Granada

Granada – What you should know

Granada shows a range unusual for Andalusia: 36°C in July, but a risk of night frost in January at 1°C. The city sits at 700 metres at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, and that elevation is what separates it from the coast at Málaga, where January brings 17°C rather than 13°C.

That proximity is precisely what makes Granada distinctive: the Sierra Nevada holds Europe's southernmost ski area, with pistes above 3,000 metres and a season running into April. From the ski slopes to a Mediterranean beach is around two hours by car — a combination found nowhere else in Europe in this form.

For the Alhambra, the actual reason for most visits, April, May and October are the best months at 21–26°C. The circuit through the palace, the Generalife gardens and the Alcazaba takes hours, largely outdoors — at 36°C in July that becomes a trial. Summer is bone dry in return: 1 mm falls in July and 2 mm in August. Rain concentrates in winter at 37 to 54 mm.