What to do in Granada, Nicaragua: tips and sights

Founded in 1524, Granada is the oldest city on the mainland of Central America. A lively city with beautiful colonial buildings. The city is located on the Great Lake of Nicaragua, where the island Ometepe is located. The city is an open-air museum with the most beautiful colored buildings, churches and cathedrals. There is also plenty to do in the area around Granada, such as admiring lava in an active volcano. What can you do in Granada? Below you can read all our tips and the best sights.

What to do in Granada: book a tour

There are many tours you can book in Granada to visit sights in and around the city. You can choose to do a number of things separately or combine them in one day, depending on how much time you have. Once you have booked one tour, you will almost always receive a free city tour. We ended up doing 3 tours, one of which we wouldn't necessarily recommend, but there is a good alternative.

City tour

The city tour was a great way to get to know the city and its history. Of course you can also walk through the city yourself and see all the beautiful buildings, but the city becomes even more alive as soon as you hear the background. The city tour takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. You will walk past an old fort, many beautiful churches and cathedrals, old colonial buildings, the city park and one of the chocolate museums.

Rent a canoe

There are a large number of small islands in Lake Nicaragua near Granada. To explore this area you have 2 options: go with a boat and guide along all the islands or rent a canoe yourself en het meer verkennen. We raden je aan om dat laatste te doen. Wij deden namelijk de eilanden-tour met een boot en vonden het heel erg tegenvallen. Je vaart namelijk langs een flink aantal privé-eilanden, waar villa’s op staan. Daarnaast komt je langs Monkey Island: een eiland waar een local een aantal apen op heeft gezet. Deze apen kunnen nergens heen en zijn afhankelijk van het voedsel dat door lokale bewoners bij ze wordt gebracht.  Niet echt de natuur en wildlife die wij hadden verwacht te zien tijdens deze tour. Vervolgens hebben we ook nog verplicht zo’n 30 minuten op een eiland bij een verlaten restaurant gezeten, omdat dit onderdeel van de tour was. Wanneer je met een kano gaat, kun je zelf wat meer de route bepalen. Zo kun je genieten van de mooie natuur rond het meer en de prachtige zonsondergang.

TIP: Go around sunset. The sunset on the lake is magical!

Full day tour

Do you have little time or do you just want to see as much as possible in one day? Then choose a full day tour. During this tour you will visit several sights around Granada. In the morning you start in San Juan de Oriente. This town is known for its handmade pots and vases. You will also visit a pottery workshop and the entire process will be explained. You then continue to Mirador de Catarina, where you have a view of Lake Apoyo. The surroundings with the bright blue water provide a beautiful view.

After enjoying the view, go down to take a dip in the wonderfully cool water. At the Paradiso restaurant and hotel you pay a day pass of 7 euros to swim, chill and eat here. The food at the restaurant is a bit pricey, but tasty! After this it is time to continue towards Masaya. With a short stop at the Masaya market for some souvenirs, you drive up towards the crater Masaya volcano. Here you will have some time to explore the area before dusk and you can admire the lava in the crater.

PRICE: The full day tour costs €35 per person. Excluding the €7 for a day pass at Paradiso.

TIP: Don't feel like or have time for a full day tour? Visit the Masaya volcano then separately, you really don't want to miss it!

Visit the local market: Mercado Municipal

The local market is located in the middle of the city in an old colonial building. At least, the market has now become so extensive that the entire streets around it are also full of stalls. Everything is sold at this market, from household items to clothing to food and drinks. Nice to take a look at where the locals from Granada do their shopping.

Watch the sunset from the Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes

At sunset, visit the Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes, an old cathedral in the middle of the city. For a small fee you can take the stairs up into the tower. From the bell tower you have a beautiful view of the city of Granada. We recommend going at sunset to get the best views with the warm glow of the sun.

Visit a Chocolate museum

You will find several Chocolate museums throughout Granada. You can learn more about the past and process of chocolate making here. If you feel like it, you can also make your own chocolate. Otherwise you can just buy chocolate there or eat and drink anything with chocolate in the restaurant. For the real chocolate lover!

Restaurants in Granada

Some good restaurants in Granada:

• Pita Pita
• Baco Baco
• The Garden Cafe

In the lively Calle La Calzada you will find a lot of restaurants and bars. 

Stay in Granada

In Granada you will find many different types of accommodations. Many of these hotels are located in beautiful colonial buildings with a swimming pool in the courtyard, such as Boutique Hotel Secret Garden Granada. We stayed at a nice apartment with kitchen, so we could make breakfast ourselves.