Staying in Malaga gives you the option to do several day trips depending on how much time you have. The ideal scenario is for your you to rent a car for maximum flexibility, but if you don't want to or do not have a driving licence, do not worry, ALSA has you covered.
A s rule, I don't drink and drive and so when I went with my parents in Malaga and decided for a day trip I suggested to book a ticket via ALSA which is a Spanish bus company connecting the whole country. The trip to Granada took about 2h one way. Leave early and you'll have enough time to enjoy the sites of Granada
From Granada Bus Terminal to the center
You can walk (but it's a bit long) or take a public bus to the center. You'll there in 15 min.
What to do and see in Granada
1. Granada Cathedral
"Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction was not begun until the sixteenth century, after acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492. While its earliest plans had Gothic designs, such as are evident in the Royal Chapel of Granada by Enrique Egas, most of the church's construction occurred when the Spanish Renaissance style was supplanting the Gothic in Spanish architecture. Foundations for the church were laid by the Enrique Egas starting from 1518 to 1523 atop the site of the city's main mosque; by 1529, Egas was replaced by Diego de Siloe who worked for nearly four decades on the structure from ground to cornice, planning the triforium and five naves instead of the usual three. Most unusually, he created a circular capilla mayor (principal chapel) rather than a semicircular apse, perhaps inspired by Italian ideas for circular 'perfect buildings' (e.g., in Alberti's works). Within its structure the cathedral combines other of the Vitruvian orders of architecture." (Source)
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3. Albaicin
"It retains the narrow winding streets of its Medieval Moorish past dating back to the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, along with the Alhambra." (Source)
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"The area that later became the Albayzin was first populated by the Iberians, the original inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula, with dispersed Roman settlements later appearing nearby. Nothing is known of its history before the arrival of the Muslim Arabs and Berbers, so it is assumed that the city was abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire until the founding of the Zirid kingdom in 1013, when its defensive walls were built." [...] The Albayzin, one of the oldest centers of Muslim culture in Granada, contains the Alhambra, the Realejo (which was the Jewish quarter), and the Arrabal de Bib-Arrambla, in the flat part of the city. Before the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula there were three small settlements in what is now the city of Granada and its surroundings: Iliberis (Elvira), later called "Albayzin" and "Alcazaba" Castilia, near the present town of Atarfe Garnata, on the hill opposite the Alcazaba, which was more a neighborhood of Iliberis." (Source)
"The traditional type of house is the carmen, consisting of a freestanding house surrounded by a high wall that separates it from the street and including a small orchard or garden. The channeling and distribution of drinking water through pipes laid from wells was characteristic of this district; about 28 of these have been found, of which most are preserved but not in use because the pipes were broken over time." (Source)
2. Sacramonte
"Is a traditional neighbourhood in the eastern area of the city of Granada in Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the six neighbourhoods that make up the urban district of Albayzin and borders the neighbourhoods of Albayzin, San Pedro, Realejo-San Matias, El Fargue and Haza Grande. It is located on the hillside and in the valley of Valparaiso, opposite the Alhambra - emblem of Granada. The neighbourhood occupies both banks of the Darro river, whose name seems to be derived from the phrase "d'auro" ("of gold") because of its famous gold-bearing sediments." (Source)
You get to see some of the best views over Alhambra ;)
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4. Arabic Baths: El Banuelo
"The Banuelo of Granada is one of the few such establishments that were saved from destruction by the Catholic Monarchs, as among the Christians they had a reputation comparable to that of brothels. These Arab baths have survived because of the building on top of it of a private home, commenced almost from the day of the Spanish occupation of the city. In 1918, The Banuelo was declared a National Monument and was restored by the architect Balbas." (Source)
5. Horno de Oro Arab House
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6. Corral del Carbon
"It is the only Nasrid alhondiga preserved in its entirety in the Iberian peninsula." (Source)
"In general, as described Leopoldo Torres Balbas (Chronicles of Archaeology of Muslim Spain, XIX. Tomo 2. PP 235), this building responds to an Oriental model, but the decor and the details are distinctly Grenadian. Its ancestry can be traced from the Greek agoras, through the later Roman horreum until Islamic times. The monumental cover comes from the eastern iwan, whose origins have been much discussed, and is used in Sassanian palaces. Transmission to the West would be through Egypt, where the entrance portico opened by a large arch, vaulted with mocarabes, with the building's lintelled entrance door below, and a twin window above, is much used." (Source)
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Note: the Price for 4+5+6+Dar al-Horra Palace is 5 Euro (2019)
7. Watch a steert - Flamenco performance
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8. Cute buildings around the city
Make sure to walk the streets as you get a lot of nice buildings and an awesome vibe
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9. Things to try, things to buy
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10. Alhambra or not Alhambra
Although I did not get to go, I would expect that the obvious answer is to Alhambra :). If you go in high season, make sure you book as soon as you know you are going. I checked thickets 1 month in advance and they were sold out.
The city is absolutely gorgeous so I can only recommend taking the time to visit it
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