Guided Tour of the Albaicín

On this high-quality tour, we’ll stroll through the narrow, quiet streets of the upper Albaicín, which lead us to discover surprising stories, full of authenticity: from its Iberian-Roman and Visigothic origins to the beginning of the long Hispano-Muslim period in the 8th century, which would come to an end in the late 15th century, leaving traces of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The Muslim structures and buildings in the Albaicín that we know today, , were built on the ruins of the Roman Forum, , reusing many of its materials in cisterns, baths, houses, and walls.

In the Muslim foundations, we find countless Roman ashlars and remains of Roman roads, such as the one located beneath the foundations of the Church of San Juan de los Reyes. This Roman forum remains hidden beneath our feet today, in the area of the Placeta de las Minas and Camino Nuevo de San Nicolás.

The Archaeological Museum of Granada, located in the Casa de Castril in the historic Axares neighborhood in the lower Albaicín, , houses exceptional artifacts from that Roman period.

In the 6th century, the Visigoths encountered a late Roman city in decline, and they chose it as their settlement. Remains of Visigothic coins and capital stones from that period have been preserved.

It was between the 8th and 9th centuries that the site was occupied by the Arabs during the Caliphate era , and it regained its momentum and splendor in the 11th century under the Ziri Taifa , which took control of the Cora de Elvira, whose capital was Medina Elvira (an archaeological site at the foot of the Sierra Elvira, between Atarfe and Pinos Puente).

It was Zawi ibn Ziri who, in 1013, reclaimed the ancient walled Roman municipality as the seat of his palaces and dynasty, expanding the territory down the hill toward the river and building a new wall. This marks the origin of the Medina Garnata, and the main, monumental entrance to this new 11th-century Hispano-Muslim city was the Puerta Elvira, where we will begin our tour.

Itinerary: From Puerta Elvira to El Bañuelo via San Nicolás.

Duration: 3 hours. Meeting point: Puerta Elvira.