Granada with kids in one day is perfectly doable if you accept one thing early: the Alhambra will take the whole morning, and everything else has to fit round it. The route below starts on the hill at opening time, comes down through the old town for a late Spanish lunch, leaves room for a rest, and ends at the Mirador de San Nicolás for sunset, which is the view of the Alhambra every postcard uses.
It works for children from about four upwards. With a toddler it still works, but swap the pushchair for a carrier in the Albaicín and keep the afternoon short.
Before you go, book the Alhambra
This is the one thing you can't leave to the day. Tickets for the Alhambra sell out weeks ahead in spring and autumn, and the Nasrid Palaces (Palacios Nazaríes) have a fixed entry slot printed on your ticket. Miss it and you won't get in.
Children under 12 go free, but they still need their own ticket, booked at the same time as yours through the official Alhambra website. Bring your passports, as staff check names against the tickets. Prices and conditions change, so check the official site rather than a reseller.
Pick a Palaces slot around 10am. Early enough to beat the heat in warmer months and the worst of the crowds, late enough that nobody has to be dragged out of bed at six.
8.30am, breakfast near Plaza Nueva
Start in Plaza Nueva, the square at the foot of the Alhambra hill. Have breakfast on a terrace here: toast with tomato and olive oil (tostada con tomate) for you, and probably plain toast or a pastry for the children. Spanish cafés are relaxed about children, and most will warm a bottle if you ask.
The small red Alhambra minibuses climb the hill: line C32 stops in Plaza Nueva and line C30 in nearby Plaza Isabel la Católica. You can walk up the Cuesta de Gomérez instead, which takes about 20 to 25 minutes uphill through woodland, but save little legs for later.
9.15am to 1pm, the Alhambra
The site is big. Think of it as four parts, and don't try to see all of them in detail with children.
The Nasrid Palaces
The palaces are the reason you're here: carved ceilings, tiled walls and the Court of the Lions with its twelve stone lions round a fountain. Children love counting the lions and spotting the water running through channels in the floor. Inside, it's crowded and you move in a slow line, so carry a toddler rather than bring the pushchair in. Allow about an hour.
The Alcazaba
The old fortress at the western end. This is the part that tends to win over children aged five to ten, because it looks like a proper castle. Climb the Torre de la Vela, the watchtower, for a view over the whole city and the Sierra Nevada behind. The steps are steep and uneven, so hold hands.
The Generalife
The summer gardens, a ten-minute walk away. Long pools, fountains, hedges and plenty of room to run where there's shade. This is where you let everyone off the leash for half an hour.
The Palace of Charles V
The big round courtyard in the middle of the complex is free to enter and a good place to sit down.
There is a café inside, but it's busy and pricey. Pack water and snacks, and refill bottles at the fountains marked as drinking water.
1.15pm, down the Carrera del Darro
Take the minibus back down, or walk via the Cuesta de los Chinos to the river. At the bottom you reach the Paseo de los Tristes, a riverside promenade right below the Alhambra walls, and from there the Carrera del Darro runs back towards Plaza Nueva. It's one of the prettiest streets in Spain: little stone bridges over the River Darro, old churches, and the Alhambra above you the whole way. The pavement is narrow and cobbled, and cars and minibuses do come through, so keep small children on the inside.
2pm, lunch with free tapas
Granada is one of the last cities in Spain where most bars still give you a free tapa with every drink. Order a drink each (soft drinks count) and a small plate arrives: perhaps fried potatoes, a slice of tortilla, some ham. With children, this is the easiest lunch you'll have in Spain. Order a second round and a different tapa usually comes.
Lunch in Spain runs from around 2pm to 4pm. If your children eat at noon, aim for a bar with an all-day kitchen or have a bigger breakfast. Calle Navas, near the town hall, and the streets round Plaza Nueva are full of tapas bars where families eat.
3.30pm, a proper rest
Go back to your hotel or flat for an hour or two. Spanish families do exactly this, and the city empties between 3pm and 5pm, especially when it's warm. If you're staying out of town, the gardens of the cathedral area and the shade of the Plaza de Bib-Rambla are the next best thing.
5.30pm, the cathedral, Bib-Rambla and churros
When everyone has recharged, head to the city centre. The Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) holds the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs who sent Columbus to the Americas. That's a story that lands with children of about eight or older. Next door, the cathedral is huge and bright inside.
Right behind them is the Plaza de Bib-Rambla, a square with a fountain, flower stalls and cafés serving churros with thick hot chocolate. For a quieter snack, the Alcaicería, the old silk market, is a tangle of narrow lanes full of stalls selling lanterns and painted plates.
7pm, up to the Albaicín
The Albaicín is the old Moorish quarter on the hill opposite the Alhambra. Walk up via Calle Calderería Nueva, a steep lane lined with tea shops (teterías) and stalls that smell of spices, or take minibus C31 or C32 from Plaza Nueva if legs are tired. The streets are steep, cobbled and sometimes stepped. A pushchair here is hard work, so use a carrier for under-threes.
Head for the Mirador de San Nicolás, the square in front of the church of San Nicolás. At sunset the Alhambra turns orange across the valley, with the Sierra Nevada behind it. There are usually buskers and a lively crowd. On the way down, Plaza Larga is the Albaicín's local square, where neighbourhood children play in the evening.
If it rains or the children need a change
The Parque de las Ciencias, Granada's science museum, is a short bus or taxi ride south of the centre. It has hands-on exhibits, a planetarium and a butterfly house, and could easily fill a morning instead of the afternoon centre walk. Granada also gets surprisingly cold in winter, as it sits at about 700 metres, so pack layers from November to March.
Make it two days if you can
One day gives you the highlights. A second lets you slow down, add the science museum, or spend more time on the Alhambra with older children. Our guide to visiting the Alhambra with kids goes into the tickets and the best spots for children in detail, and in winter a first family snow trip to Sierra Nevada is only about an hour away by car.
Children often remember a trip for the friends they made rather than the monuments. With Woltica's travelling families circle, you can contact a local family in Granada with children of a similar age and arrange to meet somewhere public, such as Plaza Larga or a park. There are some more ideas in how to meet local families when travelling in Spain with kids, and you can find out more at Woltica.