Sierra Nevada
The range behind the city holds mainland Spain's highest peaks, including Mulhacén. In winter it is a ski resort; in summer it is walking country, and the road up gives you the city from above.
⚠️ Conditions change fast and the top is genuinely high. This is not a casual afternoon unless you stay low.
The Alpujarra
The villages on the southern slope — Pampaneira, Bubión, Capileira — are stacked up a gorge with flat-roofed houses and chimneys unlike anything else in Spain. It is a long day by road and worth it.
Further out
Córdoba and Seville are both reachable by train for a day, and the coast at Almuñécar and Salobreña is under an hour and a half by road. ⚠️ Doing Córdoba as a day trip from here means a long day and one monument; it is better as a stop on the way somewhere.
Booking a day out
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The Alpujarra and the Sierra Nevada are the two trips that are much easier with something booked, and the ones where a car earns its keep.
