Carmen de los Geranios

The Carmen of Geraniums has a nice little story. A Belgian painter, Max Moreau used to own this house. Apart from the artist’s close circle of friends not many people knew that he was in love with Granada and lived here for over 30 years. After his death he left his home to the Town Hall who restored the building and turned it to a museum. Their aim was not only to bring Max Moreau closer to the visitors but also to preserve the carmen as a typical Granadian heritage.

It has three buildings. One is used as a gallery for the paintings, the other is the room the artist worked in, and the third one was his living quarter.

With the three buildings come three levels. The main level connects the gallery to the living quarters. There’s a little platform to enjoy the view of the Alhambra from that you can reach through a set of stairs. Finally there’s a backyard with benches and a pond on the side. In front of the studio there’s a gorgeous three tiered fountain.

Visiting the Carmen de los Geranios is free. It’s open from Tuesday to Saturday: 10.00 to 13.30 h. and 16.00 to 18.00 h. On Sundays, Mondays and on holidays is closed. You can find it on Calle Nueva de San Nicolás, 12.

I ventured inside this carmen on a free photo tour I found on the internet. My guide was a Spanish girl who spoke English quite well. She didn’t overwhelm us with information but only taught us the three most important things that we could practice and master during the tour. I loved walking around Albayzín with the group and taking photos of everything that took our fancy. You can find their website here.