Your expert guide to visiting Granada with kids
Granda is a great place to take the kids. Whether you’re considering a short city break, only have a couple of days or are on a road trip or a week’s vacation, there’s plenty to do in Granada and the surrounding area to entertain the whole family.
Let’s take a look now at how to make the most of your family trip to Granada. From culture and UNESCO World Heritage Sites to ice cream and playgrounds, it’s all here.
There are affiliate links in this article. If you click and make a purchase I could make a small sum at zero cost to you. Thank you!
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.
⭐️ Top Granada hotel pick
🏨 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 here.
→ Book now
⭐️ Top Granada apartment pick
🏡 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. There is a pool on site, offering relief after a day of sightseeing in the heat.
→ Book now
💰 Most affordable Granada hotel pick
🏨 Don Juan – we stayed in the Don Juan. It’s located just under 1km from the city centre (took us about 15 minutes to walk to the cathedral). Rooms are big and clean. Beds are comfortable and it included an ok buffet breakfast. We stayed here because it is an 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.
→ Book now
🗺 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
Museums
There are many museums in Granada but 3 stand out as particularly awesome for kids
🧬 Parque de las Ciencias
This is reputed to be one of the best museums for kids in Spain (along with the science museum in Valencia and various others) and I’m absolutely sure that it was the highlight of our family trip to Granada. My kids 100% agree. And do note that almost everything was available 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.
👉🏽 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 discussed whether it’s necessary to have animals in captivity as we walked around exclaiming 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.
👉🏽 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 earlier this year 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 are already asking to return. They said it’s almost as good as Papalote, the kids’ science museum in Mexico City, which is high praise, indeed.
We spend 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 is a small exhibition about the Spanish Inquisition and torture. 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 little kids because it’s both extremely shocking and academically very well done.
🪨 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.
Culture
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:
⭐️ 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 behave
🍔 ensure lunch that day is something they’ll love
🛝 promise that the next day’s activity will be something super kid friendly
We tend to do a mix of all four.
Whether you take the kids to cultural places or not entirely depends on you. The kids don’t have to enjoy every single thing you do on a vacation. We regularly take our kids to see important monuments or museums because we want to see them. And sometimes we decide not to, which is fine too.
The Alhambra with kids
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 generally. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s one of the best things to do in Granada with kids. 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, how should you do it?
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. 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.
There are multiple sites where you can book tickets, which can make it hard to know what’s official and what’s not. The official site is here. It’s also possible to buy entry tickets via Tiqets, which is a reputable site.
🛂 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.
→ If you’re interested in finding a guided tour I recommend checking Tiqets or Get Your Guide
👦🏽 👧🏽 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 is that I don’t do tours if I’m with my kids. They’ll be bored, then they’ll be annoying and then I’ll spend all my time being stressed or annoyed and worrying they’re making the tour less fun for the other guests and the tour guide. And then I won’t hear anything the guide has to say.
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 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, stand in a corner and quietly tell them off 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 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. 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. Again, 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, how visiting churches in Europe as a teen turned me into a socialist, and more.
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 the other 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 free walking tour of Granada for the family
🚐 Take the hop-on-hop-off mini-train (with audio commentary in multiple languages)
⭐️ Book a segway tour of the city if your kids are big enough to manage (I spoke to a guide leading tours and he said my kids at 10 & 12 would be fine. He even let them have a go on the segway, which they loved).
Alcaicería
🛍 This is the market area 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. The kids did enjoy 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. 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 integral to life in Andalucía so if your kids are interested in seeing a flamenco show in Granada, it’s perfectly possible to take them as long as they can sit still and stay quiet for an hour. Some flamenco venues don’t allow small children precisely because of this.
→ 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.
My kids’ opinions
Both my kids have had to sit through flamenco demonstrations at school and these, they have not enjoyed. My daughter absolutely adored the flamenco show in Granada, and said it was a brilliant experience. She’s not sure she needs to see more performances super soon (unlike her mother) but she’s really glad she had the chance to experience a proper show. 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 play area. We went to check it out and for my kids of 10 and 12, it entertained them for about 15 minutes. It’s definitely a playground for smaller kids. 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 an excellent play area.
➕ 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. 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 restaurants, 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.
→ Use my useful article about feeding kids in Spain to make your life easier.
Take a day trip
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
🚌 Take public transport – use the apps locals use to check timetables and buy tickets: Omio and Trainline
👣 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
👣 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
If you’re travelling around Spain with your kids, or just interested in other locations, let’s take a look at few other destinations MexicoCassie recommends for families
0 Comments