Granada Spain 2 Day Itinerary (Day Trips)
Two days is not enough time to see Granada properly, so this itinerary does not try. Instead it treats Granada as a base and spends both days out of the city: Córdoba’s Mezquita on day one, the Sierra Nevada on day two. If the Alhambra is still on your list, add nights and see our longer Granada Spain itineraries instead.
Book these before you go: a Renfe AVE seat for Córdoba (fares climb fast the week of travel), the Mezquita entry ticket so you skip the door queue, and your Granada hotel , since central rooms sell out in summer even for guests who are barely in them.
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from Granada |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Córdoba (the Mezquita) | ~1h20-2h by AVE/Avant train |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada | ~45 min by car or bus |
Day 1: Córdoba and the Mezquita
Take an early AVE or Avant train out of Granada; the fastest direct services do the run in about 1h20, though some media distancia trains take closer to 2 hours, so check the schedule on renfe.com before booking. The Mezquita, a working Renaissance cathedral built inside a former Great Mosque’s forest of horseshoe-arch columns, is the reason for the trip. Standard adult entry is about EUR 13, and a limited free window runs Monday to Saturday roughly 8:30 to 9:30am, though it excludes the cathedral nave and choir, so do not count on it replacing the paid ticket.
Give the Mezquita at least 90 minutes, then walk the Judería, Córdoba’s old Jewish quarter, before your return train. Check current opening times on the official Córdoba tourism site , since hours shift around religious holidays. Back in Granada by evening, eat in the Realejo district, where a drink still comes with a free tapa, one of the last places in Spain where that is standard rather than a gimmick.
Day 2: Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada resort sits about 45 minutes and 31km from central Granada, by car or an ALSA bus from the Estación de Autobuses, making it the closest genuinely different landscape to the city. Ski season runs roughly late November through April depending on snow, with a day pass priced from around EUR 47 up to EUR 66 on peak dates. Buy online through sierranevada.es rather than at the resort for the better rate.
Outside ski season, the same lifts carry hikers up toward the Borreguiles plateau, with trails continuing toward Mulhacén, the highest peak on the Iberian mainland. Either way, check the weather that morning rather than the night before, since conditions above 2,000m shift quickly. Come back down for a last Granada dinner and a walk through the Albaicín if you have the legs left for the hill.
Check in and out of your Granada base on the same schedule you would for a city-only trip; the difference here is where you spend the middle of each day, not where you sleep.