With city breaks becoming even more popular in 2015 and with travellers eager to pack the maximum amount into the minimum time, new research from American Express has found that holidays that stimulate all the senses are the most fulfilling.
Grenada street art
There are many destinations in Europe where travellers can fulfil their appetite for travel that stimulates all of the senses – one in particular is Granada, located within a close enough proximity to the Mediterranean to experience the crisp, salty air of the coast and next to the blissfully peaceful Sierra Nevada mountain range. This stunning geographical location combined with the heady scents and tastes of the traditional Arabo-Andalucían cuisine, the beautiful colours and patterns of the city’s surrealist street art, plus views of the stunning Alhambra, make this city in southern Spain an excellent place to indulge the senses.
Alhambra Palace Granada
The research from American Express also showed that while Brits find multisensory holidays the most stimulating, we also have particularly strong noses for travel, with over three quarters (79%) saying that a specific scent has the ability to transport them straight back to a happy holiday. In fact, not only does smell have the ability to create happy memories, but ones that last longer as well; nearly a third of us (31%) say a scent has triggered memories of a holiday they went on as long as 15 years ago.
Sierra Nevada Spain
Amex have worked with Professor Barry Smith, the founder of the Centre for the Study of the Senses who commented: “Although sight and taste play a large role in creating memories, physiologically smell is the most powerful sense when it comes to evoking strong, positive memories. Whole scenes of people, places and things can be immediately brought to mind because in the brain, smell is connected to memory and emotion.”
Grenada street art
With that in mind, Amex Insider Alex Zane travelled to Granada in Andalucia to find out more about all of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures that this ancient and exquisite city has to offer.
This article is brought to you in collaboration with American Express. Discover other sensory European destinations with Amex Insider Alex Zane
Interesting article – for me, its the maquis in Corsica which has the most evocative “destination” scent.
Never been to Corsica Linzi – you obviously love it so will add it to the list and lok froward to smelling the maquis!
The smell of crushed herbs as we walked through olive groves on a summer’s day in Greece is one of the most memorable scents I recall from being overseas.
We went to Spanish Costa del Sol many years ago and didn’t visit Granada – must go back one day.