Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GRANADA IN…
One Day
Hit the
Garden Café
for a light breakfast, then duck around the corner to see what's on at the
Fundación Casa de los Tres Mundos
. Once you've finished checking out the art, make your
way back out to the Parque Central (central park) and jump into a waiting horse-drawn carriage
for a two- to three-hour tour of the town's main churches and sights (or follow the walking tour
route). From here it's down to the lake and out on a boat tour of
Las Isletas
. Grab a cab back in-
to town and recharge the batteries with a coffee overlooking the plaza, and then get ready for din-
ner in the city center. From there, head down Granada's bustling bar strip, Calle La Calzada, for
drinks and people-watching. Still going? Hit
El Club
for international dance tunes and a mixed
crowd of locals and foreigners. If you're still up for it, make your way to
Inuit Bar
, everybody's
favorite 24-hour lakeside bar, to watch the sunrise.
Three Days
On the first day, follow the one-day plan. On the second day, grab a healthy breakfast at
Euro
Café
, then head out to
Doña Elba Cigars
, where a worker will happily take you through the en-
tire cigar-making process. Head over to the
Mercado Municipal
to grab the ingredients for a pic-
nic at
Fortaleza La Polvora
, or hire a bike and ride for an hour or two out along the Peninsula
de Asese, its wild, largely untouched forest teeming with animal and bird life. Cabbing it back to
town, take a turn around the shady Parque Central, stopping at the small snack stands. For dinner,
take your pick from the excellent restaurants that line Calle La Calzada - you've got Mediter-
ranean, Mexican, Spanish, Italian and probably the best steakhouse in the country to choose
from.
Day three, it's time to get out of town. Book a tour (or DIY) out to
Volcán Mombacho
, where
short hiking trails and a zipline canopy tour await, go further afield to the artisan villages around
Masaya
known as the
Pueblos Blancos
or have a day of swimming and lazing at nearby
Laguna
de Apoyo
. Back in town, get some relief for those aching bones with an excellent massage at
Pure
.
Undaunted, Granada rebuilt and grew richer and more powerful, a conservative corner-
stone of the Central American economy. After independence from Spain, the city chal-
lenged the colonial capital and longtime Liberal bastion León for leadership of the new
nation.
Tensions erupted into full-blown civil war in the 1850s, when desperate León contrac-
ted the services of American mercenary William Walker and his band of 'filibusterers.'
Walker defeated Granada, declared himself president and launched a conquest of Central
America - and failed. Walker was forced into a retreat after a series of embarrassing de-
