Granada was our final stop in Nicaragua, and it was a fantastically relaxing place to spend a few days chilling out. In my mind it sits somewhere between the other two famous colonial cities Central America – nowhere near as touristy and gringofied as Antigua in Guatemala, but a little bit more polished and developed than nearby Leon. It’s as beautiful as both, and contains a similar mix of beautiful churches, colourful colonial houses, the odd crumbling ruin, and a pretty, leafy central square. Like both, it’s also overlooked by the huge silhouette of a nearby volcano – the huge Volcan Mombacho. In terms of things like museums, Granada isn’t as good as Leon – but it doesn’t matter as it’s a great, and pretty safe, place to just wander round soaking up the atmosphere.
The stunning cathedral
Volcan Mombacho
Guadelupe Church
Horse-drawn wooden hearse
Antiguo Hospital - the crumbling old hospital, great for exploring!
The old municipal market
My favourite photo from Nicaragua
One of the colourful colonial houses in Granada
Oh, and if you’re backpacking around Granada on a budget you could do a lot worse than stay in the lovely Hostel Oasis, in a lovely colonial house in a great, central location near the market, with good rooms and a lovely little pool which is perfect for cooling off in after a hot day of sightseeing.
You can see all my photos from Granada here, and you can read all my other posts about Nicaragua here
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And the blog is complete. Thanks Geoff – feels like I’ve relived the whole brilliant holiday :-)
Whats that covering the horses that are in front of the hearse?
Great photos! Didn’t know about the Hospital. I actually liked the run-down city of Leon a bit better though.
oh me too, Leon was definitely my favourite of the ‘big 3′ colonial cities of Central America (Leon, Granada, Antigua)
Looks great! Keen to give the place a visit!