Granada was founded in 1524 and is believed to be the oldest city established on mainland Nicaragua during the Spanish conquests. During colonial times the city was attacked by pirates several times.
For a long time, Granada was in a fight with León to be the capital of Nicaragua and both cities actually have been capital city for some time, until the fight between both rivals ended when Managua was chosen to be the capital. Granada nowadays is characterised by brightcoloured Spanish‐colonial architecture, visible all over the city centre. The authenticity of the city centre is protected by regulatory building requirements.
The ambiance is very pleasant and there is a wide range of nice restaurants and bars, especially along the boulevard from the central park to the shores of the Lake of Nicaragua. The city, also referred to as the ´Colonial Jewel´, is the main tourist destination in Nicaragua and can be reached easily from Costa Rica as well. Also, Granada is a good starting point to visit the Isla de Ometepe, situated in the lake of Nicaragua and consisting of two volcanoes that, through their past eruptions, have created a big island.
Nowadays, one of the volcanoes is dormant and the other is still active, creating an interesing variety of biospheres on a very short distance from each other. In and around Granada there are numerous possibilities for interesting touring.
