Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - RAR report #4: Andalusia (Granada, Sevilla, Arcos)

Well I am in Madrid now, after spending 12 hot but great days down in Andalusia (5 in Sevilla, 6 in Granada and 1 in Almeria). Why 6 days in Granada and none in Ronda? I still ask myself that question, but if I went back I probably wouldn't do it over again differently.

Granada was awesome. I lived with a couple Catalans for awhile in Italy and they both told me that it was their favorite city in Spain.. and now I can see why. The lifestyle there is just so enjoyable that it is tough to leave. Where else can you get a buzz and a full stomach for 7 euro? Free tapas with every drink is something that amazes me.. how do they make any money when they give away all that free food? And the nightlife there is nice as well.. predictable for a university city.

Of course the Alhambra was great, and the Albacin is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods I have ever seen. But for me, Granada was about relaxing, and enjoying their beautiful (and really really cheap) town. The road from Plaza Nueva up to the Albacin main street is one of the most relaxing and verdant streets I have ever seen (thanks to the trees surrounding the creek that borders one side). A note about the Alhambra.. I got there at 330 in the afternoon and was the only one in line to get in. None of the people I talked to in Granada had problems getting in either... so I am unsure where these giant queue stories come from. Maybe in July it's worse? Even so, it'd have to be much much worse because getting in couldnt have been any easier. And one last thing.. the Moorish baths (the old ones) are pretty cool, and best yet, getting into them is free. Not much to see, but it's worth a 10 min peek around while on your way to afternoon tapas.

Sevilla was predictably great. The Alcazar was the one thing that surprised me, it was much more beautiful than I would have expected. The Moorish walls were also a pleasent surprise. Another surprise was how big the city was.. both in population, but also because of how spread out it is! It really can take awhile to get from one end to the other (something I had to do often since I was staying in Santa Cruz). The much vaunted tapas were great.. sure you had to pay for them (unlike Granada), but some of them that I received felt like mini gourmet courses. One place I really have to recommend is Kiosk de las Flores. They have the most amazing fried fish, so fresh you will swear they just got them out of the river (you can find the Kiosk.. which isnt a kiosk but a nice little restaurant/bar.. on river, directly across from the Torre del Oro).

From Sevilla I went down to Arcos for a day. Really nice and relaxing there. Hardly any tourists at all, a nice break from Sevilla. Also much cooler there on the hill. Has a great view (as all hill towns tend to do). Oddly enough, the view from Arcos reminded me a lot of southern Tuscany.. hills, agriculture spotted land. I didnt see any other of the white towns, but I would definitely recommend Arcos. It's great location (on the side of a bluff) makes it rather fun to hike up and look around. You can also go swimming down in their river (nice if you have been burning away in Andalusia for awhile).

Lastly, I spent a (sleepless) night in Almeria, celebrating the fiesta di San Juan. Seemed like all of southern Andalusia converged upon the beaches of Almeria on the 23rd of June to party. Every bus from Granada to Almeria was full (of Spaniards, I never saw another tourist in Almeria except for my little group). The beaches were packed all night long... they burned bonfires (some with neat effigies), ate, drank, and swam until 6 am. Was one of the most fun nights of my life... should you be in Andalusia next year around this time, I would say it's definitely worth the effort to get to Almeria for this celebration. I dont know how it compares to Alicante's (which I hear is amazing), but this was great.

Questions?