Corral del Carbón

The Corral del Carbón is a 14th-century caravanserai (alhóndiga) on Calle Mariana Pineda in the centre of Granada, Andalusia, and the best-preserved of its kind in Spain. It was built in the early 14th century as a lodging place and warehouse for merchants, with animals stabled on the ground floor and rooms above. Its entrance is a tall horseshoe-arched portal in stone and brick, leading to a large square courtyard with a central fountain and three floors of wooden galleries. In the 16th century it became a coal market, which gave it its name, and later a theatre and a tenement. It was restored and is now an area of the Junta de Andalucía's cultural offices, with a small tourism desk and a craft shop. The courtyard can be entered free of charge. It sits near the Alcaicería bazaar and Calle Zacatín, so it is easy to add to a walk through the centre.