Granada-Malaga-Madrid

Our first few days in Spain were in Granada. We had a layover in Madrid and arrived in Granada late in the afternoon. We immediately felt the relaxed, albeit bustling, vibe of this magical city in Southern Spain! We stayed at a great Airbnb located in Plaza del Carmen across from City Hall with views of La Alhambra from all our windows! We checked in, regrouped then immediately started walking around. Our Airbnb host gave us some great recommendations. There were a number of bars and restaurants directly adjacent to our place near the city center. We strolled through the narrow cobblestone streets and ended up at La Esquinita de Javi. We sat on the terrazza (outdoor patio) and enjoyed (the best, according to our Airbnb host!) fried fish and huevos rotos—so delicious!  

Our Airbnb host told us about El Mirador de San Cristobal, lookout in the Albaicín neighborhood. From there you have great views of the city, La Alhambra, and the beautiful snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. It was quite a hike, but well worth it as you wind through the quaint neighborhoods. 

We took the kids to one of the many restaurants in the alley beside our apartment and got some tapas. They were so excited to use their Spanish to order “agua con gas!”

Breakfast at Café Fútbol for some great churros. It was Sunday and quite busy with people after mass. The Easter processions were going on that day so the town was buzzing with people. We took another long walk to the Sacromonte neighborhood which had great views of the Alhambra. The charming neighborhood is filled with homes made of white stucco and narrow cobblestone streets.

Today we went to La Alhambra. Our advice is to buy tickets as early as possible and try to get an 8:30 entrance to the Nasrid palaces. The entries are timed and the lines can get pretty long, so we decided to get the 8:30 entrance which was the earliest, to avoid the lines, and it worked out great! The Alhambra is absolutely incredible. The architecture, design, intricacies and views are all spectacular. 

We had planned on going up to the Sierra Mountains to ski (only a 50 min drive from Granada) but decided to go to the beach instead. We were able to book an early morning Renfe train to Malaga that got un in at about 9:00am and took an Alsa bus back around 6:00pm. The train system in Spain is very efficient! The ride was smooth and it was nice to stretch out a bit and sleep before a full day of walking. Málaga is beautiful! Although it was chilly and drizzly, the sun peeked out enough for us to enjoy walking along the beach. We stopped for breakfast on a “terrazza” (patio) before climbing the Alcazar for some spectacular views of the Mediterranean. We then headed to the Picasso Museum (Picasso was born in Málaga). The museum was such a treat if you’re a fan of Picasso’s work. It was incredible to see how diverse his talents were aside from the modern cubism we usually associate with Picasso. For lunch we went to Pimpi Restaurant (which our Uber driver recommended) and it did not disappoint! I can see why many tourists go to Málaga—it’s a bustling and beautiful seaside town. 

Oh Madrid, where do I even begin! I left my heart in Madrid 2 years ago when I came to visit for the first time and knew I had to come back with my family. We took a 7:00am Renfe train from Granada to Madrid which was about 4 hours. I expected to go quicker but this train made about 4 stops. We arrived at the Madrid Atocha train station at about 11:00am. One thing about train stations in Spain is that most of them are located in the city center, making them super convenient to get to. I studied in Madrid for three weeks this past summer and loved the neighborhood so I knew I wanted us to stay in that neighborhood when we returned. It sort of reminds me of the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Super chic and very close to all the touristy spots but where we were wasn’t nearly as touristy. We toured all the usual touristy things though—The Royal Palace, Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol. We didn’t get to Templo de Debod because my kids were so tired they were about to drop! El Parque de Retiro was closed for a few days, but it was finally open on our last day there and everyone loved walking through this massive park. It really gives a vibe of what the culture is like in Spain. People take their time, they go for walks and spend Sundays strolling. We just loved it. We went on a stadium tour of Atlético Madrid, one of Madrid’s two pro soccer teams, and had a blast! Took the Metro home, which was so incredibly clean and well thought out, and easy to follow. My husband and son wanted to see the other soccer stadium (Bernabeau) so we figured out how to get there on the Metro and made the kids figure out how to get us back to our Airbnb! It was a fun learning experience for them. But the best part of the trip was being able to spend time with family, and my husband and I even got to sneak away for a few dinner dates when the kids were too pooped to join us. We felt very safe too! My favorite spot was La Martinuca, in the Chueca/Justicia neighborhood of Madrid—they have the best tortilla española (¡con cebolla!).