (and the Albaicin). Reservation information will be sent to you after you have purchased your pass.
If you do n’t have the pass, you can also book this guided tour by clicking directly on the link below:
Book my guided tour in Granada now!
C. The Albayzin district
Right next to the Sacromonte is the other neighborhood to see on this 2-day trip to Granada, that of the Albaicin.
With its whitewashed houses, its cobbled streets, I found it very authentic and picturesque.
Not to mention that Albaicin being the old Arab quarter of Granada, you will also find many small shops selling dried fruits and spices in particular, like a souk.
If you like history, the guided tour of Sacromonte also includes the discovery of Albaicin.
D. The viewpoint of San Nicolas
Impossible to visit Granada in 2 days without passing at least once by one of the city’s watchtowers.
Since you are in the Albaicin district, I recommend that you go to the San Nicolas viewpoint.
It is located in Plaza de San Nicolas and offers a magnificent view of Granada and the Alhambra. If the weather is clear, you can even see the Sierra Nevada.
The best time to get to the viewpoint and take the most beautiful photos is at sunset (check the time depending on the season you have decided to spend 48 hours in Granada).
E. Flamenco evening in Granada
And that’s it for the sites to see on this first day of your 2-day stay in Granada.
But it’s not over since the evening promises to be very typical also with a flamenco show, an art that could not be more Spanish and which would also originate from Granada.
I particularly recommend 2 places:
- La Alborea for a one-hour traditional show in the purest Andalusian tradition:
Book my flamenco evening in Granada now!
- Les jardines de Zoraya where you can, in addition to the show, enjoy a good 3-course meal:
Day 2: What to do and see?
The visits of day 2:
A. Basilica of San Juan de Dios
B. Granada Cathedral and Royal Chapel
C. Bib Rambla Square / Alcaiceria Market
D. Arab Baths
E. Hammam Al Andalus
F. San Cristobal Viewpoint
A. The Basilica of Saint John of God
Today you continue this two-day itinerary in Granada starting with a visit to the Basilica of San Juan de Dios.
Don’t be fooled by its rather sober exterior, the Baroque-style interior is richly decorated with numerous sculptures and paintings. And above all, many of the pillars, walls and ceilings are covered in gold.
In addition to all that glitters, you can also admire a magnificent altar and great organs.
It may come as a surprise and you have to admit that it’s still a bit “busy” but it ‘s a must see in 48 hours in Granada!
To light up the interior of the Basilica and take advantage of the play of light on the gilding, you can put 1€ in the box located next to the altar (if someone hasn’t already done so before you).
Tips
If you have the Granada Pass, you can then pass through the Monastery of San Jeronimo, located right next to the Basilica. Admission is free with the pass.
B. Granada Cathedral and the Royal Chapel
We stay in the religious domain by continuing this 2-day visit to Granada by the cathedral of Granada.
It is less than a 10-minute walk from the basilica and admission is included with the Granada Card.
Built from the 16th century and finished 200 years later, it is dedicated to the Virgin of the Incarnation. Presenting a mixture of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance style, inside you can discover the chapels and the organs.
Adjoining the cathedral, you must also visit the royal chapel where the tombs of certain kings are located.
The Granada Pass also includes access to the Royal Chapel.
You will have an audio guide for the visit but if you want complete information, you can also opt for a combined cathedral + chapel guided tour. To book by clicking here!
C. The place of Bib Rambla / Le marché Alcaiceria
For the 3rd stage of this itinerary with all the things to see in Granada in 2 days, head to Bib Rambla square.
It will then be time to indulge in a bit of shopping in the lively streets lined with shops surrounding the square. You will also find many cafes to take a short break.
If you want to bring back some souvenirs from your trip to Andalusia, I also advise you to go through the Alcaiceria market which is in fact the Grand Bazaar of Granada.
You will find all the classic panoply: magnets, keychains, t-shirts, but also beautiful ceramics or colored glass lamps (perhaps a little more complicated to transport, I admit!).
D. Arab baths
If you are interested in history, you can visit the Arab baths or “El Banuelo”. This set comprising 3 rooms is the best preserved in Andalusia.
Dating from the 11th century, they are also the oldest. There are still very few Arab baths as most, considered places of debauchery, were destroyed when the Christians regained power.
The visit only takes about ten minutes.
E. Hammam El Andalus
After visiting the “old-fashioned” Arab baths, you may have made you want to enjoy a moment of rest and relaxation, but in a modern version!
So I suggest you go to the Hammam El Andalus, which is also only 2 minutes walk from El Banuelo.
You can bask in the hot and cold baths as well as the steam one. All while alternating with short passages through the rest room where you will be served (all you can eat!) an excellent mint tea.
By booking with the link below, you can also add a massage:
Book my session at Hammam Al Andalus now!
I think it’s also a good idea of activity if you have decided to spend 2 days in Granada as a couple.
F. The viewpoint of San Cristobal
To enjoy a beautiful view of Granada one last time , end the day at the San Cristobal viewpoint before going to dinner.
And here I gave you all my advice for visiting Granada in 2 days! Spend one last night at the hotel before taking your return flight the next day.
Where to sleep in Granada
And since I am talking about your hotel, it is still important to know where you are going to sleep during these 48 hours in Granada.
Of course it’s useful to find out how to visit Granada in 2 days, but it’s even better to also have advice on the best hotels.
I have therefore prepared a small selection of establishments for you, ranging from youth hostels to 5* hotels, which offer a good price/performance ratio depending on your budget.
To access the exact rates corresponding to the period of your holiday in Granada, simply click on the names of the hotels in orange just below.
The best hotels are quickly full, I suggest you book as soon as possible!
So, where to sleep for a weekend in Granada?
- Toc Hostel Granada: Hostel located in the center of Granada. Bed in dormitory from 20€ per night, breakfast at 7€. Most: the situation, the really nice staff, the modernity of the place. An excellent choice where to sleep cheap in Granada!
- Hotel Universal: Located 400 meters from the Cathedral and 700 meters from the Albayzin district. Comfortable and clean double room from 65€ per night, breakfast included. Most: the friendly staff, the location in the city center, the proximity of shops and restaurants. Excellent value for money for this hotel in Granada!
- Granada Five Senses Rooms & Suites: Located on Gran Via Avenue, 200 meters from the Cathedral. Design and modern room from 100€ per night, breakfast included. Most: the swimming pool on the roof, the design of the rooms, the hearty breakfast.
- Alhambra Palace: This 5-star hotel is located 10 minutes walk from the Alhambra or the Albaicin, next to the Carmen de los Martires garden. Spacious and warm room from €200, breakfast at €19. The pluses: the hotel’s Moorish-inspired decoration, the superb view of the Alhambra from the terrace, the comfort. This is our choice for a romantic weekend in Granada.
- Parador de Granada: This luxurious hotel is located within the very walls of the Alhambra! Rooms have a mix of modern and old features, from €420, breakfast €21. The pluses: the exceptional location, the setting, the availability of the staff, the restaurant with a view of the Generalife. This is our recommendation for a luxury stay in Granada!
2 days in Granada with the family
Is this 2 day Granada tour suitable for a family stay?
Well yes, no problem following this itinerary in Granada with children.
If you want to please them, you can also take them to visit the Science Park, a huge space with a planetarium, an observatory but also a botanical garden.
Access to the museum is included in the Granada Card.
Map of your 2-day Granada itinerary
To help you visualize your itineraries during these 2 days in Granada, I made you a map listing the places to visit day by day. You can display the map legend by clicking on the top left button with a small arrow. You will then be able to view the routes for each day.
Need help planning your 2-day Granada itinerary? Do not hesitate to ask me your questions in the comments.
Are you going to Andalusia? Also read
- What to do in Andalusia? The Top 20 places to see in this region of Spain
- Malaga Itinerary: 2 Days Itinerary With Map
- Cordoba: Top 15 things to do
- Ronda: Top 10 things to see
- Seville: Top 15 Things to Do and See
