Granada in 2 days

From Plaza Nueva up the Cuesta de Gomérez and through the Alhambra woods. The path comes out at the Gate of Justice, the entrance for people who already hold a ticket; the ticket office is at the opposite end of the complex, by the Access Pavilion.

The Alcazaba, the fortress on the western tip of the hill. It comes first because it sits at the same end as the palace entrance, so you are not crossing the whole complex before your slot; from the Torre de la Vela you look across the valley to the Albaicín, where day two is spent.

Outside the entrance to the Nasrid palaces. The visit runs one way — the Mexuar, the Comares courtyard with its long pool, then the Court of the Lions — and exits into the Partal gardens, with no going back.

The Palace of Charles V, a Renaissance cube with a circular courtyard, begun in 1527, thirty-five years after the city surrendered, wall to wall with the Moorish palaces.

The Generalife, at the eastern end by the Access Pavilion. It is left for last because the exit is right beside it; the reverse order means crossing the whole hill twice.

Down on the C30 or C32 bus from the stop by the pavilion, then a break until evening.

Tapas on Calle Navas, behind the town hall on Plaza del Carmen: the bars are door to door, so after one drink you move on to the next.

The Royal Chapel, entered from Calle Oficios, then the cathedral. The buildings stand side by side, but you go in from opposite sides of the block.

The Alcaicería, the lanes of the old silk market just behind the chapel, then across Calle Reyes Católicos to the Corral del Carbón, the only Nasrid alhóndiga left fully intact — a fourteenth-century merchants' warehouse and inn. Entry is on the joint Andalusí monuments ticket, €8.48, free on Sundays.

Lunch and a break: the rest of the day is uphill.

The Albaicín from Plaza Nueva along the river: the Carrera del Darro to the Paseo de los Tristes, under the Alhambra walls, and only then up through the lanes. This way the flat comes first and the climb at the end.

The San Nicolás viewpoint, an hour before sunset: in April and September that is about 19:30, in June not until about 20:30, in December as early as 17:00. The whole of day two shifts with that hour.

Sacromonte, the cave houses above the Albaicín, where the zambra is performed — the flamenco of Granada's Roma. Or back down the Carrera del Darro to the centre.