Granada: colonial streets on Lake Nicaragua

Why go to Granada

Granada is where most first trips to Nicaragua begin, and it is easy to see why. The centre is compact and walkable, the guesthouses and restaurants are good, and the day trips around it are some of the best in the country. It also has a long, dramatic history: the city was raided by pirates in the seventeenth century and burned in 1856 by the American adventurer William Walker, who had made himself president. Much of what you see was rebuilt after that fire.

The centre, explained

• **Parque Central** is the heart of town, with the yellow and white Cathedral of Granada, horse carriages, shoe shiners and stalls selling vigorón.
• **Calle La Calzada** runs from the cathedral down to the lake. It is pedestrian, lined with restaurants and bars, and lively every evening.
• **Iglesia La Merced** has a bell tower you can climb for the classic view over the red roofs to the cathedral and Mombacho volcano.
• **Convento San Francisco** is one of the oldest churches in the Americas and now a museum with pre-Columbian statues from Zapatera island.
• **The lakefront** has a long malecón and the Complejo Turístico, with eateries busy at weekends.

What to do

Take a boat through **Las Isletas**, a scatter of more than three hundred small volcanic islands just south of town, with herons, fishing families and the old Spanish fort of San Pablo. Hike the cloud forest trails of **Mombacho volcano**, a protected reserve with howler monkeys, orchids and fumaroles. Visit the **Mercado Municipal** for fruit, cheese and the bustle of everyday Granada, and join a chocolate workshop or a cooking class to try local dishes.

In the evening, walk La Calzada, sit on the cathedral steps as the light goes, and eat at a fritanga, a street grill serving meat, gallo pinto and fried plantain.

Day trips

• **Masaya volcano** is one of the few places in the world where you can drive to the rim of an active crater and, when conditions allow, see a glowing lava lake. Night visits are the most dramatic. Access depends on volcanic activity.
• **Laguna de Apoyo** is a clear, warm crater lake for swimming and kayaking, with simple lakeside stays.
• **The Masaya market** and the **Pueblos Blancos**, villages like Catarina, San Juan de Oriente and Diriá, are known for pottery, wicker and the Catarina lookout over the lagoon.

Where to stay

Stay within a few blocks of Parque Central, so you can walk to restaurants and the lake. Granada has everything from backpacker hostels to restored colonial hotels with pools in the courtyard, which matter because the afternoons are hot. Laguna de Apoyo is a calm alternative for a night or two.

Practical tips

Granada is generally relaxed, but petty theft happens, especially at night on quiet streets and at the far end of the lakefront. Take a taxi after dark if you are going beyond the centre. Book volcano and island tours through your hotel or an established operator. Carry water and sun protection: Granada is hot all year, and the lake breeze is the only relief.