El Centro lies west of Plaza Nueva and Gran Via and is Granada´s "new" commercial city centre.
The city's moorish past is perhaps not as obvious as in other parts of the city, but traces remain. The old Madrasa - or Islamic University - opposite the Capilla Real, still retains its name and splendid prayer hall, but little else. Today it belongs to the University of Granada. What was the main city mosque was demolished to become Isabella's Cathedral, though she didn't live to see the first stone laid. Though initially conceived as gothic, the second architect to work on the cathedral persuaded Charles V to change the style to renaissance. The Capilla Real, or Royal Chapel, holds the bodies of Ferdinand and Isabella, and other members of the royal family, as well as a Treasury including important pieces of Flemish and Italian art.
Though it is the Islamic architecture that makes Granada so famous, it is worth exploring monuments built after the reconquest. The Monastery of San Jerónimo is a renaissance building with an arcaded cloister and lovely church. Nearby is the baroque Basilica of San Juan de Diós.
El Centro has been the commercial centre of the city since moorish times - near the Cathedral is the Alcaicería, the old Souk, and nearby is Calle de Zacatín - where textiles were traded and artisans plied their trade. Today on the same street we still find clothing and shoe shops. You'll find locals doing their grocery shopping at the wonderful San Agustín covered market and in the street markets towards Plaza Bib-Rambla, a lovely café-lined square.
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