Albayzin and Sacromonte Electric Bike Tour in Granada

It is the street that gives access to the Alhambra and the meeting point from where we start and end the tour

Paseo de los Tristes offers stunning views of the Alhambra and begins at the point where it crosses the Bridge of the Chirimias; the Chirimias are a kind of flute that was once played from a balcony or veranda built there for such use.

The Sacromonte district is located on the Valparaiso hill of Granada and borders the north-east side of the Arab El Albaícin district. In the 15th century, a large group of Roma, or the Spanish gypsies (the Gitanos) situated themselves here. They created houses by making cave homes in the hills; the Sacromonte district owes its fame to these houses. In the 15th century, the Valparaiso hill received the status of holy mountain, because people believed the caves in the hill contained the remnants of the city's patron saint, San Cecilio. The literal meaning of Sacromonte is therefore holy mountain.

The Albaycin is the old Arab Quarter. It comprises approximately the area between the hill of the Alhambra, the hill of San Cristobal, the Sacromonte and Elvira.

The Albaycin is like a different world within Granada. This is due to the strong Muslim influence in this area. It was the place where the first Siri court was built in the eleventh century.

The city descended from Saint Nicholas to the banks of the River Darro. The Albaycin featured luxurious carmenes and public baths, like the Banuelo

At the height of splendour the Albaycin enjoyed in the last years of Nazarid dominance, the quarter comprised a population of more than forty thousand inhabitants and thirty mosques.

The streets were very narrow and small with clean houses, plus numerous wells, some of which are still in the Albaycin.

With the reconquest, the Albaycin was left for Muslims as their own place of residence.