Plaza Bib-Rambla, Granada

In the Plaza Bib-Rambla, when you stand before the Fountain of Giants, here's what you should do. Sit down. Sit at one of the cafes. Look at the giants, enjoy the flower market, have churros with your hot chocolate and allow your mind to go back in time.

You are in the square of Medina Garnata of the Nasrid era. The square is a Muslim bazaar, a souq. The Arabs call this place Bib-Rambla (Sand Gate) for the sandy banks of the Darro river nearby. There are three other rivers, the Genil, the Monachil, and the Beiro.

Here's a factoid. Where you are sitting was a Jewish ghetto. But that's another story. Sip your chocolate, move on. Going forward (as they say), see Bazaars, jousting knights, bull fights, burning heretics, executions, Corpus Christi processions.

In December the square is given over to Christmas markets and stalls selling hot chestnuts. In May carnival giants with swollen heads dominate in the Tarasca procession, in observance of Corpus Christi. The figure of a warrior mounted on a dragon (La Tarasca) is wafted around the square to remind people that good will triumph over evil.

Bib-Rambla today is a haven to buy flowers, enjoy the shade of the lemon trees and study the faces on the Gigantones Fountain. Still hungry? Have some tapas.