Granada

Sprawled on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, in Andalusia, Spain, Granada is intriguing. The city is a maze of Moorish castles, its streets rife with myths, legends, and mysteries. The Alhambra is the single most popular of the city's attractions, a monumental work of Moorish architecture replete with intricate details and opulent adornments. Granada enchants the observer, from the white-walled gardens of Realejo to the magnificence of the Albayzín. With an urban landscape made up of architectural excerpts from various eras, there's much to see here. Nevertheless, the true calling card of Granada is that elusive special something that pervades the city from its grand palaces and mausoleums to its graffiti riddled enclaves. Interspersed in between are tapas bars and hookah dens, with a vibrant nightlife that is redolent of a creative counterculture. A city that is defined as much by its haunting aura as by its dreamscape of architecture, Granada is unforgettable. Other popular attractions include the Cathedral and Royal Chapel of Granada, Basílica San Juan de Dios, Carrera del Darro, and the Palacios Nazaries.