Route of the River Darro

In Nasrid times, this bank of the Darro was a commercial and residential area known as the Barrio de Ajsaris. After the conquest of 1492, the Catholic Monarchs granted the neighbouring land to the lords of Castril, and the street gradually took on the look it still has today, lined with Renaissance and Baroque stately homes.

Of the more than 14 bridges the Darro once had, three survive: the Puente de las Chirimías, the Puente de Cabrera and the Puente de Espinosa (the latter two from the early 17th century), along with the Puente del Aljibillo, of Arab origin. Of the old Puerta de los Tableros, which once closed off the river with gates in Zirid times, only remains of the arch survive.

Along the way you'll pass El Bañuelo (11th-century Arab baths, the best preserved in Spain), the Maristán (a 14th-century Islamic hospital founded by Sultan Muhammad V), and the Casa de Castril, a 16th-century building now home to Granada's Archaeological Museum.

The final stretch of the Carrera del Darro is popularly known as the Paseo de los Tristes ('Promenade of the Sorrowful') because, well into the 20th century, it was the usual route taken by funeral processions on their way to the city cemetery: forced to climb the Cuesta de los Chinos so as not to disturb visitors to the Alhambra, the journey became longer, and the street came to be known as "the road of the dead", later softened over time into "Paseo de los Tristes".

The route starts at Plaza Nueva, next to the Church of Santa Ana, and follows the river on foot up to the Puente del Aljibillo, where the Cuesta del Chapiz (towards the Albaicín and Sacromonte) meets the Cuesta de los Chinos (towards the Alhambra). It's a mostly flat route, with a few riverside terraces along the way offering views up towards the Alhambra, on the left.