Granada · Spain
Calle Calderería Nueva
A practical guide to Calle Calderería Nueva, Granada's tea street: what to drink, what shopping to avoid, what time to go for the shade and how to fit it in between Plaza Nueva and the Albaicín.
It's a street for tourists and also the coolest street in Granada. It's worth one tea house and a 25-minute stroll; skip the shopping.
Calle Calderería Nueva is a cobblestone alley about 100 meters long that climbs from Calle Elvira toward the lower Albaicín. Everyone calls it the tea street: both sides are lined with Moroccan-style tea houses, Arab pastry shops and stores selling lamps, slippers, leather and ceramics. It’s inside the Albaicín, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
Our experience
We walked up at 16:35 on Wednesday, May 20, after almost an hour of rest at the hotel. It was the break between the morning’s drive and the afternoon’s monuments: Moorish mint tea and Arab pastries in a tea house, in the shade. From there we went down to the Carrera del Darro to visit El Bañuelo, which reopened at 17:00. The whole day is in our day from Ronda to Granada.
A bit of history
The name comes from the guild of caldereros, the artisans who worked copper and brass into pots, ladles, lanterns and mortars. The guild’s 16th-century ordinances are preserved in the archive of Granada’s Royal Chancery. “Nueva” (new) sets it apart from Calderería Vieja, the parallel street. With the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 the workshops closed, and the street went almost four centuries with no identity of its own.
Today’s street was born in the 1990s, when families from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria opened tea houses, pastry shops and bazaars. Dar Ziryab was one of the first. It’s a deliberate recreation of the Andalusi past: the tea houses do it seriously, with real tea, decor and hospitality, while many shops sell generic goods as if they were handicrafts. Once you know that, the street works.
What to see, in order
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The entrance from Calle Elvira
The narrow alley with brass lanterns hanging overhead. It's the best way in: looking up.
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A tea house
Cool, dim rooms, mosaics, low cushions and menus of 30 to 80 teas. Green tea with fresh mint poured from a height and homemade pastries like baklava.
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Tetería Dar Ziryab
At number 11. One of the first, from the 1990s; it also works as a small cultural center with workshops and concerts.
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Pastelería Andalusí Nujaila
Handmade Arab sweets, like baklava and walnut-chocolate cake, from under €1.50 a piece.
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The view behind you
As you climb, turn around: the Alhambra peeks out above the rooftops.
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Calle Calderería Vieja
The parallel street, more residential and with half the foot traffic. It's worth a five-minute detour.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- The street runs north to south, is 3 to 4 meters wide and lined with four- and five-story buildings: it's in shade most of the day, several degrees cooler than Plaza Nueva.
- At the hookah places, ask for the total price before sitting down. The pipe, the tobacco, the mouthpieces and the coals are sometimes charged separately.
- Some tea houses have a small upstairs terrace with a view of the Alhambra. Ask.
- Tea houses take cards; the small shops prefer cash.
Do
- Sit down at one tea house and order mint tea and a plate of pastries.
- If you buy at the bazaar-style shops, haggle: 30 to 50% off the first price is normal.
- Ask before taking photos inside a shop.
Don’t
- Don't accept the "free sample" of baklava unless you plan to buy: sometimes it comes with pressure to take a quarter kilo for €15 or more.
- Don't buy "Moorish handicrafts" if the seller can't tell you which town in Morocco they come from: many pieces are generic imports.
- Don't carry your phone or wallet in your back pocket: the street is narrow, dim and crowded.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Granada's tea street?
It's Calle Calderería Nueva, which climbs from Calle Elvira, about 80 meters from Plaza Nueva, up toward the lower Albaicín.
How much does tea cost at the tea houses?
A pot of tea with a plate of pastries costs between €5 and €8 per person.
Is it worth buying souvenirs there?
Only if you accept the markup. Between 80 and 90% of the shops sell souvenirs, and a good share are imports from Morocco, Turkey or China.
What time do the tea houses open?
In the afternoon and until midnight, and some later. The best time for tea is from 16:00 to 19:00.