How to plan an amazing trip to Granada with the kids
Granda is a really great place to visit with kids of any age. Whether you’re considering a short city break, or are considering using it as a base for a longer vacation, there’s plenty to do both in the city and the surrounding area to entertain the whole family.
We live in Sevilla and my kids love it when we take a trip to Granada, as long as we do the ‘fun stuff’ and not too much of the ‘adult cultural stuff’ (their words).
In this article we’ll take a look at what the kids really enjoy, as well as what you’ll probably want to show them ‘for their own good’ 😉. We’ll also take a look at the most kid friendly accommodation options, some recommended tours and, of course, day trip ideas.
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Kid friendly highlights of Granada
We don’t pull any punches here at MexicoCassie, so let’s be clear, neither the Alhambra nor the cathedral will generally be the kids’ highlight of your trip. While it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit, we just also think you should include:
⭐️ The Granada Science Museum & Aquarium – great for toddlers up to tweens
⭐️ The Inquisition Museum – great for tweens and teens
⭐️ Exploring the souk-like Alcaicería – great for any kid who enjoys maze like streets and fun souvenir shopping
Where to stay in Granada with kids
Before you can plan activities, you’ve got to figure out where to stay, right? These are my 3 top picks for family friendly accommodation in Granda.
🏨 MexicoCassie top Granada hotel recommendation: Áurea Washington Irving – this hotel exudes the gentle elegance a city break deserves. It is located 400m from the Alhambra, has a rooftop swimming pool, and offers its guests excellent breakfast. Children are welcome and there are family friendly rooms.
🏡 MexicoCassie top Granada apartment recommendation: Mirador del Zenete – located in gorgeous the Albaicín neighbourhood, this apartment style hotel offers incredible views (hint’s in the name) over the city of Granada from the roof terrace. Each apartment has a small kitchen, making it ideal for families who like to prepare their own meals. There is a pool on site, offering relief after a day of sightseeing in the heat.
🏨 MexicoCassie most affordable recommendation: Don Juan – located just under 1km from the city centre, about 15 minutes to walk to the cathedral. Rooms are big and clean. Beds are comfortable and it included an decent buffet breakfast. We stayed here because it is a super affordable option for a family of four. It’s neither the best nor worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Note that there’s no pool here.
🗺 If none of these options appeal, why not use my interactive Granada accommodation map to find something more suited to your family’s needs.
What to do in Granada with kids
There’s plenty to do with the kids in Granada and unlike most ‘with kids’ guides, we’re going to begin with the stuff they actually might want to do:
Kid friendly museums
There are many museums in Granada but three stand out as particularly awesome for kids
🧬 Parque de las Ciencias (Science Museum)
This is reputed to be one of the best museums for kids in Spain (along with the science museum in Valencia) and for my kids it was the highlight of our family trip to Granada.
Almost everything was explained in English as well as Spanish. One exhibit was even in Arabic too, which I loved.
The science park includes
👉🏽 An excellent planetarium/Imax experience (extra charge, book in advance)
We watched a show about dinosaurs here. It was in Spanish but I think it’s also possible to find English options.
👉🏽 An aquarium and biodome (extra charge, book in advance)
The aquarium was really wonderful. Tickets are timed so it’s never crowded. The biodome was also surprisingly excellent and the kids loved it.
💬 We took the opportunity to discuss the ethics of keeping animals in captivity as we walked around (and they exclaimed about how cute the monkeys were).
👉🏽 Observation tower
There is a lift up this excellent tower but on the day we visited it wasn’t working so we had to walk up many (MANY) flights of stairs for the great views over the city it offers – we all agreed it was still worth it.
👉🏽 Interactive exhibitions
It is an extremely interactive museum where the kids can learn about the human body, space travel, the history of science, physics etc through play and through taking part in experiments.
There’s also a small maze & a mariposarium. And yes, my kid and I both held the world’s biggest cockroach.
👉🏽 Playgrounds
Outside, by the small cafe (which sells snacks and sandwiches), there are playground spaces where the kids can climb, solve puzzles, enjoy water play, play giant chess and plenty more.
My kids’ opinions
My son visited on a school trip and absolutely loved it. Our trip to Granada was based around him wanting to share the experience with his sister. Both kids had a great day and said it’s almost as good as their favourite museum in the world, Papalote, the kids’ science museum in Mexico City, which is high praise, indeed.
We spent an entire day here and easily could have spent longer. Our only disappointment was the museum shop, which was full of weird and expensive items rather than anything kids would actually want to spend their pocket money on.
⚔️ Inquisition Museum
In the same building as the Palacio de Flamenco you’ll find this exhibition about the Spanish Inquisition and torture methods. We went in on a whim and absolutely loved it. It is a serious exhibition and adults as well as kids will learn plenty here.
💬 We wound up having some very interesting conversations with our kids about intolerance, history and religion.
My kids’ opinions
They were shocked but fascinated by everything they saw. They didn’t read as many of the panels as we did but asked a lot of pertinent questions.
I probably wouldn’t recommend this for younger children because it’s both extremely shocking and academically very well done. Older kids will really get a lot out of it (for reference, mine were 10 and 12 when we went)
🪨 Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
When visiting with kids the first thing to know is that this museum is at the top of a steep hill that you have to walk up. The museum is spaced out between a number of traditional houses (i.e. cave houses) with small and interesting displays explaining the area’s history and culture.
Sacromonte was traditionally a neighbourhood where the Gypsies, Jews and Muslims lived during the medieval period so expect to learn about this while visiting. There is a small garden cafe here, space for the kids to run and great views over the city.
My kids’ opinions
They liked visiting the caves, although I doubt they read very many of the display panels if I’m honest. They thought it was fun to see how much cooler the caves are than the outside temperature.
Other museums in Granada
🔨 Archaeology Museum – small and interesting
🏰 Alhambra Museum – also small and interesting
🖼 Museo de Bellas Artes – a small art gallery
👃🏾The Patio de los Perfumes, a traditional perfume shop, has a very small basement ‘museum’ of perfume. My kids really enjoyed all the sniff tests and we spent far longer here than I’d have expected.
The serious culture in Granada
When taking kids to see ‘cultural things’ we, as parents have options as to how we handle it depending on the family dynamic, the age of the kids and how many other cultural or educational activities have already taken place on that vacation. We can:
👣 find kid-focused or kid-friendly tours
⭐️ tell the kids that it’s just part of a family vacation so they have to behave and accept it
🍦offer an ice-cream after if they co-operate
🍔 ensure lunch that day is something they’ll love
🛝 promise that the next day’s activity will be something super kid friendly
Whether you take the kids to cultural places or not obviously entirely depends on you. The kids don’t have to enjoy every single thing you do on a vacation, and neither does every trip have to be a learning experience.
The Alhambra with kids
Whether it’s exciting for the kids or not, we can’t have an article about visiting Granada and not talk about the Alhambra. It’s the absolute highlight of a trip to Granada for most adults. Some kids may enjoy a visit to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, while others most definitely won’t.
If you decide to take the kids to the Alhambra complex, what do you need to know?
How do you do it?
🎟 First, you must buy your Alhambra tickets in advance. That’s a non-negotiable. It’s one of the most popular monuments in all of Spain. These days, if you show up without tickets you may well not get to see it at all.
Kids’ tickets are free but between 3 – 13, children need to have an actual ticket to guarantee their space. Under 3s are free and don’t need a ticket. Over 13s have to pay.
→ My recommendation is to begin on the Alhambra Patronato site, this is the official site, then if there are no tickets left there, check Tiqets because it’s a reputable site. If they don’t have any either, then you’ll have to pick up a guided tour on GetYourGuide or Viator (of course, once you’re inside the monument it’s your choice as to whether you stay with the tour or not)
🛂 You will be required to give your ID details when you book the tickets and you will need to have the same ID with you when you enter. It will be checked.
👦🏽 👧🏽 Make your visit age appropriate for your kid. Do it at a speed they can manage, find ways to make it fun for everyone
🚼 Strollers (buggies) are not permitted inside any of the visitable spaces but they are permitted in the areas between them. You can leave your buggy with the guards while you explore. For babies under 12kg you can swap the buggy for a baby carrier free of charge.
Alhambra tours
My general rule when my kids were smaller was that I didn’t do tours with them unless they were kid friendly. I didn’t want to have bored kids making my life a misery as I tried to keep them quiet so they didn’t annoy other guests. Now that they’re young teens, I don’t mind taking them on guided tours.
Handily, the Alhambra now has a free audioguide/webpage where you can read a little about every room you enter.
👣 If you do want to consider a tour, check out what Get Your Guide and Viator has to offer.
Self-guided in the Alhambra
This makes the most sense to me if I’m exploring with my kids. We can stop when they need to stop, grab a snack, pee when they need to pee, etc etc. And of course, I try to find ways to make everything more interesting for them.
The Alhambra complex is made up of the Nasrid Palaces, the Generalife Gardens & Palace and the Alcazaba. Just for good measure, the palace of Carlos (Charles) V is also considered to be within the complex too.
The Nasrid Palaces are astoundingly beautiful and peaceful. The Generalife Gardens are also extremely beautiful. Will the kids care about beautiful gardens? Maybe, maybe not!
The one thing the kids might enjoy is climbing the towers in the Alcazaba for views over the city of Granada.
If you’re going to take the kids, I recommend finding ways to make it fun and interesting for them, especially if you have young kids. I do this by asking them to look out for certain things I come up with on the spur of the moment. It’s a good idea to make it a game, or even a competition, so that they’re involved and interested in the day.
My kids’ opinions of the Alhambra
I’ve been twice to visit the Alhambra and both times I actually went without kids. The first time I went, the kids were 2 and 4 so we left them with their grandparents for the day. The second time, I went on my own because the big kid has just recently visited on a school trip and the younger kid has no desire to see it. The big one told me that it was extremely boring on the school trip and he really didn’t want to go again so they stayed with their dad and did an escape room experience while I had my own perfect escape and spent four glorious hours in the Alhambra all alone. Everyone had a great time. We decided as a family that this time the kids weren’t obliged to visit the palaces.
Getting to the Alhambra
Walk – it’s not a crazy idea to walk up to the Alhambra if you’re fit and healthy. I did it (obviously). The Alhambra does sit on a hill overlooking the city though so be aware it’s a walk UP, especially if you’re bringing ones with little legs.
Bus – there are buses that stop at the Puerta de la Justicia, which is one of the main entrances to the whole complex.
Granada Cathedral
Granada’s cathedral is another of those important cultural places you need to decide about whether to visit with the kids or not.
In my family sometimes we make our kids visit cathedrals because we want to see them, sometimes we decide we don’t need to force this on them.
💬 When we do visit churches we talk about religion, what it means to people, and how visiting churches in Europe as a teen turned me into a socialist.
☀️ Don’t forget that churches and cathedrals are a great option to escape the blistering heat if you should need to do so.
My kids’ opinions
“We don’t like churches. We don’t understand why you care about seeing them.” And to be fair to them, I used to say the same to my parents. So sometimes we go in, sometimes we don’t. If we do, it’s usually just for a few minutes.
Exploring the heart of the city
People visiting Granada tend to want to see the historic centre, and the Albaicín and Sacromonte neighbourhoods. The historic centre is flanked by these two neighbourhoods, which sit above on the hillside. If your kids are good walkers then it’s possible to do everything on foot as we did but if your kids don’t love to walk then there are some other good options for your family.
Note: Much of Granada’s city centre is made up of narrow cobbled streets, we did see a few kids in pushchairs but I can’t imagine it’s super fun for anyone.
👣 You can pick up a walking tour of Granada for the family if you find this a useful way to begin your city adventures, although the kids may be grateful for a 🚐 hop-on-hop-off mini-train or segway tour if they don’t love walking (my kids had a go on the tour segways and absolutely loved the experience).
🎨 Older kids will love this street art tour of Granada that focuses on the three oldest barrios, as well as cave houses and murals, or this escape room style walking tour
Alcaicería
🛍 This is the market area/souk in the heart of Granada. What you see today is not the original Muslim bazaar, which burned down in 1843, but a rebuilt street market built to give the feeling of shopping in an Arab souk (something it actually does quite well). Here you can pick up souvenirs such as ceramic pomegranates (‘granada’ is the Spanish word for pomegranate), Arabic style lamps, leather goods, clothing and more. My kids enjoyed browsing in the souvenir shops and were very aware that it felt like the souk we visited with them in Morocco when we went to Tangier for the day.
Miradores
A mirador is a viewpoint so if you’re looking for the best view of the Alhambra, there are a few options.
Mirador de San Nicolas – excellent views from here (photo above). We enjoyed the walk (you can take a bus if you prefer) up here and the atmosphere was delightful. People were milling around, there were guys playing the guitar too. There are a couple of cafes here with terraces overlooking the Alhambra and there’s a good water fountain where you can refill water bottles/splash water at each other.
Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte – see above for details of this delightful museum.
Mirador San Michel – I overheard a guide telling her clients that this was the best place to go for excellent views of the Alhambra complex. I didn’t visit myself. She said it’s quieter than the Mirador de San Nicolás, so that could be a useful thing to know.
Flamenco
💃🏻 Flamenco is absolutely integral to life in Andalucía so if you’re interested in seeing a flamenco show in Granada, it’s perfectly possible to take the kids as long as they can sit still and stay quiet for an hour. Some flamenco venues don’t allow very small children precisely because of this so check the fine print before you book anything if your kids are little-little.
→ Book to see a Palacio Flamenco performance – this is where we went and it was absolutely magnificent. 3/4 of us gave it 10/10. Check below to see who didn’t 😂.
→ Check other flamenco options in Granada
➕ If you don’t want to pay for a flamenco show, you’re sure to find people performing for free on the plazas. I saw someone on Plaza Nueva every time I walked across it.
→ To learn more about flamenco in general, read the MexicoCassie guide to flamenco in Sevilla as I give a detailed introduction to the art form there.
My kids’ opinions
Both my kids have to sit through flamenco demonstrations at school and these, they do not enjoy. My daughter absolutely adored the flamenco show in Granada, and said it was a brilliant experience and she’s loved every flamenco performance we’ve seen since. The 12 year old boy did as he was asked and sat quietly throughout the show even though he ‘hated most of it’ (he admitted the foot work was pretty spectacular).
Parks and play spaces
🛝 If your kids are small then you may wish to find playgrounds for them while you’re in Granada.
🥵 Do note that in southern Spain, playgrounds are generally busiest first thing in the morning and around dusk because it’s just too hot to play out in the sun during the heat of the day.
Federico Garcia Lorca Park, the largest park in Granada has a good play area. We went to check it out and for my kids, it didn’t entertained them for long but we all agreed that it’s a good playground for kids who are still into playing. There are also 2 cafes in the park, although neither was open when we visited in August.
Dehesa de Generalife – this is one of the largest green spaces around Granada. It’s possible to walk or drive into here to spend a day playing in the forest and on the walking trails.
➕ Other small plazas outside of the central zone have playgrounds. As we noted above, the Science Museum also has excellent play areas.
➕ Just like any other decent sized town in Spain, Granada has indoor play spaces, bowling alleys, cinemas, trampoline parks and Escape Rooms. If you’re in town for longer than a few days and need some serious down time, all of these are available to you. And in the final section of this article you’ll see I’ve included some excellent options for bigger kids needing downtime.
⛲️ Water fountains
Granada city centre has water fountains all over the place, many of them are potable water for filling up water bottles for free. The others are decorative but are still great for for cooling yourself down with a splash of water. Kids LOVE to splash each other from these and as long as they aren’t annoying other people, just let them.
Feeding the kids in Granada
Whatever your food needs are, you’ll find it in Granada. There are traditional tapas restaurants, excellent burger restaurants, foreign cuisine, pizza etc. It’s all there. And, of course, there’s amazing ice cream a plenty. Fast food is easy to come by and there are supermarkets if you’re planning on feeding kids at home or making picnics. My kids’ favourite meals in Granada were a smash burger and ramen.
→ Use my useful article about feeding kids in Spain to make your life easier.
Take a day trip from Granada
For young visitors to Granada, the highlight of the vacation might well be the adventurous day trips away from the city. Take a look at some of the most excellent day trips you can take.
Day trip transport options
🚗 Check out your car rental options
→ Read the MexicoCassie guide to driving around southern Spain
🚌 Take public transport – use the apps locals use to check timetables and buy tickets: Omio and RailEurope
👣 Take a tour – both Get Your Guide and Viator have good search options to let you find kid suitable tours (I like aggregate sites when I’m booking in advance as everything is in one place and if a tour is cancelled, they’re quick to help find you something else)
Aventura Entre Pinos
This is an incredible tree top adventure park that’s open to anyone over 6 years old. They boast the longest zipline in Andalucía as well as 16 other ziplines and 70 challenges over 5 tree top courses (at 10 and 12 my kids were allowed to do all except the last and most difficult course).
My kids absolutely love this type of activity and haven’t stopped raving about this particular park since we were there earlier this year. It’s advisable to book in advance (use the link above).
🚗 20 minute drive out from Granada in the Parque Natural Sierra de Huétor
👣 If this isn’t adrenaline-inducing enough for your kids, there’s always the vía ferrata option in the pueblo of Moclín (must be over 10 yrs old.)
Water park
To visit a water park from Granada you’ll need to drive a couple of hours as the closest are down at the coast – the closest, Aquavelis and Aquatropic are both open during the summer months.
🚗 1hr20 minutes to Aquavelis and 1 hr to Aquatropic
Guadix
Guadix is one of the most interesting small (tiny) towns I’ve ever explored in Spain. In Guadix you’ll find whole neighbourhoods of cave houses. There is a very informative small museum here and the surrounding Geopark is magnificent too. We stayed a few nights in a cave house and had a blast exploring the area.
We also took a drive somewhat off-piste to find views of the badlands, which the kids loved.
🚗 45 minutes
→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to Guadix
👣 Take a day trip to Guadix and the Geopark
Sierra Nevada mountains
Wherever you are in Granada city you’ll be able to see the Sierra Nevada so it stands to reason that if you have the opportunity, you should take it and head into the mountains for the whole day. If it’s winter, take the kids for a ski/snowboard lesson or snow walk.
We spent a few days in the mountains in February. We had snowboarding lessons and took a snow hike with a guide. We loved the snowboarding but the snow hike absolutely blew us away. The kids think it was one of the best things they’ve ever done.
When it isn’t snowing there is still plenty to do in the mountains. You can visit villages, hike and even check out the ski lodge resort area.
→ Book a day hike in the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains (for non snowy days)
Head to the beach
Another whole day activity is to head to the beach. Granada is just an hour’s drive from Almuñecár, a lovely beach town.
One excellent choice is to take a tour to Almuñecar & Nerja where you can check out the Balcon de Europa, play in the Mediterranean and then visit the Nerja caves on the way home.
→ Book a day trip to the beach from Granada
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