Granada, Nicaragua

Granada is a city on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua, founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba in 1524, making it one of the oldest European-founded cities in the Americas still standing on its original site. Its colonial architecture, waterfront setting and access to the Isletas archipelago on the lake have made it a leading tourism destination in Nicaragua. Granada's historic wealth came from its position as an inland port linked via the lake and San Juan River to the Caribbean, which also made it a target of raids by English and French privateers, and later the site of William Walker's filibuster campaign in the 1850s.