The magnificent Andalusian city of Granada is in itself already worth a visit, but for football, you should also definitely go there. Granada is a great, traditional club with a nice stadium. Perfect to combine with the famous Alhambra.
When you sit in one of the upper rows of Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, you can spot the snowy mountains of the Sierra Nevada on the horizon. That alone is enough reason you should go to Granada CF, but there's more. This relatively new stadium (1995) is very charming, dressed in club colours, and has a typical Spanish design. The floodlights are very recognizable. The stadium, the successor of the old Los Cármenes, is located in the southern borough of Zaídin. The surroundings of the stadium are filled with pictures of the club and across the street, there are several football minded bars.
A little west of Los Cármenes, near the main entrance, there are lots of bars to spend some hours before a match, including Fútbar, a good sports bar. The local restaurant's Casa Cristobál and Castillo Viejo are also recommended. But the food in Granada is good almost everywhere. Do you want to eat a little bit fancier? At the Palacio de Deportes next to the stadium you'll find the excellent Japanese restaurant Burbu. But you can also always go to the city centre of Granada, where you'll find countless restaurants in all price ranges. (Want to spot football players and other celebrities? Try the great Las Tinajas.)
In the centre of Granada, close to the beautiful Plaza Mariana Pineda, you have 'Café Futbol'. You might expect a dark pub with lots of scarves, but it's a luxury coffee and ice cream shop in a monumental building. Football isn't something you'll find here, but the chocolate and churros are outstanding.
The beautiful Plaza de Toros of Granada, the stadium for the infamous Spanish bullfights, is also a little bit of a football area. Close to the historical arena, a little north, once was the old Estadio Los Cármenes. Nowadays, there's sadly only a parking garage: Parking Los Cármenes. Granada CF played here until 1995, a beloved stadium but a little run-down in the last years, and the club had to sell its very expensive ground to avoid bankruptcy. Of all people, Diego Maradona played a match in the jersey of Granada here, in a special testimonial with his two brothers, against the Swedish side Malmö FF in 1987.
On the south side of the Parque Carlos Cano, a little east of Estadio Los Cármenes, is a beautiful football monument. It's a stylish statue of two footballers in an aerial duel, as an honour to the sport and the club Granada CF.
It's primarily an athletics stadium, but there's also football being played on a regular basis: The Estadio Deportivo de la Juventud is nice to stop by for a minute while you're in Granada. The stadium is not particularly special, but the location is beautiful. It's central in the city, right behind the train station and you can see the Sierra Nevada from the stadium too.
Tickets for Granada can easily be bought on the club's official website but it can take a while until the matches appear in the ticket shop. Usually, matches aren't sold out, so you can always shoot your shot on match days too.
The stadium is in the south of Granada, good to reach via the A-395. From the city, it's best to take the tram: Line 1 stops right in front of the stadium at stop Nuevo Los Cármenes.
Images: Shutterstock, BSR Agency
