Alex Zane in Granada: the best things to see and do

Video: Amex Insider Alex Zane travels to Granada in southern Spain

The historic centre of the Spanish city of Granada. (ODD ANDERSEN | AFP | Getty Images)

Travel is, by nature, a sensory experience – new sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures that each reinforces the unfamiliarity of a new location, usually in a stimulating and often exhilarating way.

Those sensations are tangible whether you’re visiting a local park for the first time, or hiking up the Inca Trail in Peru for your first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

Recent research undertaken by American Express revealed that 95 percent of British holidaymakers prefer holidays that stimulate all five of the senses.

With that in mind, its Amex Insider Alex Zane travelled to Granada in southern Spain to see if he could pinpoint the sensory experiences this ancient Andalucian city has to offer, from the heady spices of its Arabo-Andalucian cuisine to the arresting architecture of the Moorish Alhambra citadel and the fresh mountain air of the Sierra Nevada – all bathed in the warm Spanish sunshine. Here’s what he discovered on his travels.