Granada

Granada is the colonial jewel of Nicaragua. One of the oldest cities created by the Spanish in the western hemisphere. While walking the streets of this town, I recall the beautiful streets of Barcelona with the classic buildings bathed in yellow ochre, cool blues, and warm reds. We spent 4 days there, and Granada was the perfect base for day-trips to Mombacho, Masaya, and Diriomo. Granada has great potential. It is situated along the shores of Lake Nicaragua (Lago Cocibolca) and the great Mombacho Volcano.

Granada’s center is the Catedral de Granada, a beautiful church facing Parque Central (Parque Colon) where you can find food vendors selling everything from soft drinks to complete meals served on banana leaves.

La Calzada is a street beside the church that has fine restaurants—Mexican, Italian, and Nicaraguan and lots more. This cobble-stoned street is undergoing renovations and improvements. The city appears to be extending the cobble-stones right down to the lake and the boardwalk (Malecon) which right now feels disconnected from the city center. One neat thing we did was walk along the boardwalk and watch kids play football. The boardwalk leads you to the Complejo Turistico where you’ll pass restaurants and bars. At the end of the road, you’ll find the docks for the tour of Las Isletas. If you want to do the tour by yourself, you can bargain with the tour operators right there.

While sitting at a park bench at Parque La Central, I watched three well-dressed boys taking pictures of themselves on their camera phones. I offered to take a picture for them. We got to talking and learned that they were members of a junior orchestra and that they were performing that night. We attended that concert; it was a fun and an unexpected surprise. All in all, we loved Granada. We would definitely go back. We loved the Park, the waterfront, the markets, and the friendly locals.

Published 8 March 08 · Previously: Mombacho Volcano & Canopy Tour

Granada

You Might Be Interested In