The city of Granada has one of the most dramatic locations in Spain, poised below the magnificent snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. It is the perfect setting for one of Europe's most stunning monuments - The Alhambra Palace, the romantic palace-fortress of the Nasrid Sultans, rulers of the last Spanish Muslim Kingdom. Modern Granada is both worldly and mystical - a vibrant melting pot of east and western cultures, with a large student population thanks to its university, and an eclectic contrast of Muslim and Spanish culture.

AC PALACIO DE SANTA PAULA
Gran Via de Colón 31 (00 34 958 805 740; www.ac-hotels.com). High-design values have been applied to the restoration of this Renaissance convent. The minibar in the rooms is entirely free, as is the coffee shop/bar downstairs. £

HOTEL CASA MORISCA
Cuesta de la Victoria 9 (00 34 958 221 100; www.hotelcasamorisca.com). Many of the Albaicín's traditional dwellings are being turned into boutique hotels - none more successfully than this late 15th-century house at the foot of the Alhambra hill. Some rooms have their original Moorish ceilings. £

HOTEL ALHAMBRA PALACE
Peña Partida 2-4 (00 34 958 221 468; www.h-alhambrapalace.es). First opened in 1910, this faux-Moorish palace is still a good luxury option - especially for connoisseurs of full-on Orientalist kitsch. There are fabulous views from the terrace. £

CASA DEL CAPITEL NAZARI
Cuesta Aceituneros 6 (00 34 958 215 260; www.hotelcasacapitel.com). This hotel is another fine Moorish restoration at the posh end of the Albaicín, close to the Plaza Nueva. £

RESTAURANTS

MIRADOR DE MORAYMA
Calle Pianista Garcia Carrillo 2 (00 34 958 228 290; www.alqueriamorayma.com). The first and best of the carmén-restaurants, now so much in vogue (the carmén represents the grandest sort of Albaicín house). Tables are set out on various terraces and food hovers between traditional granadino cooking and the pre-Christian culinary heritage. Feast on cardoons with an almond sauce, baby broad beans with ham and a fantastic cured sheep's cheese flavoured with rosemary. Closed Sunday evening.

RESTAURANTE SEVILLA
Calle Oficios 12 (00 34 958 221 223). The Sevilla was founded in 1930 and became a favourite haunt of Lorca, de Falla and their artistic friends. Seventy years on, its dining room remains essentially unchanged. The menu is classically granadino (try the habitas con jamón, baby broad beans with ham, the regional dish par excellence). Closed Sunday evening.

COLINA DE ALMANZORA
Calle Santa Ana 16 (00 34 958 229 516). 'Traditional granadino and andalusí cuisine' is the order of the day at this fascinating restaurant, which has won various awards for its novel interpretation of Hispano-Arabic fusion cooking. House specialities include aubergines with honey, chicken salad with cumin and endives, and stewed partridge with chestnuts. Open daily.

CASA JUANILLO
Camino de Sacromonte 83 (00 34 958 223 094). Down-home eating house in the heart of Sacromonte, an eccentric neighbourhood where much of the population (mostly gypsies and hippies) lives in caves. It's a one-room dining room with a few tables, terracotta plates and tooth-mug glasses. The food (pisto - the Spanish ratatouille - baby lamb chops, tortilla Sacromonte) is plain, authentic, hearty and good value. Closed Sunday evening and Monday. Book ahead.

DRINKS AND TAPAS

BODEGAS CASTANEDA
Calle Almireceros 1-3. The classic choice around the Plaza Nueva. An ancient tavern serving good tapas such as Trevelez hams from the Alpujarras mountains, and cheeses. As in all good Granada bars, a free aperitivo is offered with your drink. Open daily.

BAR DIAMANTES
Calle Navas 26. Famous for its superb tapas, which are slapped onto a zinc counter along with your glass of manzanilla or foaming Alhambra beer (the tasty local brew). Seafood is a speciality, perfectly fried in a light batter. Try the aubergine slices, featherlight and piled into a delicate heap. Closed Sunday and Monday.

CANDELA
Calle Santa Escolastica 9. A pleasant hangout in the Realejo area, popular with local thirtysomethings. The speciality is montaditos - toast with every imaginable topping, from artichoke and melted Manchego cheese to tuna with roasted red Piquillo peppers.

BAR PASIEGAS
Plaza de las Pasiegas. This brand-new designer tapas bar on the little square beside the main door of the Cathedral is a good place for a beer or a glass of wine and a tapa or two at midday. If the look is Barcelona (metal floor, purple chairs), the kitchen tends towards Bilbao. Creative and delicious pinchos such as avocado, apple and langoustine tartlet, prawn and bacon brochette. Open daily.

THE ALHAMBRA
Granada is most famously home to the extraordinary Alhambra Palace, the most exciting and sensual of all European monuments. It was the palace-fortress of the Nasrid Sultans, rulers of the last Spanish Muslim Kingdom. For many visitors to Spain, Granada simply equals the Alhambra - they are one and the same. There are 3 distinct groups of buildings on the Alhambra hill, the Casa Real (The Royal Palace), the palace gardens of the Generalife and the Alcazaba.

THE ALCAZABA
The earliest, although most ruined, part of the fortress. Once inside, make sure you visit the Jardin de los Ardaves, a delightful 17th-century garden laid out along the fort's southern parapets. There is access from here to the Alcazaba's summit, the Torre de la Vela, named after a huge bell on its turret. The views from here are spectacular.

THE CASA REAL (ROYAL PALACE)
It is amazing that the Casa Real has survived, as it was built lightly and often crudely from wood and brick. Its buildings were essentially a vehicle for ornate decoration. Arabic inscriptions feature prominently in the ornamentation. The Palace is structured in three parts, each arrayed round an interior court and with a specific function. The sultans used the Mexuar, the first series of rooms, for business and judicial purposes. In the Serallo, they would receive embassies and distinguished guests. The last section, the Harem, formed their private living quarters and would have been entered by no one but their family and servants.

THE PALACIO DE CARLOS V
The exit from the Casa Real to the Generalife is through the courtyard of the Palacio de Carlos V, where bullfights were once held. The palace was begun in 1526 but never finished. It seems totally out of place here but is a distinguished piece of Renaissance design in its own right. Behind Carlos V's palace are the remnants of the town which once existed within the Alhambra's walls, with a population of 40,000 during the Nasrid period. Before visiting the Generalife, look into the 15th-century Convento de San Francisco. Built by Fernando and Isabel on the site of another Moorish palace, this is now a parador whose plant-filled patio preserves part of the chapel where the Catholic monarchs were buried.

THE GENERALIFE
The Generalife are the gardens and summer palaces of the sultans. Its name literally means 'garden of the architect'. Deeply evocative, the Patio de los Cipreses is a dark and walled garden where the Sultana Zoraya was suspected of meeting her lover. Nearby is the inspired flight of fantasy of the Camino de las Cascadas, a staircase with water flowing down its stone balustrades.

LA CALLE CALDERIA AND THE ALBAICIN
'The street of the makers of cooking pots' lies just behind the Gran Via de Colon - the main artery of the bustling city centre. This marks the beginning of the Albaicín neighbourhood - the old Arab quarter, with its walled gardens and maze-like alleys. These days, the neighbourhood plays host to a fully fledged economy, with restaurants, bakeries, health-food shops and halal grocers. Take time to explore the Albaicín's labyrinth of whitewashed alleyways. The Mirador de San Nicolas, in the trendy Albaícin, is the lively social centre of the area, where people go to see and be seen. It also has fantastic views of the Alhambra, with the mountains of the Sierra Nevada behind it.

LA PLAZA DE LA TRINIDAD
A pretty, shaded little square, with an abundance of flower stalls, kiosks of various sorts and benches to sit on and rest for a few minutes.

CHURCHES ON THE CALLE SAN JERONIMO
You can go on a good church crawl down the Calle San Jerónimo, taking in a succession of half-forgotten churches - each more sumptuous than the last, from the Basólica de San Juan de Dios (built in 1759) to the Monasterio de San Jerónimo, a Renaissance building founded by Ferdinand and Isabella in the nearby town of Santa Fé, and later moved to Granada.

HOSPITAL SAN JUAN DE DIOS
This 17th-century hospital still functions as it did originally. But there is nothing clinical about its columned and galleried cloisters planted with palm and orange trees, and painted with 18th-century frescoes illustrating the miraculous life of the Saint.

THE LORCA FAMILY'S SUMMER HOUSE
This is another must-see - the summer house in the Huerta de San Vicente where Federico spent his last 10 years before being cruelly dispatched by Francos' forces in 1936. It is now a museum and stands in a well-groomed municipal park. A few of Lorca's possessions remain here, including the desk where he wrote such legendary works as Blood Wedding, and The House of Bernarda Alba.

AIRPORT
Granada has its own international airport.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
Iberia (0845 850 9000; www.iberiaairlines.co.uk) offers at least three daily connections to Granada, from Gatwick and Heathrow via Barcelona or Madrid; some flights are code-shares with BA. Iberia also flies three times daily from Gatwick and Heathrow to Málaga. Easyjet (0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com) flies up to four times daily from Bristol, East Midlands, Gatwick, Liverpool, Luton and Stansted to Málaga. Málaga is about a two-hour drive from Granada.

If you visit Granada in the summer months, take care to protect yourself from the hot sun. Temperatures are more moderate in autumn. The best month to go is October.

The city's Turismo is located in the Corral del Carbon on c/Mariana Pineda, just east of the cathedral. Open Mon to Sat 9am to 7pm; Sun 10am to 2pm. There's also a good Turismo municipal at Plaza Mariana Pineda 10. Open Mon to Fri 9.30 am to 7pm; Sat 10am to 2pm.