Granada

Granada is the capital of the province of the same name, in Andalusia, set some 680 metres above sea level in the Vega de Granada, where the Darro joins the Genil, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the highest massif on the Iberian Peninsula. Capital of the Nasrid kingdom until 1492, it preserves in the Alhambra, the Generalife and the Albaicín an ensemble declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and its university is one of the favourite destinations for Erasmus students in Europe. With more than 230,000 inhabitants, its leading football club is Granada CF, founded in 1931, which in 2020 qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time. Granada was recognised by ACES Europe as European City of Sport 2019, a title whose flag it collected in December 2018 at the European Parliament and which, according to the city council, rewarded its support for grassroots sport and its ability to organise major events. The recognition places it within the Spanish representation of the ACES network.