Experience the best of Granada

Granada was founded in 1524 beside Lake Nicaragua, and is one of the oldest colonial cities on the American mainland. Its streets of pastel single-storey houses with wooden doors and inner courtyards lead to Parque Central, where horse-drawn carriages wait beside the yellow cathedral. The bell tower of La Merced church gives a view over the tiled roofs to the lake and Mombacho volcano.

Calle La Calzada, a pedestrian street of restaurants and bars, runs from the square towards the lake. The San Francisco convent and museum displays stone statues from the islands of Lake Nicaragua. Just offshore, Las Isletas are hundreds of small islands formed by an ancient eruption of Mombacho, and the cloud forest on the volcano can be explored on trails. Laguna de Apoyo, a crater lake with warm clear water, and the market at Masaya lie nearby.

Vigorón, boiled cassava topped with pork crackling and cabbage salad on a banana leaf, is the street-food classic here, along with gallo pinto, the rice-and-beans breakfast, and tiste, a cold drink of maize and cacao. Fritanga stalls grill meat in the evening. From November to April days are hot, sunny and dry, and afternoon downpours mark the green months.